Implementation Basics: Remember Lessons Learned from Y2K and Go Back to OP = Q+R+S+T

Yep, it's true, sometimes we all need a flashback refresher. These past few weeks I've been with clients who are looking to either quickly implement a new ERP system or rapidly complete an upgrade. As many of you know, that's not that easy. But what's been so unsettling is how little we have learned from the Y2K experience. Let me share with you a few universe truths that keep coming up:

• Governance must not be all talk, no action. Proper executive sponsorship continues to evade upgrades, re implementations, and even new project selection . Executive sponsorship remains a key component of success and companies can't afford to lose business and IT collaboration.
  
• Program management remains a necessity, not a luxury. Change management, issue resolution, milestone tracking and communication strategies were the critical success factors for successful implementations. With almost 4/5 CRM projects and 1/2 of ERP projects failing, the key factor was strong program management. It starts with the internal organization. Whether or not you go with PMBOK best practices or seek PMI certification, don't skimp on this!
• Future state has to be determined before you start, not on the fly. Implementations which have not gone through the rigors of defining a future vision upfront often fail. With proper governance, program management, and a detailed design, terprises must invest the resources for business process redesign, reduction of duplicate data models and architectures, and design and testing by use case scenarios. This blue print should define a framework for the future state. Enterprises should also carefully evaluate where heavy configurations are required and what customizations should be minimized.

• Finally, the law of physics apply when talking about the outcome of a project or (OP).

OP = Q + R + S + T

Outcome of project = Quality + Resources + Scope + Time

1. Outcome of the project refers to the overall success and result
2. Quality refers to how well the project is delivered to specifications and requirements
3. Resources refers to the money, labor, and effort deployed on the project
4. Scope refers to the project objective and expectations planned
5. Time refers to the duration required to achieve the desired outcome

The bottom line.
Successful project outcomes require a level of upfront planning and organization. The interlay of people, process, technology, and solution ecosystem ring true and enterprise who fail to learn from the lessons of Y2K will continue to make the same mistakes leading to negative outcomes of project. By keeping in mind 3 critical success factors and OP = Q+R+S+T, enterprise will reduce the risk of failure.

(The personal contents in this blog do not reflect the opinions, ideas, thoughts, points of view, and any other potential attribution of my current, past, or future employers.)
Copyrighted 2008 by R Wang. All rights reserved

Apps Strategy: Responding to Tectonic Shifts In the Software Industry

As the software industry matures and transforms itself, four key forces converge to shape a new future for the software industry. Despite these tectonic shifts impacting clients, enterprise software strategies should focus on the business users and the processes they support.

The 4 tectonic shifts impacting clients include:

1. The post Y2K upgrade cycle harkens the technology move to SOA - The shift to SOA harkens to the shift to web based computing a decade ago. We know its coming. We have some idea what to expect but no one knows for sure. As enterprises upgrade from existing legacy systems to software "architected for SOA", we enter a new technology spending cycle.
   
   The result: CIO's, Vendor Sourcing Professionals, Business Users, and IT professionals have one shot to get this right or wait it out another 7 to 10 years for the next major upgrade cycle. The applistructure you choose will be one you live with, especially as vendors create lock-in onto their platforms at the same time they push "open standards". Users should negotiate their software contracts with care taking into account the impact of SOA and middleware.
   
   
2. SaaS moves buying decisions from IT to the business user - By changing the rules of the game, now a VP or GM can go out and buy 100 licenses without going to the board for capital budgets or talking to IT about support and dependencies. Imagine that... operational expense and not capital expense and potentially no IT integration. (We'd still caution that you talk about integration with the IT guys).
   
   The result: Business users gain control of software buying decisions for edge applications like CRM, performance management, talent management, recruiting, incentive comp, corporate email and other productivity tools. IT leaders may be stuck with integrating a plethora of SaaS applications back to the on-premise hub. Architects should consider an overall ESB and meta data management strategy!
   
   
3. Web 2.0 apps transform Enterprise 2.0 apps - As the innovations in Web 2.0 such as rich internet applications, AJAX, and mash-ups make their way into enterprise software, how we collaborate, integrate, and view business processes will be transformed in the enterprise.
   
   The result: What's we use at home and what we use at work will collide. Users should be careful as to how they blend work and their private lives. However, all users will benefit from the innovations of mash-ups and other Web 2.0 innovations as they become pervasive in the corporate environment. CIO's will have to establish extra vigilant but security policies to address new flexibility and interoperability requirements from users. Just like IM 5 to 7 years ago, we now have more external integrations that increase security risks.
   
   
4. The future rests with solutions centric ecosystems- A maturing software industry increases specialization in core areas and becomes more reliant on dominant applistructure platforms as ecosystem hubs for applications, business processes, and related web services.
   
   The result: Users have an opportunity to band together in industry consortiums to dictate how IP is created and shared in enterprise software. System integrators and vendors will try to "own" the IP in last mile solutions but will not be able to address all scenaris. Users will take advantage of the improved middleware tools to create a new renaissance of custom applications built on standardized tools. Custom dev will come back with a roar!
   
   

As you can see, these shifts create significant impacts and should be factored as long term apps strategies are being developed.

(The personal contents in this blog do not reflect the opinions, ideas, thoughts, points of view, and any other potential attribution of my current, past, or future employers.)
Copyrighted 2007 by R Wang. All rights reserved