tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40593552090616881212024-03-21T18:21:57.677-04:00Focus on Efficiency - Beyond Project Management -Focus on Efficiency goes beyond traditional project management<br> and emphasizes making a concerted effort to utilize your limited<br> resources to the best possible advantage to accomplish your mission.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-85921669166211956992014-03-31T22:09:00.002-04:002014-03-31T22:09:12.569-04:00Improve IT Investment Outcomes through ChangeThe results of McKinsey & Company’s eighth annual survey on business and technology strategy (<a href="http://bit.ly/1i8UWR9">http://bit.ly/1i8UWR9</a>) shows that 61% of executives state that it’s an IT priority to improve the effectiveness of business processes (a higher percentage than any other IT priority category). However, less than 20% of IT executives are completely or very effective at “Targeting places in organization where IT can add the most value.” To do better, IT executives need to think outside of IT and establish their place in broader change initiatives. <br /><br />Not all change is improvement but to improve is to change and to improve the effectiveness of business processes means to change business processes. Because the value from IT is in the using it, not in the having it, the link between technology and improvement necessarily passes through change. <br /><br />To improve your Information Technology investment decisions and the effectiveness of IT, here’s some simple rules:<br /><br />
<ul>
<li>Stop investments not intended to bring about change. </li>
<li>Stop investment where change doesn't contribute to your mission.</li>
<li>Stop investments where there’s limited change capacity.</li>
<li>Create or deploy technology that’s “good enough” to bring about the change.</li>
<li>Recognize that it takes more than technology to bring about change and consider items such as changes to the organizational culture and structure; changes to relationships with suppliers, customers, partners, and employees; facility changes; changes in policies and incentives; and necessary staff skills and competencies.</li>
</ul>
<br />Because everything that happens on the IT side of the keyboard is a cost (except in cases where a deliberate effort is made to replace a given technology with a less costly alternative) it's absolutely critical that IT executives look past their domain when trying to improve effectiveness and bring value to the organization.<br />Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-36382473351354129572013-10-04T05:00:00.001-04:002013-10-04T05:00:45.212-04:00Change and Innovation or Unimproved Ends<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>In “Managing Transitions, Making the Most of Change” William Bridges describes a neutral zone which happens when you’ve let go of the old trapeze and you’re waiting for the new one to appear. Although this is a time of turmoil, it’s exactly because of the turmoil that it’s also a time of tremendous opportunity - as old ways are no longer set in concrete and the momentum of the status quo has been broken. William shares an example for taking advantage of this opportunity: “When you shift from one technological system to another, use the interim to redesign the work flow so you aren’t simply improving the technological means to an unimproved end.”
<br/>
<br/>
A technology project has a dependency on change in order to be successful, because technology doesn’t do anything, it’s only through change the promise of the project can be realized. The project itself can be a vehicle for change. And William Bridges teaches us that the chaos of the neutral zone resulting from change provides the necessary catalyst for innovation.
<br/>
<br/>
William Bridges gives us the recipe for success: we must protect our people, encourage them, and give them the structures and opportunities they need to succeed. Or, we can fail to do those things and simply provide the technological means to an unimproved end.</div>Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-15195231727908875302013-09-03T21:23:00.005-04:002013-09-03T21:26:17.031-04:00Consider Grade & Quality<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LFhf9a01CtnZrrmcLtz-mxa8l2gftiPA-tUGDNvqxkYtSJrwiCnc0RNhLuF3k5rVZWrB6Bu5VQQU7ZZSzpsYQT_A0P6HXFrWQeCEd6WhU-s86h6DOqvNakEmQPrwU9kpzc5GufJiRl0/s1600/PhotoGrid_1378178452848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LFhf9a01CtnZrrmcLtz-mxa8l2gftiPA-tUGDNvqxkYtSJrwiCnc0RNhLuF3k5rVZWrB6Bu5VQQU7ZZSzpsYQT_A0P6HXFrWQeCEd6WhU-s86h6DOqvNakEmQPrwU9kpzc5GufJiRl0/s320/PhotoGrid_1378178452848.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When considering alternatives we need to take both quality and grade
into account. Look for
solutions that have the same quality, which can satisfy the need to the
same degree, but may be of lower grade. In other words, don’t settle for
expensive solutions, look for inexpensive solutions that are good
enough.<br />
<br />
The pictures illustrate the point how items can be of the quality but different grade. The one on the right is out of the department of redundancy department and is undoubtedly costlier than the one on the left. The point is, that they both get their point across and satisfy the need to the same degree.<br />
<br />
Too often decisions are made without considering alternatives and
somehow, "Can we afford it?" is the only relevant question. Ask two more
questions: "Are there cheaper alternatives that would work just as
well?" And, "What else could we do with that money?"
Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-78798990846348757832013-09-03T20:57:00.002-04:002013-09-03T21:10:31.262-04:00Business/IT alignment means more than working toward the same goalImagine you’re the CIO in an organization that provides excellent customer service. Providing great customer service is part of the organization’s mission statement. Customer service in this organization is a source of pride & identity. As a hip CIO you’ve been reading a lot about Business/IT alignment and you’ve recently vastly improved the organization’s web-site so you can provide excellent customer service 24/7. The site not only contains information relevant to customers but is so deep in the information offered, it’s also an excellent resource for the customer service staff. The trouble is, the customer service staff don’t use the web site, and they don’t tell customers about it.<br />
<br />
As the CIO it would be easy to chalk the current state up to a general resistance to change. Pressed for specifics you could paint a picture of customer service agents who have a “this is the way we’ve always done it” attitude, middle managers with a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mantra, and a customer support director who fears the loss of power.<br />
<br />
But, when you designed the web-site enhancements, did you consult the customer service experts? How many clicks does it take to get to information most valuable to callers of the help line? How effectively does the search feature return relevant search results? Were the agents trained to use the site or is it “self-explanatory”? Does anyone in customer service know that they’re supposed to tell customers about the web-site?<br />
<br />
Now, imagine that the web-site enhancements were built with input from the customer service experts. Where reducing clicks to the most important information was a stated goal. Where search consistently returns relevant results. Where training was provided so customer service agents could efficiently navigate the site. Where customer service agents are provided incentives for letting the customers know that, although they’re not going anywhere, getting customer service 24/7 is also an option. Imagine the customer service portion of the web-site is controlled by the customer service director. Imagine customer service agents are part of a team that develops new products and services, and part of their responsibility includes proactively feeding relevant information into the site as new products and services are introduced.<br />
<br />
Imagine an organization where Business/IT alignment means more than working toward the same goal – where it means working for the same change.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-8598430913261524312013-08-06T22:08:00.001-04:002013-09-03T21:55:49.161-04:00Like us on Facebook. Or not.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFDuypAVH70DM18VZzzZmVNQiwVnMxobFd-e-ulhXXIbCstbLAI1ZWN9AUQoWOW1Qb1BAyCz4BJhodaSFGws_Z_LK2EUmQtGteE6ScLanyNOOJq5RyCqjYq6uD0u8HTHR_gIyvzxRm8w/s1600/LikeUs.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFDuypAVH70DM18VZzzZmVNQiwVnMxobFd-e-ulhXXIbCstbLAI1ZWN9AUQoWOW1Qb1BAyCz4BJhodaSFGws_Z_LK2EUmQtGteE6ScLanyNOOJq5RyCqjYq6uD0u8HTHR_gIyvzxRm8w/s400/LikeUs.png" width="296" /></a>In a local mall a shoe store has a sign out front that tells me to like them on Facebook. Each time I read it, I think, “Why should I?” Recently, I was in Chicago with the family and we went to Gino’s East. While waiting on our table, the host bribed us with free appetizer coupons if we liked them on Facebook. Naturally, we did because we were hungry – for Gino’s – and we were at Gino’s – planning to eat at Gino’s – and he was offering us free Gino’s food. Now maybe people like pizza more than discount shoes, but Gino’s has about 1,500 likes per location compared to the shoe store’s 7.<br />
<br />
The point is it takes more than the presence of a Facebook page (or any other technology for that matter) to get people to change their behavior, and we need to give more than cursory consideration to what those things are or our technology initiatives will never fully live up to their promise. If you’re like that shoe store, it’s probably not too late to take a lesson from Gino’s East.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-69444827246003024922013-08-03T17:16:00.002-04:002013-08-03T17:18:37.587-04:00If you want your Technology Project to Succeed, don’t focus on TechnologyIn his 1964 book <i>Scientific Method in Behavioral Science</i>, Andrew Kaplan described his Law of the Instrument: “Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.” You may have heard this paraphrased “If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”<br />
<br />
Picture a boy with a new hammer who encounters a plastic bottle. Will he (A) Ignore it, (B) Recycle it, or (C) Hit it with the hammer? The boy, of course, completes what Paul Nutt describes as an Idea-Imposition process. The boy has an idea and he implements it with no consideration for option (A) or (B). But Paul Nutt didn’t study what a boy does with a hammer, he studied 400 critical business decisions and his 20 years of research shows half of those decisions are made with the same impulsive behavior. When we ask business critical questions like how we can improve work practices, or save money, or make the most of our limited resources, our thoughts often (impulsively) turn to technology and like the boy with the hammer, once we have an idea we implement it.<br />
<br />
The thing is, when we turn to technology, we often provide a reasonable answer to the wrong question because it’s in that instant that our focus often shifts away from the change that is necessary to improve work practices, save money, or become more efficient, and it shifts toward implementing technology. Technology becomes the alpha the omega. When we implement a technology based solution we provide a reasonable answer to the wrong question because by that time, the only question becomes, “How’s that computer thing coming along?” In his 2002 Nobel Prize lecture Daniel Kahneman describes this phenomenon as attribute substitution: people who are confronted with a difficult question sometimes answer an easier one instead.<br />
<br />
When the computer thing is complete the results are less than stellar, because technology is not the answer to any of the difficult questions. Technology, like exercise equipment, doesn’t do anything, it just is, and work practices can only be improved, money can only be saved, and we can only become more efficient through change. In that same book that Andrew Kaplan wrote about the hammer, he had this to say about what he called electronic computers: “(I)t is not <i>they </i>that produce scientific results, but the investigator that uses them scientifically.” Technology isn’t the answer, but when people use technology to change what they’re doing, that change may provide the answer to those difficult questions. The distinction between implementing “technology” and “technology enabled change” may seem like a subtle point, but it has extraordinary ramifications. It means that in order to succeed we need to focus on change more than technology, and when our focus shifts from the messy business of change (the hard question) to all about the technology (the easier question), we simultaneously lose sight of goals and the promise of technology.<br />
<br />
And it happens in the blink of an eye. Well, faster, but the point is it happens before we know it’s happening. The bad news is that because attribute substitution happens before we know it, we don’t question it. We literally don’t give it a second thought. The good news is that although we can’t see it in ourselves, we can see it in others. So the next time you hear someone posing technology as the answer to a difficult question, picture the boy with the hammer. Then ask <i>how </i>the [investigator] might use [an electronic computer] to facilitate [scientific results] and you’ll be back on the right track.
Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-53889052854261674622013-07-27T12:49:00.002-04:002013-07-27T12:49:37.847-04:00Don't Settle for ExpensiveIn a 2010 TED Talk (<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_sweat_the_small_stuff.html">Sweat the Small Stuff</a>) Rory Sutherland said, “Once you have a very large budget, you actually look for expensive things to spend it on. “ He goes on to explain that although we look for expensive things that have a major impact and call that “strategy” we don’t spend much time looking for inexpensive things that could also have a major impact. In fact, we don’t spend enough time doing that even if we don’t have the luxury of a very large budget. You can think outside the box of expensive solutions by examining alternatives that serve the same purpose, and by examining the opportunity costs associated with choosing one thing over another.
<br />
<br />
When considering alternatives we need to take both quality and grade into account. The American Society for Quality (yes, there is such a thing) describes quality as, “The characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.” Grade is a category assigned to products or services having the same functional use but different technical characteristics. Paper & china plates may have the same quality but are of different grade, and in many cases paper plates are an adequate substitute. Look for solutions that have the same quality, which can satisfy the need to the same degree, but may be of lower grade. In other words, don’t settle for expensive solutions, look for inexpensive solutions that are good enough.
<br />
<br />
Another way to break the cycle of mind numbingly expensive solutions is by expressing concrete alternatives. Follow the example of Dwight Eisenhower set in a speech given to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Apr. 16, 1953: “The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people.” Taking into consideration how many people you can hire and how that could contribute to your overall effectiveness, if you didn’t (fill in the blank), is a great place to start.
Too often decisions are made without considering alternatives and somehow, “Can we afford it?” is the only relevant question. Ask two more questions:” Are there cheaper alternatives that would work just as well?” And, “What else could we do if we didn’t do this?”
Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-34021175470850700322013-07-22T22:48:00.002-04:002015-10-12T12:10:02.076-04:00The Value is on the Other Side of the KeyboardIn a recent talk about software development, the presenter described an epiphany moment. He was walking past the server room and his boss explained, “That’s where the value is - in there. Software doesn’t have value until it’s actually deployed.” In my experience that’s close but not quite right. In fact, software doesn’t have value until it’s actually used. If you’ve ever been part of a new software project where the intended users failed to take up the software after it was deployed, you know what I mean.<br />
<br />
Going further, software doesn’t have value until it’s used to facilitate change. Sometimes existing work practices and policies are so ingrained in new software it’s impossible to distinguish work before the deployment of a very expensive system and work after. Hmm.<br />
<br />
Going further still, the change facilitated has to support the mission. Sometimes people are reluctant to use a new computer system so they’ll compromise by doing it the new way and the old way. Maybe you know someone who grudgingly uses the computer to input information for the boss’ report. The person still wants the information given to them on the paper forms, and just to be sure double-checks the spreadsheet’s calculations using their desk calculator; every time. He passes the printed report along with copies of the paper forms to the manager and keeps the originals for the files. He’s changed, but not in a significant way that supports the mission.<br />
<br />
The value of Information Technology is in the change that happens on the other side of the keyboard. When people use technology to change – to do new things, or stop doing inefficient things, that’s when value is realized. That’s where the promise of information technology is realized.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-77866784743187210422013-07-16T20:40:00.001-04:002013-07-22T22:48:31.851-04:00Data, Big and SmallSometimes we get stuck in a unfruitful cycle of collecting and reporting. Where the reporting process is delegated to someone far removed from the manager, and each period the data is collected and the reports are systematically generated, distributed, then deleted.
<br />
<blockquote>
We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files.<br>
- Paul Simon, Mrs. Robinson </blockquote>
What happens when our processes become more important than our outcomes? When we collect data "for the reports" and little else. If you apply the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys">5-Why's</a> method and ask why you're collecting data and you can't move past, "For the report." Then it's probably time to stop collecting.
<br />
<blockquote>
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.<br>
- Paul Simon, The Boxer </blockquote>
Sometimes we collect self-confirming information. To be sure, some of this has positive identity value, like the number of days without an accident let's say. But, if you're reporting that the corporate help desk received 828 calls last month, like they did for the past 18 months, with a standard deviation of 6, then, again, it's probably time to stop.
<br />
<br />
Data, big or small, like technology or exercise equipment, has the most value if it's used to facilitate change. Instead of collecting information about the number of help desk calls for the report, imagine the value of that same information when it's used to measure the effectiveness of a new proactive initiative, where Help Desk staff have been trained, empowered, & incentivized to assist people directly instead of routinely discharging a remote tech. Or, imagine using that same report to see if the new training program has had the intended impact on the number of calls to the Help Desk.
<br />
<br />
The next time you receive one of those routine reports, instead of routinely sending it to the trash, ask yourself why that information is being collected. Then ask yourself "Why?" 4 more times. Then ask, "What if...?"Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-41540214612720679962013-07-06T20:57:00.001-04:002013-07-07T12:15:09.323-04:00Change is CounterintuitiveWhen others start talking about change, our intuition tells us that we're already where we need to be because, well, why wouldn't we be? Our brain likes us. It thinks we’re better than most, and that we’re certainly more knowledgeable about the job we’ve been doing for the past decade than anyone else. Our fast thinking brain applies rules of thumb like "change is bad". The brain seeks the path of least resistance and comforts us in the thought that change is unnecessary. We decide in an instant that things are fine just the way they are, and if it ain't broke then it's just good common sense that we don't need to fix it. If someone recommends that we try a new computer system to improve our work, we decide, in the blink of an eye, they’re just plain wrong about that. If someone recommends a new approach, they’re being critical of the way we currently work, and they’ve just violated Dale Carnegie’s first rule which will diminish both their likelihood to win friends and ability to influence.<br />
<br />
It's a well-documented fact from psychologists, neuroscientists, and behavioral economists that we all have two ways of thinking: slow and fast, strategic and tactical, thinking and intuitive. There's been many books recently written on the subject from Malcolm Gladwell's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316010669/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316010669&linkCode=as2&tag=foconeff-20">Blink</a> to Michael R. LeGault's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416531556/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1416531556&linkCode=as2&tag=foconeff-20">Think!</a> The experts teach us that slow thinking involves deep thought and analysis, and fast thinking involves things we essentially do and decide without conscious thought. Fast thinking decision making involves rules of thumb, "common sense", and intuition; and our intuition tells us those very specific and predictable things about change. <br />
<br />
Change is counterintuitive. If we want people to change, we need to get them to suspend their intuition and engage their slow thinking. We need to remind them that it’s also good common sense that we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing and get different results. We need to be clear about why change needs to happen and very specific about what will need to change (none of this, “We need to do more with less.” business). We also need to give them something tangible by telling them where we’re heading and what it will look like when we get there. And, importantly, we need to give them an anchor by explaining what will stay the same. We need to get everyone on-board by getting everyone involved because strategic thinking isn’t just for the C-Suite anymore. On our path we need to measure results and adjust our course. And we need to do that, all of it, over and over and over again, all while our intuition is telling us that it’s not necessary, that everyone’s already fully committed to the-new-way because, well, why wouldn’t they be?Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-79247511334067280152013-05-17T08:27:00.000-04:002013-05-17T08:28:27.786-04:004 Myths of Information Technology & 4 Alternatives<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The justification for an Information Technology project
often builds on myths that surround IT. Consider the following business case
for an Information Technology project:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Orders for our
products are currently accepted only over the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes approximately 10 minutes of staff
time to accept each order, at a net cost of $5 per order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Developing a web based order system will
allow our organization to avoid this cost.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This simple business case demonstrates four critical myths
of information technology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Myth: Information Technology Brings Efficiency<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Alternative: </span>Too
often organization efficiency is measured only in terms of how information
technology can replace labor intensive work. <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Efficiency should be thought of as the best use of <em>all</em> organization
resources. Even if information technology makes people more efficient, it also
costs a lot of money, and that cost needs to be part of the efficiency equation
and part of a sincere business case.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Myth: Information
Technology Brings Benefits<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Alternative: The
most well-kept secret is that information technology provides almost no direct
benefit, benefits don’t come in a box, and it’s an extraordinarily rare project
that creates an IT product or service that can bring benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s much closer to the truth to say that
technology can enable, or facilitate, change, and when we change: when we do
new things, do things differently, or stop doing inefficient things; that is
what fulfills the promise of technology.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Myth: If we build
it, they will come<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Alternative:
Implementing technology is not really about technology, it’s about change, and
it takes much more of a concerted effort to affect change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about the additional required steps to
get the anticipated stakeholders to change. In this case the customers need to
know about the web site and they need to use it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What outreach, promotions, search engine
optimization, etc. is necessary to achieve those goals?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Myth: Information
Technology Results in Cost Savings<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Alternative: Only actual cost savings result in cost
savings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cost savings anticipated
through the reduction of staff (even through attrition) faces stiff opposition
from those staff, their management, and organizational culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cost savings like this is also rarely linear
because it’s often not possible to realize personnel cost savings in a linear
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be realistic about cost
savings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Benefits from the project may
more accurately be expressed as increased capacity as staff responsibilities
change.</span>Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-265343650036359402012-01-09T10:09:00.001-05:002012-01-09T10:09:29.336-05:00In which the most well kept secret in the all of Information Technology is revealed …<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Investments are made in Information Technology projects with
the promise they’ll bring benefits that support our mission. All projects have
a promise. <br />
<br />
Often we see the promise of a project like this: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Project -> Benefits ->
Mission</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
But the secret is that information technology provides almost no direct
benefit, benefits don’t come in a box, and it’s an extraordinarily rare project
that creates a product or service that can bring benefits. It’s much closer to
the truth to say that the technology product created by a project can
facilitate, or enable, change, and when we change: when we do new things, do
things different, or stop doing inefficient things, <i>that </i>is what fulfills the
promise of the project.<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Project -> Change -> Benefits -> Mission</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
And if that seems more like common sense than a secret then why do we
painstakingly incorporate existing business rules and ways of working into
computer applications? Why do discussions about problems quickly deteriorate
into discussions only about a technology solution? Why do we build or buy
without having frank discussions about change with those anticipated to change?<br />
<br />
We must change the way we think about information technology because projects
have a promise and that promise will only be realized through change.<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-82032618342753592182011-12-18T12:02:00.004-05:002011-12-18T12:05:57.363-05:00Measure and ManageIn his blog <a href="http://www.thorpnet.com/">The Thorp Network</a>, author John Thorp suggests that we should, "Measure what’s important and manage what you measure."<br />
<br />
When a strategy for improvement is identified it’ll be important to measure performance and success. <i>Performance </i>is important to measure because improvement depends on change, and there’s an inherent presumption of efficiency and momentum of the status quo that works against change. When performance is not measured, change either does not occur or occurs unevenly. <i>Success </i>should be measured in terms of the degree to which the intended benefits are realized because plans, even your best plans, will often have to be adjusted as new information is discovered and as circumstances change.<br />
<br />
The UK’s National Health Service’s (NIH) Institute for Innovation and Improvement suggests creating, annually reviewing, and (most importantly) <b>using </b>a <a href="http://www.institute.nhs.uk/quality_and_service_improvement_tools/quality_and_service_improvement_tools/performance_measures_sheet.html">Performance Measure Sheet</a>. On this sheet are the usual suspects in a thoughtful performance measurement tool that can be used to measure performance and success: Purpose of the measure, Related objective, Target, Formula, Frequency, Who measures, and Source of data.<br />
<br />
With components of performance and success measured, it’s then important to manage what you measure. Without active management performances goals and success happen only by luck or happenstance, or more likely, occur unevenly. The NIH’s Performance Measure Sheet comes to the rescue again by including these two additional critical questions:
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Who takes action? </b><br />
Who is responsible for taking action on the measure?
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>What do they do? </b>
<br />
Specify the types of action people should take to improve the performance of the measure.<br />
<br />
Author William Gibson said, “The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.” By measuring what’s important and managing what you measure, you can ensure that the future is both here and evenly distributed; that the future is as you intend it to be.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-86747839153024713242010-09-29T08:26:00.002-04:002010-09-29T08:32:42.532-04:00The Promise of the ProjectTechnology project failure or success statistics vary a great deal, because there's no standard measure of project success. I suggest a new measure of project success or failure: the promise.<br />
<br />
Many times a project promises too much. If a new computer program <i>promises </i>to lower cost by reducing the number of staff required to accomplish a task, then cost savings should only be the promise when there's a solid plan to reduce staff. In most cases it's more realistic to realize the promise is <i>really </i>the reassignment of duties or a higher devotion to customer service.<br />
<br />
Even when properly evaluated and assigned in project planning, too often the promise of the project is lost immediately after the sales pitch, or in the myriad of compromises made during project development. Traditional Project Management tells us a project is successful when it delivers on time, budget, and scope. These are short-hand for the larger realization that projects that fail to meet a window of opportunity won't be successful, but the shorthand often leads to poor decisions which compromise the promise of the project.<br />
<br />
After the system's rolled-out we measure what we control; generally things like the up-time of the system rather than the promised cost savings, number of staff re-assigned, or customer satisfaction. <br />
<br />
The true measure of a project's success is the promise of the project. It's time we break down the silos that encourage exaggerated project justifications. It's time we put promise first when evaluating alternatives and making compromises during project implementation. And it's time we use true measures of project success or project failure.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-43258536616424947782010-05-24T23:00:00.000-04:002010-05-24T23:00:07.510-04:00Introduction to the Benefits Dependency NetworkTo become more efficient, you must <i>plan</i> to become more efficient. Planning will allow you to break the momentum of the day-to-day that keeps you stuck in the "getting by". Sound planning will allow you to identify the required enabling and process changes that will lead to successful project implementation. And, sound planning will ensure your efforts are aligned with the benefits you are trying to achieve, and those benefits support your mission.<br />
<br />
Enabling changes are changes that basically occur once, like the roll-out of a new computer program, or a change in policy or procedure.<br />
<br />
Implementing enabling changes allows or "enables", process changes to occur. Process changes, are just that, changes in processes. They're when employees or customers do things new, different, or stop doing something.<br />
<br />
When positive process changes occur, benefits are derived.<br />
<br />
Benefits, support your mission.<br />
<br />
<table><THEAD>
<tr>
<td>Enabling Changes</td>
<td>Process Changes</td>
<td>Benefits</td>
<td>Mission</td></tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Build a Web-Site</td>
<td>New customers start the web-site to purchase your goods.</td>
<td>You recieve more orders.</td>
<td>Your company makes more profits.<br />
<td></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
This link of Enabling Changes -> Process Changes -> Benefits -> Mission can be described as a Benefits Dependency Network. A Benefits Dependency Network illustrates that benefits that support your mission are <i>dependent </i>on change.<br />
<br />
Good project planning makes it clear that changes which have benefits that support your mission are the desired outcome. And those benefits are the measure of project success.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-89652186793581589392010-05-11T15:05:00.001-04:002010-05-11T15:08:40.340-04:00Everything's AmazingAfter we break the momentum of the day-to-day, we have an opportunity to look at things with a new lens, to rethink, and to reimagine the possible.<br />
<br />
Three amazing videos to help us break the momentum of the day-to-day. To get us to look at things with a new perspective and appreciation, and to think different. <br />
<br />
<span id="altHeadline"><strong>The comedian Louis CK talks about the spoiled generation:</strong></span><br />
<div><object height="322" width="512"><param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://d.yimg.com/static.video.yahoo.com/yep/YV_YEP.swf?ver=2.2.46"><param NAME="allowFullScreen" VALUE="true"><param NAME="AllowScriptAccess" VALUE="never"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#000000"><param NAME="flashVars" VALUE="id=12237131&vid=4570366&lang=en-au&intl=au&thumbUrl=http%3A//l.yimg.com/a/p/i/bcst/videosearch/7580/80940187.jpeg&embed=1&defaultBandwidth=300"><embed src="http://d.yimg.com/static.video.yahoo.com/yep/YV_YEP.swf?ver=2.2.46" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" height="322" allowscriptaccess="never" bgcolor="#000000" flashvars="id=12237131&vid=4570366&lang=en-au&intl=au&thumbUrl=http%3A//l.yimg.com/a/p/i/bcst/videosearch/7580/80940187.jpeg&embed=1&defaultBandwidth=300"></embed></OBJECT><br />
<a href="http://au.video.yahoo.com/watch/4570366/12237131">Everything's amazing, nobody's happy</a> @ <a href="http://au.video.yahoo.com/">Yahoo!7 Video</a></div><br />
<span id="altHeadline"><strong>Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the web:</strong></span><br />
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<br />
<span id="altHeadline"></span><strong>Derek Sivers: Weird, or just different?</strong><br />
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<br />
<b>Think different: focus on efficiency.</b>Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-66355960224410282292010-04-22T22:40:00.002-04:002010-04-22T22:42:25.342-04:00Recent Reading<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y2Ec9wy8nNqCpJxu63QSRLAHkvL-I0FNEEvGPluP52MWjij01qje1BHiP8ppVkQKY7_JjOfgJmYGN_Wx2gUUzb4MlQ7nMeHB7fdbexCKfVloPxQ3Flm2uWCu46mnVouzLJUeEE2ly64/s1600/nggshow.php.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y2Ec9wy8nNqCpJxu63QSRLAHkvL-I0FNEEvGPluP52MWjij01qje1BHiP8ppVkQKY7_JjOfgJmYGN_Wx2gUUzb4MlQ7nMeHB7fdbexCKfVloPxQ3Flm2uWCu46mnVouzLJUeEE2ly64/s200/nggshow.php.png" width="200" /></a></div>Not much writing lately, but I've been reading a great deal from newly discovered blogs. <br />
Michael Krigsman writes about <a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?tag=trunk;content">IT Project Failures</a> on ZDNet.com. More helpfully though, he also writes about the <a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=9128&tag=content;col2">three truths of IT success</a>.<br />
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Susan Cramm explains to <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/cramm/2010/03/it-and-business-leaders-getting-along.html">IT and Business Leaders: Getting Along is Not Enough</a>, in her <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/cramm/">blog at Harvard Business Review</a>.<br />
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Check out the recent headlines from these and other insightful blogs listed on the right-side of this page.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-23949380467890119282010-03-18T19:38:00.001-04:002010-03-18T22:29:29.552-04:00The Information Paradox - the Free E-BookToo many "Key Quotes" to mention in one post, The Information Paradox by Fujitsu Consulting with John Thorp, is available as a free e-book. This <b>tremendous </b>resource will help you stop throwing away money on IT and start focusing your resources on IT-enabled change.<br />
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Run, don't walk (well, OK, click <i>really fast</i>) to <a href="http://solutions.us.fujitsu.com/www/content/information-paradox-ebook/index.php">Fujitsu's web-site</a> and fill out a very brief registration form and download the free e-book.<br />
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You can keep up with John Thorp's latest thoughts here - the titles and links to his latest blog posts are available on this page (right over there on the right) - or, go to <a href="http://www.thorpnet.com/">The Thorp Network</a>.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-5312653166580381812010-03-13T12:25:00.000-05:002010-03-13T12:25:10.872-05:00Who Controls Business Process ImprovementIn the "<a href="http://www.cio.com/article/26221/Who_Controls_Business_Process_Improvement">Who Controls Business Process Improvement</a>" article, CIO.com shares the advice of three IT executives who are successfully leading BPM (the practice of continually optimizing business processes through analysis, modeling and monitoring—as a systematic approach for solving business problems and helping them meet their financial goals) inside their companies. <br />
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<b>Key Quotes:</b><br />
<blockquote>There’s no reason why IT can’t lead BPM, he adds. “The question is whether they’ll be allowed to by the rest of the organization.”</blockquote><blockquote>You have to have patience, a game plan, a vision, and be in a position to articulate what’s at the end of this and why it’s worth going through.”</blockquote><blockquote>“I know many companies that have successful, IT-driven BPM initiatives and that’s because their goal was always to serve the business and to collaborate with the business, not to define the latest, greatest, coolest technologies,” </blockquote><blockquote>CIOs can successfully drive BPM if they encourage collaboration and understand the needs, concerns, pain points and existing processes of the business.</blockquote><blockquote>Looking to the future...CIOs have to become more proactive in business process management. It’s in their best interest to do so because BPM is at the center of so much IT activity.</blockquote>Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-30818084451062240212010-03-09T21:59:00.000-05:002010-03-09T21:59:23.851-05:00Database can Crack Missing Person Cases?The Associated Press had <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gaaAYYMJJik9sAqW2OotCiIw12WwD9EA07V00" target="blank">a story</a> this past Sunday regarding an online database (<a href="http://www.namus.gov/" target="blank">NamUs</a>) that "promises to crack some of the nation's 100,000 missing persons cases and provide answers to desperate families."<br />
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That's some database!<br />
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On further reading it becomes evident that the database isn't really going to crack anything. <br />
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How disappointing. <br />
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Contrary to popular thinking (and even contrary to the assumptions expressed in the article), when we plug-in information technology, benefits do not automatically occur. Costs are not automatically reduced, productivity does not automatically rise, and missing persons are not automatically located. <br />
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As it turns out, law enforcement officials are supposed to <span style="font-style: italic;">use</span> this database to help solve missing person cases. <br />
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It seems like common sense, but if we're shocked and appalled that law enforcement officials are <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> using the system, we shouldn't be. You see it's equally true that the vast majority of organizations simply don't think this way, preferring the we-will-build-it-and-they-will-come-and-benefits-will-automatically-happen mindset.<br />
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Do law enforcement agencies even know about the system? Do they know how to use it? Did anyone ask them if they had the man-power to enter information in the system? Have they changed their procedures?<br />
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Tremendous kudos to Janice Smoliksi for championing the other enabling changes (training and help in offsetting the costs associated with entering data into the system) which are necessary to support the process changes in law enforcement so this database can be <span style="font-style: italic;">used</span> to help law enforcement solve missing persons cases. God bless her and her missing son Billy.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-65168450239040352972010-03-07T22:38:00.004-05:002010-03-07T22:49:01.622-05:00Designed to Fail<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/media/ISRC/Designed%20to%20Fail%20Working%20Paper.pdf">Designed to Fail: Why IT Projects Underachieve and what to do about it</a> by Donald Marchand and Joe Peppard contrasts two paradigms that guide IT project implementation. The ever-popular Design-to-Build (D2B) paradigm focuses on the building process and on time, scope and budget. The Design-for-Use (D4U) paradigm focuses on how people use information and IT to carry out business tasks and processes.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKt44cY7x2BqbWe63aBEwamDWVbU4wHCkWafLW1V15o8-oU9T32Fs5KQ-NR4OQ8WN4eZ9IF-7cq-n58UN3npLPD8LzlxPIvogVEoeCJa7ia5FNxHr88dkY05j6LB60i9A6tQ7nI74L6U/s1600-h/HAL9000BSOD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKt44cY7x2BqbWe63aBEwamDWVbU4wHCkWafLW1V15o8-oU9T32Fs5KQ-NR4OQ8WN4eZ9IF-7cq-n58UN3npLPD8LzlxPIvogVEoeCJa7ia5FNxHr88dkY05j6LB60i9A6tQ7nI74L6U/s320/HAL9000BSOD.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
Image from http://www.zuschlogin.com/?p=48</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Key Quotes:<br />
<blockquote>Our evidence is overwhelming: the design-to-build paradigm that underpins the development and execution of most IT implementations today is flawed and incomplete.</blockquote><blockquote>Most IT projects are “designed to fail!” From the outset, despite the investment of money and effort, these projects were never going to deliver the successful outcomes that were promised in the business cases. And in an effort to achieve this elusive success, many organizations often continue to pour additional money into a project long after it should have been abandoned, in the hope that somehow they will get it right.</blockquote><blockquote>In light of all the dismal statistics, why do so many organizations continue to subscribe to the same project methodologies that have produced little to no business value in the past?</blockquote><blockquote>What we have described in this paper is in many ways common sense, but unfortunately it is not common practice.</blockquote>Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-71821429692646129152010-03-07T21:39:00.001-05:002010-03-07T21:40:16.650-05:00Managing the Realization of Business Benefits from IT InvestmentsIf you read nothing else, read <a href="http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/media/ISRC/Managing%20the%20realisation%20of%20business%20benefits.pdf">Managing the Realization of Business Benefits from IT Investments</a>. This brilliant paper by Professor Joe Peppard, Professor John Ward, & Professor Elizabeth Daniel gives a great introduction to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Benefits-Management-Delivering-Investments-Information/dp/047009463X?ie=UTF8&tag=togosolo-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Benefits Realization</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=togosolo-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=047009463X" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" />, especially to the concepts related to creating a Benefits Dependency Network.<br />
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Key Quotes:<br />
<blockquote>No IT investment is ever just about technology. Drawing on over 10 years of research that has studied how organizations improve the return on the investment they make in IT, this paper presents an approach which enables managers to identify, plan for and manage the delivery of benefits. This approach implies new ways of working between IT professionals and business managers that complement the best practices in delivering IT solutions, but that engage business managers in a way that enables them to apply their collective knowledge to creating business value from IT enabled change.</blockquote><blockquote>IT has no inherent value...Benefits arise when IT enables people do things differently.</blockquote><blockquote>The benefits expected from any IT implementation are unlikely to emerge automatically. Any benefits sought must first be identified along with the changes in ways of working that will bring about and sustain each of the benefits. Ownership and responsibility for the realization of each benefit must then be assigned and how it will be realized needs to be planned by the benefit owner and those responsible for making the changes on which it depends. As our research has consistently found, through this type of benefits realization planning the likelihood of the benefits being achieved is greatly enhanced.</blockquote>Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-84497926001311038732010-03-04T07:52:00.000-05:002010-03-04T07:52:14.152-05:00Good Enough for Government WorkIt's a punchline right, "Good enough for government work?" Certainly not the attitude at your agency or mine, but "Good enough for government work" has something to teach us when evaluating IT alternatives.<br />
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Benefit/Cost Ratio is calculated by dividing the total present value benefits by the total present value costs. Where costs exceed benefits, the ratio will be less than 1 and break-even will not be reached. The same applies for marginal costs and marginal benefits. That is, when comparing alternatives it is sometimes easier to compare the marginal costs and marginal benefits of alternative choices. Where marginal costs exceed marginal benefits, the alternative is not optimal.<br />
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Applying this "marginal" cost/benefit analysis can also allow us to clearly see the law of diminishing returns in action. Beyond some point, each additional software feature or unit of hardware capacity (at almost always more cost) yields less and less output. Further, software features and hardware capacity do not necessarily equate to any organizational or societal benefit. In, the book, "<a href="http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/3X/04700946/047009463X.pdf"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Benefits-Management-Delivering-Investments-Information/dp/047009463X?ie=UTF8&tag=togosolo-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Benefits Management: Delivering Value from IS & IT Investments</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=togosolo-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=047009463X" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />" John L. Ward and Elizabeth Daniel teach us that, "IS and IT vendors are keen to promote the many features of their products and, all too often, organizations believe that the list of features equates to a list of benefits that the systems will provide to their organizations. However, it is seldom the case but can result in organizations buying and installing systems that either do not meet their needs or are overcomplex. As a result those systems tend to be underutilized and hence fail to deliver the expected benefits."<br />
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John and Elizabeth suggest that rather than starting with the features and functions of the technology or system, agencies should start with what it is that's causing the organization to consider the investment and what the project is expected to deliver. "It is only when this and the required change management actions have been identified that the IS and IT required should be assessed, leading to a technology specification that is 'sufficient to do the job'." Or, "Good enough for government work."Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-65632825491034306652010-03-04T07:41:00.000-05:002010-03-04T07:41:41.458-05:00Focus on Efficiency Phase 5: Repeat. Or, Go back to Phase 1, but not Square 1 – Build on your Success<i>A previous post laid out the <a href="http://www.focusonefficiency.com/2010/03/focus-on-efficiency-framework.html">Focus on Efficiency Framework</a>: Plan - Decide - Implement - Review - Repeat. In this post you'll learn how the capabilities and possibilities you’ve developed, will allow you to take your organization to the next higher level, and the next, and the next...</i><br />
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When you repeat, you apply the Focus on Efficiency framework: Plan – Decide – Implement – Review – Repeat, to your next need or opportunity. It's important to note, however, that you won't be starting over at square-one. You'll have new knowledge to carry forward, new capabilities and possibilities, and potentially more resources to apply.<br />
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As you implement the Focus on Efficiency framework, you'll become more familiar with the process and you'll also have a better idea of how to apply the framework given your own organization's culture and context. You'll know what works and what doesn't, where to take shortcuts, and where to take it slower.<br />
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Previous changes raised the level of what your organization is capable of accomplishing. And, those process and enabling changes that facilitated the efficiency gains in previous projects can be used and re-used in new projects. Your organization may have new resources such as databases, servers, customer insights, etc. View those new resources as an opportunity for additional efficiency gains.<br />
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In addition to the physical resources and knowledge gains described above, there are intangible benefits that open a new world of opportunities. Your organization's employees will recognize that they are capable of focusing on efficiency, and they will know that change can bring benefits to themselves and the organization. Focusing on Efficiency is not only a new way of working; it's a new way of thinking. And the confidence that comes with successful implementation will breed more success.<br />
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Finally, in describing the Focus on Efficiency I stated that it's about making a concerted effort to utilize our limited resources to the best possible advantage to accomplish our mission. It's about wisely investing our ever-limited resources into our mission and stop wasting resources on inefficiencies that drain those resources away from the mission. Having gone through the process, you may find that you have fewer resources wasted on inefficiencies, and more resources to invest in making your organization more efficient.<br />
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Because Focus on Efficiency is a way of thinking, you'll Repeat the process again-and-again, each time starting at a higher level then the time before, to make your organization not as efficient as it needs to be, but as efficient as it can be.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4059355209061688121.post-49530119707328768172010-03-04T07:35:00.002-05:002010-03-04T07:46:41.686-05:00Focus on Efficiency Phase 4: Review your Impact<i>A previous post laid out the <a href="http://www.focusonefficiency.com/2010/03/focus-on-efficiency-framework.html">Focus on Efficiency Framework</a>: Plan - Decide - Implement - Review - Repeat. In this post you'll learn the importance of Reviewing the impact you've had on your organizations efficiency.</i><br />
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You'll Review at a pre-determined time which you set in your Planning stage. When exactly that will be, is dependent on the project. You'll want to give sufficient time for change to materialize, but you don't want to things to languish if they're not going well.<br />
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When you Review, you'll ask three simple questions:<br />
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<ol><li>Where the planned-for benefits achieved?</li>
<li>Did benefits arise that weren't planned-for?</li>
<li>Did dis-benefits arise that weren't planned for?</li>
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This amazingly simple step can have a tremendous impact on your rate of success for realizing efficiency benefits from your current project, and for future projects, because the simple step of Review impacts each of the other stages of Focus on Efficiency framework: Plan – Decide – Implement – Review – Repeat.<br />
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<b>Review's impact on Plan</b><br />
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In the Planning stage, you plan to become more efficient through achieving outlined benefits. Because in the Plan stage, you know you are going to Review:<br />
<ul><li>There is less exaggeration of expected achievements.</li>
<li>There is less focus on cost and more focus on value.</li>
<li>You will make holistic and realistic plans for implementation.</li>
</ul><b>Review's impact on Decide</b><br />
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Because you know you'll Review project success, projects will be stopped at the Decide stage when there is no chance for success.<br />
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<b>Review's impact on Implement</b><br />
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As you Implement, you'll measure your rate of success based on achievement of efficiency rather than the more limited measures of time, scope, and cost.<br />
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Measuring as you're implementing not only makes it possible to Review to see if benefits were achieved, but measuring also provides an opportunity for immediate corrective action. Measuring the success of change helps ensure change. It helps create place where the future is both here and evenly distributed (apologies to William Gibson).<br />
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<b>Review's impact on Repeat</b><br />
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Because the next step is to Repeat the Focus on Efficiency process, Reviewing will give you a lot of information to carry-forward into your future.<br />
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If the outcome of your Review indicates you've been successful in Focusing on Efficiency that will help you in future projects. Your practices will have become best-practices and your success will breed success.<br />
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If the outcome of your Review indicates you've been unsuccessful, you'll try to determine why, and return to the Plan stage to figure out if additional resources or processes can be brought to bear to make the outcome successful.<br />
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An unsuccessful and unsalvageable project will at a minimum provide a cautionary tale and lead to better planning in future projects.<br />
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Although often skipped, the process of Reviewing your actions and analyzing your rate of success, can have an extremely beneficial impact at every step of your project, because knowing you'll review, reviewing, and having reviewed all have benefits that contribute to your success.Tim Constantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16792746175587659968noreply@blogger.com0