Posts Tagged ‘IT management’

SPEED: The Great IT Offering

IT Theory, Professional Development | Posted by Tom Carpenter
Jan 11 2011

Information Technology (IT) provides value in many ways, including better, faster, cheaper, more and continuity. In this article, I'd like to give some thoughts on the speed (faster) benefits provided by IT and how we can communicate this benefit to stakeholders, management and others we need to influence.

I find it interesting that discussions take place based on the question: Does IT provide a competitive advantage or is it a commodity? It is my conviction that the only reason these discussions can take place is that we (the IT professionals) have failed to communicate the value we provide. If we really understood the importance of communicating our value benefits, and placed the appropriate emphasis on it in our technical schools, we would not be having these conversations.

Consider this: If you are continually innovating (improving the speed of communications, reducing transaction times, providing better information, etc.), you must have a competitive advantage for some window of time. That window of time, which I refer to as the CAW (competitive advantage window), is the time between when you implement an innovation and when your competitor implements the same or similar innovation. This is the reality of competitive advantage in any industry – not just IT.

One key area where we can provide true competitive advantage is in the area of speed. Let me illustrate this value and how it can provide a competitive advantage.

Imagine there are two widget stores in your city. We'll call them Widget World and Widget-Mart. Widget World believes that IT is a commodity and, therefore, does not seek competitive advantage in this area. In contrast, Widget-Mart has a CIO with a strong belief in the competitive advantage of speed provided by IT. This CIO, Sarah, communicates the speed advantages provided by their current order processing system and, through extensive analysis, discovers optimization points which will allow them to reduce each order processing cycle by twenty seconds.

At a management meeting, Sarah presents here improvements as follows:

As you know, we currently have a wait time of four minutes in our checkout lines, which is the same as our competitor Widget World. On average, there are four people waiting in any given line. The reason for the four minute wait, is the simple fact that it takes about sixty seconds to process the sales for the average customer.

Through our analysis, we've discovered a way to reduce the transaction time by twenty seconds. This means a reduction in wait time from four minutes to only two minutes and forty seconds. We predict that line size will drop to three, if we choose to run the same number of registers. We can also run thirty percent fewer registers and still maintain a wait line four deep. This would allow funds to be diverted to other areas.

Here's how we can accomplish this…

Do you see how Sarah is communicating the value of speed? Do you see how this provides a competitive advantage? When I present this type of scenario to my training classes, without fail someone suggests that it is only a short-lived competitive advantage. I would agree with that speedily and then add another important thought: What long-lived competitive advantages are being created today?

Due, in part, to the rapid speed of communications (another example of a past IT advantage) most innovations are adopted quickly by the competitor. The key is to keep on being first in as many areas as possible.

Think of it like this. If you had been visiting both of the widget stores, in our example, and then noticed the shorter lines at Widget-Mart, wouldn't you lean toward that store more often than not? Wouldn't you internally decide to make your purchases at Widget-Mart (assuming all else equal) instead of Widget World, if at all possible? Sure you would. We've seen this play out in the retail marketplace again and again.

In the end, I think the key question is not whether IT provides a competitive advantage, but, rather, how long does a competitive advantage remain so? We are in an age of continual innovation and change and we must learn to cope with that.

I would suggest, then, the importance of communication of value and discovery of the same. This has not changed and is not likely to change in the near future.

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Project Management Methodology: Do you have one?

IT Theory | Posted by Tom Carpenter
Mar 10 2009

A methodology of project management or a project management methodology can simply be defined as the method by which you manage a project. Everyone uses a project management methodology, it’s just that many project managers change their methodology on each project. Here’s the question I’d like to answer: What’s the benefit of a standardized project management methodology in the first place?

I would suggest that a standardized methodology provides the following four primary benefits:

  • Collective knowledge
  • Greater predictability
  • Capability maturity
  • Reduced stress

 

Now, I know that last one is hard to swallow since many people think of a project management methodology as a source of added stress via the requirement of added documentation; however, I would suggest that a well-documented methodology reduces stress because you never have to ask, "What do I do next?" You have inputs, processes and outputs. The methodology of project management should indicate the source of the inputs. Next, it should state what you will do with those inputs (the processes). Finally, it will provide you with forms or templates that you fill out as a result of the processes (outputs).

With the last benefit covered first, let’s go back to the first listed benefit: collective knowledge. There are many things in life that we trust. For example, we trust that it really is safer to wear our seatbelts than to drive without them (at least I haven’t done actual research myself). This is collective knowledge. A documented project management methodology provides the same benefits. If you use a template that was created out of experience and education, you will reap the benefits of using that template whether you know it or not. This, in a nutshell, is the benefit of collective knowledge.

The second stated benefit was greater predictability. Since you are using established inputs, processes and outputs, you can predict with greater certainty how your project will go based on how it starts. Additionally, you can look at the project at any point in the lifecycle and make estimates as to the outcome using established and mature processes.

That last statement leads me to the third and final benefit (since I covered stress reduction first): capability maturity. A solid methodology of project management will be maturable. It will include a lessons learned process at the end of the project that may be used to mature or improve the methodology. This increases the "capability" of the project management methodology to meet the needs of your organization.

My suggestion is that you do not start from scratch. You can use PMI best practices as a starting point or another model like The Systems Education Company’s Method 4D methodology. However, no matter the starting point, you will reap these benefits and more if you begin to use a methodology and then mature that methodology over time.

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