Friday, May 09, 2008
TOO LONG, COSTLY & HARD! The problem with systems projects...(Sep. E-News from 2SS.Com)
[[Contact:26]]
[[Company:25]]
Dear [[Salutation:40]],
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‘ E – N E W S from ‘
‘ 2SS.Com ‘
‘ Compiled and Edited by ‘
‘ Mailed on: 09/01/2000 8:51 PM Number 25 ‘
‘ Int’l Standard Serial No. - ISSN: 1523-3537‘
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‘ Find E-News promoted at Excite, MSN, ‘
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‘ difference for your organization. ‘
‘ In this issue (4 Items): ‘
‘ ================ ‘
‘ 1--TOO LONG, COSTLY & HARD! THE ‘
’ PROBLEM WITH SYSTEMS PROEJCTS… ‘
‘ 2--QUESTIONS (What happened in Aug.)? ‘
‘ 3--STRATEGIC-USEFUL–INTERESTING LINKS ‘
‘ 4--PRODUCT WATCH
‘ 5--WHY SUBSCRIBE?, 2SS.Com & YOUR ‘
‘ SUBSCRIPTION. ‘
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‘ --------------------------Item One---------------------- ‘
‘ TOO LONG, COSTLY & HARD! THE ‘
’ PROBLEM WITH SYSTEMS PROJECTS… ‘
‘ ------------------------------------------------------------- ‘
‘ Systems projects suffer from a common ailment ‘
‘ that we at 2SS.Com like to call ‘Poor Expectation ‘
‘ Adjustment’. That’s the result of getting the ‘
‘ expectations of the folks who want the system
‘ developed (usually the buyers) out of sync with ‘
‘ the ones who are developing it (who are, but are ‘
‘ never really thought of as the sellers). ‘
‘ What happens usually is that the buyers come to
‘ have great expectations about how a system ‘
‘ could help their business. Or maybe the sellers ‘
‘ convince the buyers they understand the business ‘
‘ enough to inspire those great expectations. In ‘
‘ either case the objectives are set and a systems ‘
‘ projects begins. ‘
‘ The first thing that the seller learns is that they ‘
’ have a lot of work to do in order to convince the ‘
‘ sellers that they know enough to build the system. ‘
‘ As they realize the true cost in dollars, time and ‘
‘ most significantly patience to achieve the end ‘
‘ result the buyers feel pangs of ‘buyer’s remorse’. ‘
‘ They’re convinced it should be simpler, there ‘
‘ should be a better way and, based on their ‘
‘ changing expectations, that it’s taking too long. ‘
‘ At the same time the sellers are amazing them- ‘
‘ selves (as they do each time they develop a new ‘
‘ system) that they are beginning to understand ‘
‘ enough to have some idea how to begin building
‘ the desired system. They move from a guess ‘
‘ based on whatever experience they could muster ‘
‘ to a real idea of how to proceed. This stage ‘
‘ defines what is often about the 25% point in
‘ project completion. ‘
‘ As the sellers make progress they learn how much
‘ they don’t or couldn’t know. On a recent big
‘ project the core software was a standard package
‘ named GoldMine and getting and implementing ‘
‘ it was ‘expected’ to be straightforward. But just ‘
‘ as the software was being purchased the ‘
‘ sellers learned that there was about to be a
‘ new version and so it immediately figured some ‘
‘ related changes into the plan. ‘
‘ Other un-expected changes included: ‘
‘ * Taking 3 months longer than advertised to ‘
‘ receive the upgraded software. ‘
‘ * Just before receipt it became clear that every ‘
one of the buyer’s PCs needed all software ‘
‘ re-installed in a prescribed order to enable ‘
‘ them to work with the new package. ‘
‘ * The sellers learned by trial-and-error that the ‘
software was not well understood by the ‘
‘ support staff of the company that makes it. ‘
‘ * Early on research determined that a product to ‘
‘ implement the envisioned technology was
‘ simply not available. So, the sellers ‘invented’ ‘
‘ a suitable alternative. After significant ‘
‘ investment in time (about 3 months) and money ‘
‘ a newly released product implementing the ‘
‘ originally envisioned technology was found. ‘
‘ The ‘invented’ approach was immediately ‘
‘ discarded and the new product purchased. ‘
‘ * The new product has unexpected quirks. It ‘
‘ took the sellers over a week to determine ‘
‘ that it would work as advertised if they ‘
‘ simply made sure to always make reference ‘
‘ to the same printing font. Who would have ‘
‘ guessed two fonts were bad and just one
‘ was good? Not the manufacturer and not ‘
‘ their documentation. ‘
‘ * There were others such developments but ‘
‘ you get the idea… ‘
‘ A systems project is typically never well under- ‘
‘ stood until it is well underway. Based on our ‘
‘ experience in many such projects at 2SS.Com ‘
‘ we’d say at least 25% and often as late as 75% ‘
into development. ‘
‘ Meanwhile the buyers are poised to be put off ‘
‘ by all this seeming indecision and redirection ‘
‘ that’s typical of today’s technology. In the ‘
’ simplest terms they wonder why can’t it be as ‘
‘ simple as Microsoft Word® or Quicken®, (buy it, ‘
‘ install it and be productive). Why can’t their ‘
‘ ‘new system’ experience be like that one? ‘
‘ They’re entitled, but even buyers understand ‘
‘ that they really can’s afford to invest in the ‘
‘ literally 1,000’s of man-hours and years of ‘
‘ revisions embedded in these products. They ‘
‘ get the logic but the feelings are very hard to ‘
‘ deny. ‘
‘ Finally near the end of the project the sellers ‘
‘ first discover how to reach the end. It’s not ‘
‘ everything the buyers envisioned (their vision ‘
‘ likely changed during the project). The buyers ‘
‘ learn reluctantly how to tell the difference ‘
‘ between: ‘
‘ * The systems they originally bought (the ‘
‘ original project scope), ‘
‘ * A problem or ‘bug’, and ‘
‘ * The enhancements they’d like incorporated in ‘
‘ the final product. ‘
‘ The last 10 percent to completion typically ‘
‘ stretches out more in time than cost as ‘
‘ unanticipated details get knocked off ‘
‘ one-by-one. ‘
‘ Long before computers then president HARRY S. ‘
‘ TRUMAN understood the relevant project ‘
‘ management issues very well when he said: ‘
“You can have it good or fast or cheap. ‘
‘ Pick any two.” ‘
‘ Systems projects demand a strong definition of ‘
‘ project scope and stronger persistence. Their ‘
‘ definition (e.g. what completion means) is ‘
‘ generally not well understood until well into the ‘
‘ actual implementation. And then as completion ‘
‘ becomes a possibility they demand persistence. ‘
‘ There is all the while an unavoidable pace of ‘
‘ change in technology that threatens the patience ‘
‘ of any sane buyer. ‘
‘ So buyer or seller, be prepared to adjust ‘
‘ expectations all along the way in order to have ‘
‘ the best chance to reach the end. And apply ‘
‘ Truman’s advice liberally in making decisions ‘
‘ about the system you really want. ‘
‘ At 2SS.Com a record of successful project ‘
‘ development efforts is tied closely to strong ‘
‘ specifications at the beginning, well-qualified ‘
‘ developers, extreme persistence and ‘
‘ CONSISTENT efforts to adjust expectations.
‘ The typical scenario is a system that does the ‘
‘ job, meets the budget and, just as Truman ‘
‘ would have guessed, is later than hoped for! ‘
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‘ --------------------------Item Two----------------------- ‘
‘ QUESTIONS? ‘
‘ ------------------------------------------------------------- ‘
‘ WHAT HAPPENED IN AUGUST? ‘
‘ The August issue of E-news was still in the ‘
‘ starting blocks late in August and was over- ‘
‘ taken when problems at MCI affected much of ‘
‘ Sacramento including 2SS.Com’s major client. ‘
‘ The problems caused the nation-wide life ‘
‘ insurance sales business to grind to a near halt ‘
‘ as MCI tried to figure out what had happened. ‘
‘ A full day and a half-later service was restored ‘
‘ but it took another 10+ days for problems with ‘
‘ suddenly ‘dropped calls’ to finally subside. And ‘
‘ that was not until there had been over 50 ‘
‘ contacts with MCI including 5 MCI trouble ‘
‘ tracking ticket numbers and at least 18 different ‘
‘ MCI people. ‘
‘ As of this writing MCI’s token response is about ‘
‘ one-third the estimated loss of revenue. ‘
‘ Needless to say 2SS.Com is re-thinking its
‘ recommendations on companies that offer long- ‘
’ distance services. ‘
‘ MORE ON MOORE’S LAW? ‘
‘ E-News Strategic Systems Advisory Panel ‘
‘ member Pete Michael added to the discussion: ‘
‘ Moore’s Law has received yet another reprieve ‘
‘ from scientists at the University of Michigan’s ‘
‘ Center for Biologic Nanotechnology who ‘
‘ have recently demonstrated a method of ‘
‘ reducing the size of electronic circuitry to the ‘
‘ molecular level, the theoretical limit. At this scale, ‘
‘ a supercomputer would be reduced to the size ‘
‘ of a piece of dust. ‘
‘ Nature has already accomplished this in terms ‘
‘ of what a piece of animal brain that size is ‘
‘ capable of accomplishing. ‘
‘ WHAT’s The FUTURE of E-NEWS? ‘
‘ Help us decide by answering our short one- ‘
‘ question poll on what you’d most like to see. Just ‘
‘ click on the link: ‘
‘ http://www.alxpoll.com/cgi-bin/poll.cgi?user=370905 ‘
‘ to help us steer toward future issues that offer ‘
‘ more interest and value to you. ‘
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‘ ----------------------Item Three------------------------ ‘
‘ STRATEGIC-USEFUL-INTERESTING LINKS ‘
‘ ------------------------------------------------------------- ‘
‘ 1. Poll for an opinion yourself! Members of the ‘
‘ Sacramento Metro Chamber may have seen ‘
‘ the link http://www.alxpoll.com which takes ‘
‘ you to a site where you can set up a FREE ‘
‘ poll of your own just like the one above. ‘
‘ 2. Turn any PDF, RTF, DOC, TXT, XLS, or ‘
‘ PPT file into an HTML page that you can ‘
‘ post on the Internet or an Intranet at ‘
‘ http://www.gohtm.com/options.asp . The service ‘
‘ is free after you register and frequent users ‘
‘ can purchase the program to install on their PC. ‘
‘ 3. Want FREE news, weather and more on your ‘
‘ PCS phone. Try http://mobile.msn.com/edit ‘
‘ where you can set it up and get it sent to your ‘
‘ phone whenever you like. ‘
‘ 4. Take The MS Office Test? ‘
‘ MS Office users, do you want to know how ‘
‘ your MS Office skills rate? ‘
‘ Take a FREE Brainbench certification exam ‘
‘ ONLINE and find out how good your skills ‘
‘ really are. ‘
‘ Everyday, thousands of computer users take ‘
‘ a FREE Brainbench certification exam online
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‘ get a better understanding of their strengths ‘
‘ and weaknesses or to earn a certification ‘
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‘ -------------------------Item Four----------------------- ‘
‘ THERE”S MORE TO E-MAIL COMING… ‘
‘ Very soon some company (maybe FireDrop, Inc.) ‘
‘ will introduce to you what they call Zaplets. These ‘
‘ are essentially mini-web pages that arrive in your ‘
‘ E-Mail in-box just like normal e-mail. But they can ‘
‘ do much more than just pass along a message. ‘
‘ As an example, an IT manager could send one ‘
‘ out to assess employees' needs for as software ‘
‘ upgrade. As responses come in the Zaplet ‘
‘ tabulates the answer and updates itself. Each time ‘
‘ the manager opens the original message it ‘
‘ would display the latest summary results. ‘
‘ Currently most of the Zaplets that FireDrop has ‘
‘ created are for consumers. But the likely uses of ‘
‘ Zaplets in businesses include hiring and recruiting ‘
‘ employees and scheduling and tracking the ‘
‘ outcomes of meetings. ‘
‘ FireDrop is working to issue a set of APIs for ‘
‘ their Zaplets that developers can use. The first ‘
‘ Zaplet-based business applications should begin ‘
‘ appearing in the next few months. ‘
‘ [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] ‘
‘ -------------------------Item Five----------------------- ‘
‘ WHY SUBSCRIBE? ‘
‘ 2SS.Com & YOUR SUBSCRIPTION ‘
‘ ------------------------------------------------------------- ‘
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