The iRise Blog

There is a new study out by IAG Consulting that confirms many previous studies and the gut-level feeling that most of us have around requirements, namely that companies with poor requirement gathering processes are going to have more project failures than successes.  In fact, the new IAG study points out that companies with poor business analysis capabilities will have 3 times as many project failures as successes.  The report also went on to state that effective business requirements are a process and not a “deliverable”.

One of the more telling graphics pointed out that the competency of the business analyst team had a significant impact on successful projects.  Companies in the lower 3rd of competency classified only 10% of their projects as successful or unqualified successes.  On the other hand, companies in the upper 3rd of competency described more than 70% of their projects as successful

IAG also quantified the inefficiency of poor requirements using an average project size of $3 million.  Companies with poor requirements processes will:

• Be on budget less than 20% of the time
• Be massively over budget in time and budget about 50% of the time
• Spend about 75% per project more than companies who follow best requirements practices

The survey focused on larger companies with development projects with budgets in excess of $250,000 and that delivered significantly new functionality and the average project size in the study was $3 million.

The Executive Summary is available from the IAG website.  The full text report can also be downloaded by registering at the IAG Research Library and the press release on the study can be found here.

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Global sourcing is delivering expected cost savings in most cases, according to a recent study done by Deloitte Consulting, covered here in an InformationWeek article. Of the 300 companies surveyed, 70% were satisfied with their sourcing relationships, with 83% reporting an average ROI of 25%. But only one in three executives that participated claimed they are gaining important benefits from innovation or transformational ideas from these relationships.

I would suggest that visualization has to be THE most critical weapon of choice as companies move their global sourcing strategies to the next level. That becomes painfully clear in the survey when IT executives complained about “underestimating the project’s scope, higher-than-expected costs, and poor-quality communications, service, and reporting from their service providers” as the main reasons they drop their services partners. If you’re contemplating moving your global sourcing partnerships from maintenance and support functions to take on new application development, then communication is critical. Visualizing the final product ahead of time with something that all global stakeholders can fully experience can only help drive closer communication, better estimates, faster turn-around and lower risk to the project.

Visualization (in the form of CAD & 3D Modeling tools) has helped traditional manufacturing organizations build better cars, airplanes, computers, etc. in a global sourcing model. Time to market has been cut in half, with better quality products built in a fraction of the cost. It’s time that software catches up!

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In the Catalyze community webcast this week, Barbara Carkenord from B2T Training talked about ways to improve communication with project stakeholders and create a “Sure-fire Communication Strategy”.  As is the case in many initiatives, being successful comes down to paying attention to the People, Project and Process. 

The keys to a sure-fire strategy are:

• Understand the unique characteristics of each project
• Support the organizational standards and processes of your company
• Get to know the people, their roles and both the subjective and objective characteristics

She also outlined “The 7 Golden Rules” for creating a sure-fire communication strategy:

1. Identify the people
2. Get to know them
3. Engage them early and communicate often
4. Identify potential problems and risks
5. Reduce problems with a communication plan
6. Fit that knowledge into your work plan
7. Review alignment to project goals and adjust as necessary

During the Q&A, two other interesting topics were discussed.  While answering a question about what to do when you realize that a project should not continue, Barb referenced a book called Death March by Ed Yourdon about surviving “mission impossible” projects.  She also talked about how great managers must employ “intelligent disobedience” to be most successful.  Intelligence disobedience requires taking risks, creativity, flexibility and perseverence and not ’sugar coating’ conversations with stakeholders.  An article by Bob McGannon has been posted to Catalyze on the topic.

Be sure to check Catalyze for copies of Barb’s presentation and webcast.

• Presentation slides
• Webcast recording

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A recent article by Steve Lohr in the New York Times caught my attention. He was talking about the effects of the expected economic downturn (ok he used the recession word) on technology spending. That followed up by a related article on the InformationWeek site this week coming to the same conclusion. I’m glad to see the mainstream media is not playing their usual role of “Chicken Little” declaring that the technology sky is falling.

We see it the same way.

Cycles of economic boom and “correction” are normal and really not something to panic about. Whether the economy is bullish or bearish doesn’t change fundamental business execution. In fact, forward-thinking companies use periods of economic turnmoil to accelerate investments in technology at a time when maybe their competition is being conservative. When the ecomony starts rolling again, they come out ahead.

Most of the CIOs and business executives we’ve talked with in the last few months expect the economy to get worse before it gets better. But the laws of supply and demand will eventually catch up and the global economy will improve. In the meantime, global spending on business software is actually increasing in 2008, to $191 billion according to industry analyst powerhouse Gartner Group. These projects may shift their focus to efficiency and productivity gains as companies try to lower costs. And some companies might slow down ‘risky’ innovation initiatives. In any case, hundreds of billions of dollars are still going to be spent on technology projects. The success of these initiatives rests squarely on the communication between business people and IT. Visualization becomes the key strategy for getting these projects delivered on time and on budget; whether you’re innovating or tightening your belt.

The bottom line? Technology companies that solve big problems will do just fine. And visualization solves one of the biggest problems out there.

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We’ve just launched the first in a series of podcasts. After listening to feedback from customers, partners and even our own sales staff, we’ve been able to generate a slate of issues that have become the editorial calendar for the show’s programming. In each episode, we’ll dive deep into the topic with an iRise executive, customer or partner in our extended ecosystem. The show is hosted by David Spark, technology journalist and founder of Spark Media Solutions. In this first podcast entitled, “How iRise Works with SAP,” Spark talks with Sherrick Murdoff, iRise’s VP of Business Development and Global Alliances.

Read the Transcript Download the MP3

• The business process behind using iRise to simulate custom SAP and other packaged applications (also see posts Top 10 IT Predictions (#2) and iRise Simulates SAP)
• Why visualizing your packaged application (e.g SAP CRM) in iRise takes 1/3 the time of existing prototyping tools
• How global systems integrators (e.g. Capgemini) leverage iRise for custom installations in specific verticals (e.g. finance, health care)

We also have a brief position paper on the topic which can be found here.

Subscribe to the podcast now to receive future episodes directly to your iPod or MP3 player.

We’ll be announcing more of these podcasts in coming months and in the meantime, if there’s a topic you feel we could shed some light on, drop me a line at carlas (at) irise.com.

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Dana Stalder, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Merchant Services and Marketing at PayPal, Inc., just joined our Board. Stalder’s a strong addition to the team because of his experience and knowledge in finance, operations and software-as-a-service (SaaS) - all invaluable experience as iRise expands and diversifies the business.

The press release can be found here.

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Are you having trouble communicating with your stakeholders?  Do you want to improve how you gather requirements?

If so, you should join the Catalyze Community monthly webcast on February 14th with Barbara Carkenord from  B2T Training as she explains how to  design a sure-fire strategy for developing a communication plan.

Both business analysts and usability professionals will be more effective when they think ahead about how best to communicate with their stakeholders.  This presentation provides attendees with a communication planning technique that can easily be used on any project. 

Webcast Details:

• Date and Time — Thursday, February 14 at 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern
• Registration — Sign up at this link
• Recording – If you miss the live broadcast, the recording and presentation will be posted in Catalyze by February 18

Barbara is the President of B2T Training and has over 20 years experience in business analysis.  Barbara has an MBA from University of Michigan and is a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP).

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This month iRise announced a partnership with Advanced Concepts Center (ACC), a consulting and learning solutions company. ACC offers technology education services to business analysts to improve employee productivity. We’re excited about this collaboration as it’s another step in normalizing visualization software as a global standard for companies building business applications. This partnership is, in part, a response to the  evolving role of the business analyst (BA) in successfully communicating business initiatives.

In this new order where usability is king, the disconnect between business and IT is no longer acceptable.  For many companies, the answer to this eternal question is the savvy business analyst; that rare bird who is both business- and technical-minded.  According to Gartner Research there are 600,000 business analysts in the U.S.  Like it or not, the BA is fast becoming a linchpin for which the success of business initiatives hinge.  For iRise, training BAs on our visualization software is a natural fit.  With ACC on board, the business analyst has even more training options available.  We welcome them into our growing cadre of regional partners.

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I’ve spent some time over the last few months pondering the idea of design thinking.  Part of it was driven by the webcast that Linda Yaven gave on “Making Thinking Visible” for the Catalyze Community and part of it was driven by what I see are the key competitive pressures in marketplace.  It seems that more companies and organizations are starting to talk about increasing their innovation and improving time-to-market instead of cutting costs and reducing errors in their software development process.  But there seems to be a gap in the discussion about how they’re going to get there - which brings up design thinking.

What is Design Thinking?  Design thinking is a creative process of ‘building up’ ideas (vs. critical thinking which is generally associated with ‘breaking down’ ideas).  Design thinking is inherently collaborative as groups of people from different disciplines get together to brainstorm, communicate and develop new and creative solutions to problems.  Since there are no judgements or fear of failure in the design thinking process, design thinking encourages maximum input and participation. 

In Linda’s webcast, she noted that design thinking is not a genetic trait, but that all of us are capable of learning how to be design thinkers.  She also pointed out that design thinking is a method and a mind-set, and involves learning by doing or what she referred to as immersive thinking.  While design is subject to personal tastes and whims, design thinkers share a common set of values that drive innovation.  These traits include creativity, curiosity, ability to visualize, neutrality, environmentally centered, optimism and teamwork.

Why is Design Thinking Important?  Design thinking improves collaboration and will drive innovation.  Companies that apply design thinking will become the market leaders that develop new and innovative products and services.  Since they will be able to test and experiment with many ideas, they will have a built-in evolutionary advantage over companies stuck in a purely analytical mindset.  As noted in an article on Design Thinking by Tim Hyler (referenced below), “Design as an innovative problem-solving methodology is fast becoming an imperative business strategy.”

How Does Design Thinking Relate to iRise?  Design thinking includes the following processes or stages (courtesy of Wikipedia):

1. Define
2. Research
3. Ideate
4. Prototype
5. Choose
6. Implement
7. Learn

iRise fits squarely in the middle of the design thinking process as we enable companies to rapidly prototype or simulate different ideas and alternatives.  In fact, it could be argued iRise is the tool that makes design thinking practical and possible for most companies. 

Where Can I Learn More About Design Thinking?  Design thinking is just starting to gain mainstream visibility in the business world and there are many sources with additional information.  Here are a few to get you started:

From the Catalyze Community:

• Making Thinking Visible webcast and presentation
• Design Education Applications for Business article by Linda Yaven
• Intro to Design Thinking article from Red Hat Magazine

iRise Blog Entry - Are You A Design Thinker?

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