November 26th, 2008

The IT ‘Devil’s Triangle’ [podcast]

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 6:07 am

Categories: Vendor relationships, Project management, Interview, IT issues, Project strategy, CIO issues, Consulting, Podcast

Tags: Software, Software Company, Information Technology, System Integrator, Brian, Podcasts, Tools & Techniques, Outsourcing, Strategy, Internet

Three roles dominate virtually every significant IT project: technology supplier, system integrator or consultant, and end-user or customer. These groups have interlocking, and often conflicting, agendas that drive many projects toward failure.

In this podcast, ZDNet colleague, Brian Sommer, shares hard-hitting insight on this IT devil’s triangle and describes its impact on project success and failure. Brian is a long-time market analyst and customer advocate with a no-nonsense style developed over years working with customers, integrators, and technology vendors.

Brian’s perspective helps explain fundamental motivations behind system integrators and their relationship with customers.

• Related: The ERP devil’s triangle

On system integrators vs. consultants:

In the past, management advisory services firms provided independent advice and counsel to clients and tended to put their clients’ interests ahead of their own. That was the golden age of management consulting.

Read the rest of this entry »

November 18th, 2008

Texas gov. intercedes in failing IBM project

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 7:19 am

Categories: Vendor relationships, Project failures, Government projects, Implementation, IT issues, Project strategy, CIO issues, Financial impact, Politics, Cultural issues

Tags: Texas, IBM Corp., Advertising & Promotion, Marketing, Michael Krigsman, Agency, State, Backups, Outsourcing, It Operations

Texas Governor, Rick Perry, ordered state agencies to stop transferring data to IBM to prevent data loss on a failing project. Texas also fined IBM $900,000 for failing to meet data backup requirements specified in the state’s $863M outsourcing contract.

This backup situation represents only tip of the iceberg with lots more failure to come. Be forewarned: as they say, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

The Dallas Morning News reported:

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November 12th, 2008

Cadillacs recalled over software bug

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 6:14 am

Categories: Project failures, IT issues, End-user impact

Tags: Software, General Motors Corp., Software Bug, Software Problem, Tools & Techniques, Management, Michael Krigsman

General Motors issued a recall for almost 13,000 Cadillac CTS vehicles, due to a software bug in the airbag sensor. Transportation-related software problems happen all the time.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) lists details:

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November 3rd, 2008

Salesforce.com ‘gets’ enterprise blogging

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 9:49 am

Categories: IT issues, SaaS, PaaS, and SOA, CIO issues, Salesforce.com, Dreamforce 2008

Tags: Marc Benioff, Conference, Blogger, Blogging, Cloud Computing, Internet, Michael Krigsman

Salesforce.com’s annual conference, called Dreamforce, started on a great note for bloggers. Recognizing the growing importance of bloggers in the media ecosystem, the company positioned a blogger VIP section immediately in front of the stage.

If you’re interested in enterprise software blogging, this is positive news indeed. Fellow Enterprise Irregular, Vinnie Mirchandani, agrees.

CEO Marc Benioff, begin his introductory speech in pure messianic style:

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October 24th, 2008

Managing recession: IT failures and layoffs

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 7:10 am

Categories: IT issues, CIO issues

Tags: Layoff, Recession, Information Technology, Worker, Workforce Management, Human Resources, Michael Krigsman

If recession hits, organizations will put failing projects under the microscope, making layoffs likely. If you’re an IT manager, there are several issues to consider when deciding which project and personnel to release. Once you’ve made these decisions, it’s important to conduct layoffs compassionately.

The first step toward IT project downsizing is deciding which projects are most valuable to the organization. For both political and practical reasons, this can be a tricky decision. On the political side, one man’s failure can be another man’s pet project; I once witnessed a CEO accuse his key vice president of “meddling,” when the junior person suggested terminating an obvious project failure. That company didn’t last long.

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October 5th, 2008

ZDNet editorial independence and blogging about politics [off-topic]

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 3:36 pm

Categories: Blog annoucements, Politics

Tags: Blog, CBS Corp., Blogging, Internet, Michael Krigsman

Last Friday, I posted a political cartoon that sparked a lively debate among talkbackers. In that discussion, some folks incorrectly suggested that ZDNet and CBS management have influence over blog content. That suggestion is flat wrong.

One commenter seemed to think ZDNet bloggers are part of a politically motivated “media machine:”

Seriously, what is this [political topic] doing on ZDNet? Oh, wait, I forgot, they got bought out by CBS and now they are just another outlet for the media to tell me what I should think. Vote against Obama and vote against the media machine!

Another commenter took issue with my implicitly taking a political position:

Michael, not your strongest post… saturated as we are with partisan politics in virtually every other media output, I had hoped that I could avoid political commentary here on your IT Failures blog.

These comments raise two questions:

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October 3rd, 2008

Stop brain-dead software testing!

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 7:51 am

Categories: Project management, IT issues, CIO issues

Tags: Software, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Software Testing, Failure, Erik Hollnagel, Tools & Techniques, Strategy, Management, Michael Krigsman

Lousy software testing damages many IT projects. When testing doesn’t uncover obvious problems that prevent software from operating as users expect, then failed projects are inevitable.

The consequences of brain-dead testing can be severe. For example, clothing retailer J.Crew recently had serious customer relationship problems when it deployed poorly tested software:

J.Crew reported weaker than expected second-quarter earnings due to severe problems following a website and call center upgrade. The fiasco caused cost the company $3 million in addition to lost sales and dissatisfied customers.

• Related: J.Crew: Failed upgrade hits financial performance

Last April’s massive IT failure at Heathrow Airport’s terminal T5 was also caused by brain-dead testing. In a moment of understatement adding insult to injury, British Airways CEO, Willie Walsh, commented:

We are working hard to tackle the difficulties we have had with the terminal’s baggage system. From time to time problems have developed that were not encountered during the extensive trials.

• Related: IT failure at Heathrow T5: What really happened

For another example of testing madness, look no further than Georgia Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Last August, the company wrongly released 200,000 medical records into the wild because of poor testing. A spokesperson told me:

There was a system change that was not comprehensively tested. We have already made changes to prevent it from happening in the future.

• Related: Failed IT causes major Georgia Blue Cross health privacy breach

Click for five important tips to improve implementation testing. –>

September 27th, 2008

Why IT projects fail [reverse podcast]

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 4:35 pm

Categories: Project management, Interview, IT issues, Project strategy, CIO issues, Podcast, Politics, Cultural issues, openworld08

Tags: Project, Information Technology, Podcasts, Team Management, Strategy, Internet, Management, Michael Krigsman

[Click the graphic above to jump to the podcast.]

I caught up with CRM guru, Paul Greenberg, at Oracle OpenWorld this past week in San Francisco for a reverse podcast. Although I usually ask the questions, this time Paul interviewed me for his CRM career site. We discussed several key issues to help IT folks understand failing projects they may encounter.

The conversation begins with a review of why 30-70 percent of IT projects fail in some important way: these projects are either late, over-budget, or don’t deliver the scope promised when the project began.

Political issues are among the most significant causes of problems on IT projects. Paul asked me to elaborate on this topic:

In an ideal world, everyone pulls together for the sake of the team. In some cases, one or more team members may pursue an alternate agenda, or personal goal, that conflicts with accomplishing the project mission. In extreme cases, these folks can actually sabotage the project.

Most of these political operators are easy to identify and only cause the team hassle and inconvenience. On the other hand, truly skillful political players are subtle and nuanced, which sometimes makes them almost impossible to spot. These folks can be dangerous, self-interested people; fortunately, relatively few of these nasty creatures roam the halls of IT project management.

Listen to the podcast to learn about denial and the moment of project truth: when an organization realizes it has wasted big bucks on a project that’s going down the tubes.

September 18th, 2008

3 steps to IT preventive maintenance

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 7:15 am

Categories: IT issues, CIO issues, Project portfolio management

Tags: Project, Information Technology, Roi/Tco, Team Management, Strategy, Finance, Managerial Accounting, Management, Michael Krigsman

As Wall Street struggles and economic markets seesaw, it’s time to perform preventive maintenance on your IT project machine.

Poorly performing projects waste precious budgets, hurt morale, and pull dollars from ROI-producing activities. Follow these steps to ensure that manageable problems don’t become expensive failures:

1. Examine the portfolio

The first step is establishing systematic criteria against which you can evaluate your portfolio. Some examples include:

• Value. Rank your projects on a relative scale of significance to the business. Let’s face it, some projects matter more than others and you identify the most important ones.
• Risk. All things being equal, keep the projects you can finish easily and successfully. Balancing project risk against strategic business value is a critical part of this equation.
• ROI. Determine which projects offer the clearest financial benefits to the organization. Conversely, take a hard look at projects offering murky financial returns that can’t be quantified.

2. Gain consensus to reduce trauma

Natural selection is an important part of ongoing portfolio maintenance. Not all projects are created equal, making periodic reviews both desirable and healthy. That said, many organizations have difficulty stopping any project mid-stream.

Given reluctance to interfere with ongoing projects, it’s important help your team recognize the need for action. To make that process easier, remind colleagues that it’s far better to kill a marginal project today than to face an enormous failure tomorrow.

3. Pull the plug decisively

Having identified the poor project performers and gotten the team to agree, it’s time to pull the plug.

Make your decision, line up whatever support you might need, and then just do it. Be prepared to explain your logic and reasoning to the naysayers but move forward as planned.

——

Let’s face it, killing troubled projects is neither fun nor easy. However, it’s a natural process and key part of preventive maintenance for your IT portfolio.

[Image via MJ Mechanical Services.]

August 14th, 2008

SAP: Transparent SME ‘deep dive’

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 8:41 am

Categories: Packaged Services, IT issues, CIO issues, Consulting, SAP, BOBJSUMMIT08

Tags: Small And Medium Enterprise, SAP AG, Smb/Sme, Blogging, Internet, Michael Krigsman

Following it’s Business Objects Influencer Summit, SAP held a small and medium enterprise “deep dive” event for bloggers, analysts, and press. Both SAP’s strategy and the company’s openness were impressive.

SME portfolio strategy. Jeff Stiles, SAP’s Senior Vice President for SAP SME Solution Marketing, articulated a coherent product offering that segments the market along several dimensions:

• Customer size
• Business and organizational complexity
• Growth rate and trajectory
• IT infrastructure capability
• Preference for on-premise vs. software as a service (SaaS) solutions

In a follow-up email, Jeff commented:

The other thing that should be considered is how an organization competes (do they need to deeply customize the solution to fit their unique needs?)

SAP’s offering to the SME market consists of the following:

Business One: SAP’s product for “small businesses that have outgrown their accounting only applications.” Appropriate customers will generally be under 100 employees with 30 users.

Business byDesign: SaaS offering for “fast-growing midsize companies, with limited software & systems, that don’t want to build a large IT backbone.” While the target market for byDesign appears to overlap Business One and All-in-One, the hosted aspect is one strong point of differentiation.

All-in-One: Aimed at “mid-size companies looking for a solution that meets their demanding industry requirements and helps grow and scale the business.” This product can handle much of the business complexity addressed by SAP’s large enterprise suite, but is designed for smaller companies.

The following graphic summarizes these points (adapted from an SAP-supplied slide):

The clarity and quality of SAP’s SME strategy has come a long way over the past several years. As Dennis Howlett commented on Business One:

My past experience with BusinessOne is of a solution that was relatively stagnant in the market, of less than competitive functionality and suffering from performance issues. That was two years ago. Today, the product is improved from every angle. Performance has been beefed up significantly, quality has improved but most important, smart VARs have figured the current iteration provides a genuinely viable alternative to Microsoft products.

Implementation innovations. From a project failures perspective, I want to highlight the SAP Best Practices component of All-in-One. Rooted in work started in the mid-1990s by SAP’s Simplification Group, SAP Best Practices advances the implementation state of the art.

Here’s SAP’s slide on this topic:

In my view, productizing knowledge represents one of the best opportunities for reducing software implementation time and expense. On a directly related note, I also believe that packaged services will ultimately form the basis for all but the most complex implementation consulting efforts across the enterprise software industry.

Software vendors and consultants can improve implementation efficiency through standardized implementation road maps, structured pre-configuration analysis, and consistent information sharing from pre-sales through go-live. However, given the organizational complexity around selling and deploying enterprise software, combined with technical configuration challenges, achieving these goals has been elusive.

It’s worth mentioning that some third-party consultants and system integrators resist implementation efficiency because it reduces billable hours. Although many consultants hate failure, I believe third-party billing churn continues to be consulting’s dirty little secret.

Although I haven’t spoken with SAP customers about specific Best Practices-based implementations, both concept and presentation pass the smell test. [Disclosure: For many years, starting in 1996, my company was deeply involved in developing the first generations of SAP’s rapid implementation tools. I have no such relationship with SAP at present.]

What’s missing. While SAP’s small and medium enterprise positioning has become crisper over time, several points remain confusing:

• The positioning still needs additional focus and clarification. For example, overlaps between byDesign and and the other products need further definition. In addition, the line between All-in-One and the larger Business Suite product remains somewhat fuzzy.
• SAP’s statement of long-term commitment to byDesign needs reinforcement. Changes in byDesign’s product release strategy, combined with the company’s historical large enterprise focus, could make potential customers skittish about adopting this offering. If SAP is serious about byDesign, it must put a definite stake in the ground and make clear its intention to remain solidly behind this product for the long haul.

Transparency and openness. The SME deep dive raises the bar on communications by enterprise software vendors. Led by Jeff Stiles, SAP executives, partners, and customers accepted challenging questions from the small audience (30 people). To his credit, Jeff allowed the full-day schedule to drift based on audience interest in particular topics. While many of the questions were tough and analytical, the answers were straightforward and reflected confidence in the offerings.

SAP blogging. Many of the day’s most insightful questions came from Enterprise Irregulars attending as guests of SAP’s blogger outreach initiative: Vinnie Mirchandani, Dennis Howlett, Brian Sommer, Sandy Kemsley, and myself. Run by SAP’s Mike Prosceno and Stacey Fish, the program offers bloggers unprecedented access to SAP senior executives and information. With this program, SAP sets the enterprise software standard in providing transparency to bloggers.

Note to other enterprise software companies: transparency is a sign of confidence and demonstrates you have nothing to hide. Let’s see you step up and meet the openness challenge.