CSS Blog http://www.cssus.comFri, 18 May 2012 11:13:00 GMTTue, 20 Dec 2011 19:25:03 GMTEyes Wide Open: The Value of an Upgrade Assessmenthttp://www.cssus.com/eyes-wide-open-the-value-of-an-upgrade-assessmentThu, 20 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMTBill FranklinA football team would not go into a big game without a game plan. They have scouted the other team to try to understand what will happen in the game and developed a plan around it. A major upgrade takes the same kind of preparation. What is your upgrade strategy? Will you duplicate existing processes in the new release or will you look for opportunities to implement new functionality? Will you try to eliminate modifications or bring over everything as-is? What about roll-out strategy? Will you phase the upgrade or go “big-bang”? What is the risk vs. cost of each method? How will you train and support your end users? Is this a 6 month project or a 2 year project? An upgrade assessment should answer 3 major questions:

1. What is your resource availability? If your game plan calls for a heavy running attack but your star running back is injured, you might need to either rethink your game plan or make sure you have another playmaker. Similarly, if you want to make major improvements in your warehousing processes but your key resources are busy bringing a new distribution center online, you may need to rethink your project strategy or see if other knowledgeable resources are available. This is also a big part of your budget so you really need to know how many, and what kind of, resources, both internal and external, are required for the project. Most companies look at the cost of external resources because it is easy to measure. Some companies add the cost of internal resources to the budget and some don’t but in either case you need to know if sufficient resources are even available. Even in a technical upgrade, some internal resources are required and in a process improvement project, you have to consider the availability of business, as well as IT, resources.

2. How much will it cost? IT Leaders are faced with a dilemma on every project - overestimate the project and you jeopardize approval, underestimate it and you risk having to ask for more money later. An upgrade assessment can help identify all costs associated with an upgrade project. It doesn’t necessarily make the upgrade less expensive but it does give you more confidence in the accuracy of your budget.

3. How long will it take and how it will impact the business? A major upgrade project usually means that other IT projects must be put on hold. How long will other initiatives have to wait? What will be the impact to the business? Can the business and/or IT handle another major project right now? These questions and others should be answered BEFORE obtaining funding for your project. An upgrade assessment can give you confidence that you that your project budget and timeline truly reflect the costs and tasks required for success.

What's your gameplan?

]]>http://www.cssus.com/eyes-wide-open-the-value-of-an-upgrade-assessmentResults and Relationships: A Message to CIOshttp://www.cssus.com/results-and-relationships-a-message-to-ciosWed, 19 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMTTom ColbertI honestly can’t count the number of meetings I have witnessed where the gap between IT and Business is so wide you could fit a Mack truck through the middle of it. Today, achieving results on a project requires driving relationships not just technology. For many CIOs, mastering the technical aspects and following through on projects isn't a dilemma. Managing organizational change and professional relationships that present risks to a project, is another story.

Often the level of trust between IT and Business (vs. the technical discipline involved) will determine the success of the project. Moreover, the bridge to a successful project requires developing a clear understanding between IT and Business about what should be accomplished, and then helping both disciplines envision the desired result.

As IT professionals, we are invited into the business to act in an advisory role, helping them clarify decisions and reach goals. This sounds good in some in-flight magazine article, but life on an ERP project presents a plethora of daily challenges. Along with milestones from the project plan, we must focus a lot of attention on relationships. The relationships cultivated with stakeholders are as important as the deliverables we hand in at the end of each day. Neglect the relationships, and you will comprise your passport to success. It’s as simple as that. Understand that you job is managing relationships and you will become a trusted advisor and resource for years to come. At the heart of this “advisory-building” process are six simple, yet powerful, personal agreements:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word.
2. Don’t Take Things Personally.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions.
4. Always Do Your Best.
5. Focus On The Result Of The Behavior, Not Just The Behavior.
6. Rules Without Relationships Lead To Active Or Passive Rebellion.

In the interest of space, and the fact that I have a hot pizza waiting, I’ll focus on the fifth agreement, and attempt to pick up the others next time.

Focus on the result of behaviors, not just the behaviors.

“Don’t look at the behavior, look at the result of the behavior”. As a clinical and organizational psychologist, I’m not sure how many times I have given this advice. It matters not what relationship we are engaged in – a resistant process owner, disgruntled CEO, your children, or even your neighbor that refuses to return the ladder he browed a year ago, it is best to always ask yourself “what are they walking away with, and what am I walking away with?”

We are conditioned to gravitate toward people’s behaviors. This is especially true with ERP implementations and upgrades, as behaviors are often the only tangible “feedback” we can count on. The key is to look past the behaviors to the results of those behaviors. If we consistently focus on the results, and not trying to change the behaviors themselves, we will provide a higher level of value and build stronger relationships with our teams and stakeholders across the enterprise. This concept is based upon a psychological law called unconscious intentionality.

Let me give you an example.

A mother came to me expressing a desire to have her four year old tested for learning disabilities. She feared he was “clothing dyslexic” because he was not able to put his pants on correctly.
“But,” the mother stated, “he really cannot put his pants on right. He always puts them on with the opening in the back. And, when this happens he has a fit, he gets frustrated, angry, and so hurt.”
“Do you think it is possible that he does this on purpose?” I replied.
“No! Not at all! I know you think everything he does is on purpose, but you should see him. How upset he gets when he finds that he didn’t succeed. If you could see him, you’d know I am right. This is very traumatic for him. He just can’t do it right.”
I gently smiled and asked, “Do you think I can convince you that he knows how to put them on right?”
“No! I know what I know, and what I see and deal with every day.”
“Ok, can I ask you a couple of questions?”
“Of course,” stated the mother, bracing herself in a non-trusting position suspecting that I was to throw out some crazy theory that would try to get her to change her mind.
“Let me ask you this first”, I started. “Suppose that your son was really unable to know, he was born blind, and say his pants were half black and half white. Now, let’s say the right way to put them on was with the black on the front. How often would he have the black on the front?”
“I guess 50% – half of the time.”
“Statically, at least 25% of time he should be able to get it right. How many times have you seen your son put his pants on?”
“Many times.”
“Has he ever put them on right?”
“Never.”
“What do you think about that?”
The mother thought about it, “If he really didn’t know, I could expect him to get it right at least some of the time.”
“That’s right. By pure chance he should get them 12-25 out of 50 times.”
Then she got excited, “But, you don’t understand how hard it is for him, how upset he gets.”
I clamed her down, asking, “Describe to me what happens.”
“It just happened this morning. While I was asking him to get dressed the phone rang, it was one of my friends. Before too long I had to get off the phone and run into his room because he was crying and very upset. There he was, with his pants on wrong. I held him and calmed him down, helped him get his pants on right, told him how much he was loved and that it was going to be a good day. Eventually we were able to go about our business.”
“You have a very smart son!” I replied. “It would be dumb for him to get his pants on right. You give him attention and service. Think about it. Your son successfully got you away from your friend and hold of your full attention. He got the tactical stimulation of putting the pants on right. He received hugs, kisses, affirmation, and encouraging words from his mother. You reward him for doing it wrong by giving him all this, and if he did it right, my guess is you would pay no attention. If you want to change the behavior, look beyond the behavior, and change the result. In essence, that’s all we really have control over anyway.”
The mother’s mouth was open in surprise. The logic was overwhelming.

This illustrates unconscious intentionally. The boy did not (most probably) consciously intend to put his pants on backwards, and his trauma was most likely genuine. Nevertheless, by consistently getting it wrong when he should have gotten it right at least some of the time, tells us he intended to do it – whether he was aware of it or not. This is not too dissimilar from what we are faced with on a daily basis with the stakeholders of our projects. Often the worst behaviors we have to deal with are simply forms of resistance that are being consistently rewarded. Be oriented toward results. IT extends beyond an advising role — we are active partners in assisting the business in reaching targeted goals. To not only recommend solutions, but also help implement them; and this often means changing the results of well-established behaviors and patterns. Like the mother above, if we get hooked into only the behavior, we loose our ability to move forward and we become part of the problem, not the solution.

Your thoughts?

]]>http://www.cssus.com/results-and-relationships-a-message-to-ciosOracle OpenWorld 2011http://www.cssus.com/oracle-openworld-2011Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMTNancy LochmanWhat did you think of Oracle OpenWorld this year?

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