Scrum Construction Lifecycle

So, whats new for 2015?

Its that time of the year when the soothsayers, astrologers, and Gartner look deep into the crystal ball and let us know what we short sighted commoners can't see. The predictions for 2015 are not largely different from the list for 2014 - may be they have just revised the stats around them. We have heard most of them before in a different wrapper - IoT/smart machines, 3D printing, cloud, analytics, contextualization.

Risk based security and self-protection is a complex sounding entity in the list. I have heard a similar sounding term thrown at me by my investment adviser. I am waiting for 2015 to reveal what this is all about!

 

Commoditized IT

In the Spring 2005 issue of the MIT Sloan Management Review, Nicholas Carr suggested in his article “The End of Corporate Computing” that the commoditization of information technology would signal the end of corporation owned and operated IT in favor of a centralized set of utility-style providers. In other words - outsourcing will be the way forward for greater profitability and efiiciency.

But somewhere between then and now, things started to change slowly in unexpected ways. Yes, IT has indeed become a commodity. Absorbing the following definiton of Commoditization, we can see how well it applies to IT.

"Commoditization occurs as a goods or services market loses differentiation across its supply base, often by the diffusion of the intellectual capital necessary to acquire or produce it efficiently. As such, goods that formerly carried premium margins for market participants have become commodities....."

But, companies are far from letting go of their hold on IT, and are giving charge of formerly outsourced activities to their own in-house IT departments.

IT, like many other commodities, is governed by the resource dependency theory: When a resource becomes so ubiquitous that it becomes essential to survival, the risks imposed by its absence outweigh the burdens of maintaining its availability. IT processes are fully integrated in nearly all business practices, from simple e-mails and data storage to more complicated core practices such as forecasting and audit procedures. IT has become so ubiquitous, in fact, that it is taking on another common attribute of commodities — the need for government oversight and regulation.

A similar situation is occurring with IT. For example, U.S. government regulations requiring 911 emergency service across broadband and digital phone providers. Information technology controls that specifically address financial risks may be within the scope of a SOX 404 assessment. IT control objectives relate to the confidentiality, integrity, and reliability of data and the overall management of the IT function of the business enterprise. Thus companies now feel less secure outsourcing these controls, especially because the penalty for failing to meet these standards does not fall on the outsourcing partner but on the reporting company.

A key finding was that outsourcing generates new risks and made compliance regulation
complex. Upon canceling the deal with IBM global Services , Austin Adams,
JPMorgan CIO, said: “The decision to cancel the outsourcing deal wasn’t driven entirely by cost savings. It was about our belief that we wanted to be more involved in every aspect of our business, and technology is a significant part.” Kurt Potter,
research director at Gartner Inc.,says "....Declining asset lifecycles, constant business changes, cost, innovation, and cultural/business fit are affecting the contract length in the life of an outsourcing relationship.”

The answer lies in the same resource dependency model that created the situation in
the first place. One way companies can avoid or mitigate external dependencies
is to shift dependency to another resource. Executives can choose to create internal dependencies over which they do have control to counterbalance external dependencies, and this action can result in a competitive advantage.

And this brings into focus the need fro better IT-Business alignment. IT should be separated into discrete tasks
based on process instead of technology, and each
task must have a specific purpose in the strategic
framework. In other words, executives need to
approach IT as a people and process issue, not a
technology issue.

Utilities IT Predictions 2014

As my line of work is now completely dealing with the Utility Industry of the US market, the following got me thinking. More on each of these in a while.

The IDC Energy Insights Top 10 Predictions for 2014 are:

1. Utilities will hunt for flexibility and innovation in their operations and business models.
2. At high impact, microgrids will force business model change. At minimum, service opportunities will require it and distribution adaptation.
3. CIOs will devote more time and attention to working closely with line of business executives on cybersecurity, enlarging their scope of action.
4. Utility CIOs' role will evolve, driven by IT and operational technologies convergence.
5. Eroding utility revenues and the increase of capital and operating costs will force utilities to develop analytics strategies.
6. Adaptive utilities will embrace dynamic resiliency to survive the ecosystem changes.
7. Utilities will need to seek new paths for data management to propel smart grid innovation.
8. Utilities' multi-channel customer management will call for platform and architecture investments.
9. Gamification will gain traction in utilities to create consumer engagement, loyalty, and trust.
10. Global utilities IT spending will surpass $59 billion in 2014.

BPM KPIs

For many years now, I have been doing various rounds of BPM. But most recently when there is a mandate to implement a commercial product (ERP/SRP) to support the process, i am wondering about the efficacy of KPIs in this scenario.

Whenever we did ground-up development, we defined KPI's. By and large we had it at the process level rather than at the form level, where we added rules governing deadlines, escalations, and scheduling (expected wait times, expected working time, planned completion time) that act as KPIs for measuring efficiencies (cycle time) and effectiveness. While ours was not a procurement centric organization, and more of a solutions delivery firm, we looked ways in BPM applications to measure utilization, rejections rates, cycle times, availability, retention, attrition, and growth.

Our measurement effort helped us to:

§  Improve timeline 

§  Compare our process over time

§  Set target, See if changes to processes have had the wished effect

§  Discover when action is needed

I believe, this measurement from the process level will be connected to the balanced scorecard – > the following way:

1.    Strategic Business Objective [SBO]

2.    Business Planning Goal [BPO]

3.    Critical Success Factors [CSF]

4.    Key Performance Indicator [KPI]

    5.    Process Performance Indicator [PPI]

Digital marketing lessons

For my own reference I'm placing the thoughts expressed in this article

1. The consumer is king. And queen.

The consumer – the person who plunks down good money for what you’re selling – must always be dead center in all of your thinking, plans and objectives. Treat them as a friend, someone to be respected.Never, ever lie or deceive. Provide more and better than expected; it will always be rewarded. The opposite is also true.
Mobile marketing lesson: As in any relationship, find genuine reasons why people should befriend and prefer your brand. Consistently express that in the product or service itself. In what you say, how you say it, how often you say it, and where. Communicating on a mobile device may seem “free” but it can get very expensive if you do it poorly.

2. You’ll never sell a confused consumer anything

Don’t be in a hurry to explain. Neither over-explain nor obfuscate. Simpler is better. Clarity is best. Turn every possible purchase decision into a brand relationship affirmation. Be a good listener.
Mobile marketing lesson: Any relationship takes time to develop (See #9). And by its very nature, a relationship is a two-way street. Don’t just talk to or, worse, at a consumer. Leave plenty of opportunity to hear what’s on their mind. Everyone has an opinion to share. Be a very active and appreciative listener.

3. “Brand” is the second-most misused term in marketing

Is Lady Gaga a brand? In a word, no. She’s a singer, an entertainer, a person. She has style, attitude and talent. But she’s not a brand. Yes, there’s Lady Gaga perfume. But that’s a perfume, not a person. A person is not a brand. But, more and more today, a brand is a person. That’s because consumers are looking for transparency, authenticity and accessibility in what they buy. A brand used to be what the manufacturers said it was.
In large part that was due to the one-way nature of the communication channels available. Technology has turned the tables and, increasingly, brands are what the consumers say they are (see #1, above). So brand managers of today and certainly tomorrow – and their bosses – need to give up trying to control their brand’s imagery.
Mobile marketing lesson: The consumer is in control now. Smart managers know this. The others will fail. Management is not control. Control is not management. People have warts. Brands have warts. Get over it, control freaks. The consumer is in the driver’s seat. Buckle up.

4. Communications 101

It’s not what you say. It’s what they hear. If they aren’t “hearing” you – if your message is not resonating with your audience(s) — you aren’t inside the consumers’ heads, as you need to be. Use every opportunity possible to set up listening posts throughout your organization and your selling process.
Mobile marketing lesson: Mobile phones – audio and video/pictures – are ideal “polling stations” to take in real-world real-time input from a multitude of constituencies. As a wise man once said: You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in that proportion. Be a good listener.

5. Buzz has no value.

To “create buzz” is not a viable objective in any business plan. The business of a business is to make a profit. Banks accept money; they do not accept buzz. Buzz can be a way to generate awareness, interest and preference – three key steps to creating a relationship with a consumer but buzz can also be irritating, especially when there is no clear benefit delivered or promised.
Mobile marketing lesson: Make your buzz better. Think of a cocktail party. You walk up to a group and introduce yourself. Which is better: (a) dominate the conversation by talking non-stop about yourself; or (b) spend most of your time – especially at first – listening to the flow of the talk and jump in when appropriate. If you answered (a) please don’t go to my party. If you answered (b) you now know what to do for your business to make it succeed in mobile marketing.

6. Segmentation Kills

We are all far more alike than different. We all want many of the same things (hint: reread Maslow’s Hierarchy). We just find different paths to these common destinations. If you slice up your audience into too many pieces you will lose touch with your consumers. There are many fish in the sea. Fish where your fish are.
Mobile marketing lesson: If you create too many small targets to hit you will run out of arrows (i.e., resources like “money”). It’s easier to hit a bigger target — and usually far more efficient.

7. Be careful what you wish for

Most research is dangerous because it is biased: The way the questions are framed. The way the answers are interpreted. Who gets asked; where; when and how.
Most research is used to affirm what someone (usually high up) in the organization already believes or to make up for their lack of vision. When doing any research keep your eyes wide open and see what’s there, not what you expect or want to see.
Mobile marketing lesson: Use research carefully. It’s a support mechanism to guide decisions, not mandate them. The massive consumer input possible on mobile can more than make up for any human biases. Use it often.

8. Customer Satisfaction: The death of brands.

Keep the customer satisfied? Never! A “satisfied consumer” is the equivalent of getting a “C” in school. Above you are the best. Below you are the worst. Your brand needs passionate lovers, BFFs and evangelists. A satisfied consumer is “meh.” A loyal consumer loves you, which, in tough times, is priceless.
Mobile marketing lesson: There will be tough times. You’ll mess up. You’ll get unwanted news. Competition will set their sights on you. Mobile can help you stay in touch with your loyals. If you drop a ball, fess up to it right away. Reward loyalty. Satisfaction is not a goal. It’s just a starting point.

9. Brands take time

A brand is “a promise kept.” It’s a genuine relationship that requires a lot of work to build up awareness, preference, trust and confidence. Very few consumers are blindly loyal; they can be forgiving, provided good reasons, but they’ll never forget. And the consumer will be satisfied — if not by you, someone else.
Mobile marketing lesson: As the great philosopher, Diana Ross, told us: You can’t hurry love.

10. Speed kills

A corollary to #9. Careers and fortunes can be made and lost at the push of a button. Just because you can reach millions of people in seconds does not mean you should. In fact, you almost never should. A fast tweet or FB post is like blurting out a questionable remark after you’ve downed more than a few. What’s said on Twitter stays on Twitter.
If anyone in your company feels it’s better to “get something out there as fast as possible” you need to forfeit their keys to any SM account. Any response – to good news or bad, fact or fiction – needs to be carefully considered prior to hitting “go.” A key to brands and branding is consistency. It’s impossible to nurture any brand, new or decades old, at the speed of light.
Mobile marketing lesson: Carpenters have a saying: Measure twice, cut once. How many times have you heard: Better safe than sorry. Or: Haste makes waste. Digital marketing has many powerful benefits. Use them all well. But remember: Age and treachery beat youth and skill every time.

Science & Humanities

Even though trained as an Engineer for four years in one of the best institutes in the country, the world of humanities has always given me solace, challenge and rationale. In the initial days it was literature, words, etymology, history and geography. After graduation, I had the good fortune of reading in-depth about anthropology and sociology, which offered an entire new lens to view the world. Thus formed an idea a few years back - somewhere, sometime in life I want to do research on the 'immigrant experience'.

Therefore in my universe, science and humanities are never juxtaposed against each other, but always coexisted peacefully.  Steven Pinkers latest essay offers so much on the subject..

"The great thinkers of the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment were scientists. Not only did many of them contribute to mathematics, physics, and physiology, but all of them were avid theorists in the sciences of human nature. They were cognitive neuroscientists, who tried to explain thought and emotion in terms of physical mechanisms of the nervous system. They were evolutionary psychologists, who speculated on life in a state of nature and on animal instincts that are “infused into our bosoms.” And they were social psychologists, who wrote of the moral sentiments that draw us together, the selfish passions that inflame us, and the foibles of shortsightedness that frustrate our best-laid plans."......"This is an extraordinary time for the understanding of the human condition. Intellectual problems from antiquity are being illuminated by insights from the sciences of mind, brain, genes, and evolution. Powerful tools have been developed to explore them, from genetically engineered neurons that can be controlled with pinpoints of light to the mining of “big data” as a means of understanding how ideas propagate."