Category: Uncategorized
June 12th, 2009
TechCrunch Research: Big deal or not?
TechCrunch, the opinionated startup-focused blog network, has launched a low-cost analytic research service. Given the company’s high profile, this research offering cannot be ignored. However, does this new TechCrunch initiative provide value to buyers or threaten established analyst firms?
TechCrunch describes its 1Q 2009 Report report this way:
[It] provides key take aways and statistical support for the major trends of Q1. The report covers trends in start-up foundings, products, financings and exits across a variety of technology sectors: consumer media and entertainment, social networking, cloud computing, mobile communications, search, advertising and ecommerce, consumer electronics and clean tech.
The report costs $149 and partially overlaps the outstanding, web-based MoneyTree Report, which is free and has been around for years. PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association sponsor MoneyTree.
THE PROJECT FAILURES ANALYSIS
TechCrunch keeps its finger on the pulse of startups, writing with a colorful (some say arrogant) tone and style. This formula has propelled TechCrunch’s popularity and influence among those following technology startups and investment.
June 10th, 2009
Senate IT oversight bill: Detailed analysis
Senator Thomas Carper’s [D-DE] proposed IT oversight legislation (S.920) is a well-intentioned and important step toward reducing wasteful spending on mismanaged IT projects. However, the bill has substantial weaknesses that will likely compromise its effectiveness and perhaps create even more bureaucratic waste.
Following my previous blog post on S.920, a Senate staffer working on the legislation contacted me with a request to comment on the bill. Given the critical nature of this issue, potentially involving billions of dollars, I welcomed the opportunity to do so. This post summarizes my initial comments, and serves as a basis for initial discussion with that Senate staff member.
This post is unusual for several reasons:
- To my knowledge, the Senate does not often ask a blogger to serve as an expert commenter on pending legislation. In this case, my background in IT failure analysis and prevention is the defining factor.
- This post may be confusing without also studying actual full text of the bill. Usually, I attempt to make posts standalone from the original sources. Not so in this case.
- This post includes lots of detail and few overview perspectives, making it hard to read. In a sense, this post is a brain dump that I thought some readers might find interesting. My thoughts on this bill are still in formation, so this post truly remains in progress.
- This post is just not well-written. Although it pains me to publish notes rather than polished text, that’s the best I can do now, given the time constraints of my own busy schedule.
Despite its shortcomings, I support this initiative and do not accept the argument that the bill does nothing except create additional bureaucratic overhead. As my comments below make clear, the bill will not accomplish its objectives without further refinement. However, even in its present state, the legislation raises the profile of important issues around IT project failure and waste.
THE PROJECT FAILURES ANALYSIS
The remainder of this post presents comment on each section of the bill.
June 6th, 2009
Field guide to interpreting CIO-speak
Do you need a universal translator to interpret and understand your organization’s CIO? Well, you’re not alone. Fortunately, blogger Thomas Wailgum comes to our rescue with a post explaining key CIO phrases.
I added quick reference categories to Thomas’ list and formatted it for convenient reading. Use this handy chart as a field guide to communicate more effectively with the CIO in your life.
One little note: CIOs are known to be a bit…shall we say, prickly, at times. Therefore, in the interest of politeness, and also not being fired, I suggest keeping this chart under wraps.
As a small mea culpa, I’ll share the words of Twitter user Mark O’Neill, who said to me, “I sentence you to be taken from this place and made a CIO. May God have mercy on your soul.“
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| [Image via iStockPhoto] |
June 5th, 2009
21 ways to flog dead horse projects
After writing my last post, which was on this same topic, I learned about 21 special techniques organizations use to deny their true state of failure.
This is from the Humor Archives blog, but it’s actually not funny at all. In reality, this list is a sad and accurate commentary on denial in its various forms and manifestations:
- Buying a stronger whip.
- Changing riders.
- Say things like, “This is the way we have always ridden this horse.”
- Appointing a committee to study the horse.
- Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.
- Increasing the standards to ride dead horses.
- Appointing a tiger team to revive the dead horse.
- Creating a training session to increase our riding ability.
- Comparing the state of dead horses in today’s environment.
- Change the requirements declaring that “This horse is not dead.”
- Hire contractors to ride the dead horse.
- Harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed.
- Declaring that “No horse is too dead to beat.”
- Providing additional funding to increase the horse’s performance.
- Do a Cost Analysis study to see if contractors can ride it cheaper.
- Purchase a product to make dead horses run faster.
- Declare the horse is “better, faster and cheaper” dead.
- Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses.
- Revisit the performance requirements for horses.
- Say this horse was procured with cost as an independent variable.
- Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.
I just can’t believe the insight and accuracy of these observations. Please share your stories of organizational denial and corporate silliness.
[Thanks to Sarah Runge for bringing this list to my attention. Image via iStockphoto.]
June 5th, 2009
Kill your dead horse failures fast!
Some projects will never (as in no chance, baby) achieve intended goals, despite substantial investment of time, resources, and political capital. Even so, many organizations find it difficult to terminate these inevitable failures because of fear, denial, shortsightedness, or lack of consensus.
A post from the Self Improvement Revolution blog hits directly on difficulties associated with ending failures mid-stream:
But the resulting mindset for the project effort can often be so focused on getting the project back on track that it pays no attention to the fact that the project may very well be a dead horse that is still being flogged. It is wise to be open to the possibility that the project is a like a horse that will never run again. So stop flogging it!
It often takes courage to close a project prematurely because often you are likely to upset someone further up the hierarchy. Closing a project early is not for the faint of heart who are afraid to upset the boss, which is why independent consultants often step up to the mark and do the necessary.
There are many large smelly projects that were the brainchild of a C-level executive still laying in dark corners of companies. They have often become irrelevant, expensive and a complete waste of time and effort. No one has the courage to get the executive in question to face up to the fact that their project was not the best idea after all.
There’s truth hidden in the hyperbole of this excerpt.
Allowing a dead horse project to run its course means greater expense, more wasted time, and continued investment of political capital. As a result, the consequences of termination only become worse over time. For your own sake, kill these failures sooner than later.
[Image via iStockphoto.]
June 4th, 2009
Reviewing Sapphire, user interfaces, the Devil's Triangle, and IT success
This guest post was written by Jon Reed, an accomplished blogger, SAP expert, and author of the website jonerp.com. Jon interviewed me following SAP’s recent Sapphire conference, and we discussed a variety of topics that are of interest to readers of this blog. Listen to the recording by clicking the player at the top of this post and read Jon’s summary of our interview. Jon originally posted this as an article on his blog.
SAPPHIRE 2009, BUSINESS BYDESIGN, AND ERP PROJECT FAILURE (AND HOW TO AVOID IT)
Written by: Jon Reed
Interview Date: May 22, 2009
In the first installment of his “Sapphire in Review” podcast series, Jon Reed of JonERP.com welcomes special guest Michael Krigsman, President of Asuret and popular ZDNet blogger and Tweeter. Michael’s focus is evaluating the keys to IT project success and failure, so during this twenty-eight minute podcast, Jon gets Michael’s take on how project failure applies to ERP vendors and SAP specifically. Jon also gets the skinny on Michael’s investigations of Business ByDesign at Sapphire, and why he sees SAP’s focus on UI improvements and BI enhancements as important to ERP project success. In closing, Michael shares an inside view on what it’s like to be part of SAP’s Blogger Relations Program, mixing it up with SAP executives.
Podcast Timeline:
1:01 Michael’s work at Asuret and ZDNet, and how it all ties back into examining the dynamics of IT project success and failure. Asuret provides consulting and software on business transformation projects; on ZDNet, Michael analyzes case studies of IT project failure and evaluates why they aren’t achieving project objectives. He also looks at related issues pertaining to organizational dynamics, business and IT communication breakdowns, and the cultural issues that contribute to project success or failure.
2:32 The highlights of the keynotes from Michael’s perspective. Two things stood out: first, Michael got the sense that SAP was making an attempt to bring in more consumer-oriented, end-user interfaces into their software. This is way overdue, but an essential area of improvement. A more human-oriented enterprise will yield more successful projects. Michael also enjoy Hasso Plattner’s keynotes - all his years of experience have put him in a position “beyond reproach” where he can speak his mind and cover topics that interest him.
June 2nd, 2009
IBM: IT failure and social media disaster
IBM’s recent DB2 fiasco in the Philippines is a textbook case of Devil’s Triangle relationships causing conflict between a technology provider, third-party consultants, and a customer.
Although the situation is interesting, I never expected it to bubble over onto Twitter, demonstrating poor social media practice in addition to vendor/consultant arrogance.
The Twitter connection began when I tweeted a general request seeking an expert to explain technical aspects of DB2. IBM’s customer, a Philippine government agency, raised questions about DB2’s suitability to task, making the technical aspect relevant:
A consultant with DB2 expertise re-tweeted my request. So far, so good:
An IBM DB2 executive responded with the implication my request was somehow wrong, unethical, or not straightforward. Yes, the tactic definitely caught my attention:
May 29th, 2009
IBM's Devil's Triangle: An enterprise software soap opera
IBM faces lawsuits and public embarrassment in the Philippines over a failed government project involving the company’s DB2 database product. The situation offers a textbook example of the Devil’s Triangle, and demonstrates the tensions and conflicts that arise between technology vendors, customers, and system integrators.
Background. The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), a Philippine agency responsible for managing the pensions of government employees, installed DB2 in 2006. By early 2008, the system began showing signs of weakness. Local newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, describes what happened:
[GSIS chief legal counsel Estrella Elamparo] explained that the software started showing problems in early 2008, particularly in handling voluminous chunks of data.
“IBM upgraded its database system purportedly to enable it to handle unlimited volumes of data,” Elamparo said. “However, the reported upgrade only worsened the problem because instead of fixing the problem, the database began mishandling data and prevented the simultaneous use of data.”
The government threatened lawsuits in response, according to the paper:
May 27th, 2009
VC perspective: Can enterprise software companies do SaaS?
Recent discussions (including a great summary by Bob Warfield) questioned the impact of established enterprise software companies in the software as a service (SaaS) market. Therefore, I decided to seek the views of an experienced venture capitalist, who is actively investing in SaaS, for another perspective.
Mike Fitzgerald, founder and Managing General Partner of Commonwealth Capital Ventures, has been around the VC block quite a few times. His firm’s conference room is lined with mementos of companies in which it has invested, including Aberdeen Group, Akibia, Centra Software, Compete, Constant Contact, Direct Hit, i-Logix, Tally Systems, Zoom Information, and many others.
I asked Mike whether he thought enterprise companies, such as Oracle, IBM, and SAP, could be successful selling SaaS software. His answer was definite and unambiguous:
These companies don’t get it, won’t get it, and never will. They are hooked on big deals and have a culture oriented around big deals. That culture can’t understand $1000 per month subscription fees.
Mike drew a comparison with previous generations of computing, describing the evolution from mainframe to mini, then to personal computers and smart phones:
May 20th, 2009
Do CEOs *really* care about IT?
“Aligning business and IT” is a buzzword concept that comes up at every gathering of CIOs. Listening to technology CEO’s discuss the topic at MIT’s CIO Symposium, it appears little progress has made been in addressing this issue.
Today’s opening panel consisted of presentations by four CEOs, each of whom discussed his view of the relationship between business and IT. Chief Correspondent for Xconomy, Wade Roush, moderated the panel, which included:
- Joe Alsop, CEO of Progress Software
- Bob Brennan, CEO of Iron Mountain
- Jim Champy, Chairman of Consulting for Perot Systems
- Alan Trefler, CEO of Pegasystems
Although intended to explore successful practices, the very existence of this panel topic demonstrates the breadth and scope of the alignment problem.
Despite predictability of topic and response, the panel did offer insightful comments. I particularly liked several points from management guru, Jim Champy, who said, “CEOs don’t pay attention to technology unless something breaks down.” Champy added:
Michael Krigsman is CEO of Asuret, Inc., a software and consulting company dedicated to reducing software implementation failures. Click here to discuss this post with him on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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