The Insider's Guide to Business and IT Agility
By Ross Hamilton, Director, Lab49 and Joe Morrison, Managing Consultant, Lab49 , 08/04/2008
Print this article
Email this article
Talk Back!
Write to Editor
Whether you're commissioning a software development project or you're a software engineering team manager, you need your development team to be able to deliver what you need, when you need it, and to be able to respond efficiently whenever the project requirements change. But even with the best software development teams projects often go off the rails, coming in late or failing to meet requirements. Why does it sometimes seem like development teams just can't get the job done?
The problem is often lack of clarity about what "the job" is. The
assigned analyst might authoritatively declare that a particular function is
unimportant, then later on a more senior user might declare that feature to
be a critical requirement. Or a requirement might be underspecified, and the
programmer might find that the only person who can clarify matters is on vacation
until past the project deadline. These problems can be avoided by making sure
that the customer, i.e. whoever is driving the requirements and paying for the
software, commits to a certain level of engagement throughout the project. Here
are some guidelines.
Who's the real stakeholder?
Early in the project, it's important to clearly understand who the customer -- i.e., the key business stakeholder -- really is (or a proxy to the customer, such as an analyst). The customer has the decision-making authority to guide the software developers. Too often someone is chosen because they understand the business, are interested in technology, and have time to take on the role. But another senior user might have the authority to reject the system after delivery. It's important to work out who's who up front, and establish lines of communication with analysts and users who really understand what the software needs to do and have the authority to drive the project.
What's this thing for, anyway?
Businesses are continuously innovating and adapting, which usually implies requirements changing during a software project. Obviously engineering teams need to be able to respond to these changes. But engineers constantly make design decisions, which make certain kinds of changes easy and other kinds hard. They can respond to changing requirements much more efficiently if they have a basic understanding of the business they are writing software for. The customer should therefore engage the software team in conversation about the underlying business problems that they are trying to solve, proactively and continuously throughout the project. When the requirements change in mid-project, the engineering team will be ready.
1
ROUNDTABLE: Stretch Your Budget with smart SOA Governance-A Look at Successful Case Studies
ROUNDTABLE: Open Source Market Update
Insurance: Explore how SOA & BPM are driving down expenses and improving ROI
BPM VIEWPOINT: Are You Asking Yourself the Hard Questions about BPM in Today's Economy? 
BPM VIEWPOINT: Does Oracle/Sun Mean It's a Horse Race for BPM?
Managing Case Management Within BPM
BPM VIEWPOINT: How Do You Look at BPM?
When It Comes to BPM Type, It All Depends on You
BPM VIEWPOINT: Does Case Management Fill in the Gaps in the BPM Spectrum?
ebizQ is very interested in what you have to say. To contribute an article, an opinion, or to become a blogger, please contact Peter Schooff.
You need Adobe Flash Player 9 to view this widget.
June 3, 2009
One of the most compelling trends in the enterprise business technology space over the past year has been the emergence of cloud computing. In ebizQ’s upcoming Qcamp virtual un-conference, leading industry experts and practitioners will explore the role of service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) in supporting cloud-computing initiatives. Additionally, the new skills that developers and IT managers need for successful cloud development will be discussed.Register
Date: Aug 26, 2009
Time: 12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
Date: Sep 30, 2009
Time: 12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
Date:Aug 26, 2009
Time:12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
Date:Sep 30, 2009
Time:12:00 PM
ET- (16:00 GMT)
A buyer's guide for tools to help with mainframe integration leveraging SOA.
In today’s IT marketplace it is easy to think...
In part two of Joe McKendrick's recent podcast with Miko Matsumura, chief strategist for Software AG, they talk about how SOA and IT systems need to change and grow and adapt with the organization around it.
Listen Now
Phil Wainewright interviews David Vap, VP of products at RightNow Technologies, and finds out how sharing best practices can help businesses understand how best to engage with online communities.
Listen Now
Scott Hebner, Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for IBM Rational, discusses a topic on the top of every company's mind today: getting the most from IT investments.
Listen Now
In BI, this tough economy and the increasing role of Web 2.0 and MDM are certainly topics on people's minds today. WiseAnalytics' Lyndsay Wise addresses each of them in this informative podcast.
Listen Now
Deepak Singh, President and CTO of Adeptia, joins ebizQ's Dennis Byron in a podcast that gets its hand around the trend of industry-specific BPM.
Listen Now
From Dennis Byron: For BPM to fit at the top of the stack, it can't merely support workflow or integration. It needs to integrate the BI aspects of the stack, too. Learn More
In the insurance industry, companies have accepted that systems, strategies and data all developed in silos are making it difficult for them to grow and adjust to today’s market demands. The obstacles imposed by siloed approaches are painfully obvious to companies as they try to gain a better understanding of their customers and meet the growing constraints imposed by compliance and regulatory requirements. Leveraging industry standards with full data integration is one was to tackle this challenge. Learn More
From Dennis Byron: Is it better to choose one strain of BPM over another? The answer is unique to your organization. Learn More
Can decision management really deliver costs savings, agility and happy customers on a consistent basis? Learn More
From Dennis Byron: BPM products optimized for case management might be the products that bridge the extremes in my view of the BPM spectrum. Learn More
Integrating BPM and CEP gives you intelligent business processes that can react to rapidly changing business conditions with continuous visibility. Learn More
Insurers need to think about creating "true linkage," which means linking business strategy to process to IT investments and thereby setting the foundation for true change. Learn More
To be effective, business intelligence technology must work behind the scenes to deliver relevant information when, where, and how it's needed. Learn More
A lot of people are talking about Enterprise 2.0 as being the business application of Web 2.0 technology. However, there's still some debate on exactly what this technology entails, how it applies to today's business models, and which components bring true value. Some use the term Enterprise 2.0 exclusively to describe the use of social networking technologies in the enterprise, while others use it to describe a web economy platform, or the technological framework behind such a platform. Still others say that Enterprise 2.0 is all of these things. Learn More
Smart event processing can help your company run smarter and faster. This comprehensive guide helps you research the basics of complex event processing (CEP) and learn how to get started on the right foot with your CEP project using EDA, RFID, SOA, SCADA and other relevant technologies. Learn More
Hi Johan,
thank you for such prompt response.
I...
Phil,
It appears that Google is looking at the world...
We see every possible level of SOA governance from those...
I believe work has been done in this area privately for some time....
I wonder if BPM has become more popular because many solutions...
We are looking for a FileNET admin/developer in Houston, TX. The...
As we see more companies consider the cloud we should be...
Scott,
I agree that process management is good way for...
The device sounds very good for physicians. It is vital to know...
Joe,
Thanks for helping us spread the word here (and...
|
|
|
|
