Enterprise Software Implementation - A New Approach

7/29/2019 Enterprise Software Implementation - A New Approach

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EnterpriseSoftwareImplementation:

ANewApproach

HowaniterativeapproachtoimplementingSabisudeliversbusiness

benefitfasterandwithlowerrisk

WhitePaper

By

TimSharpeCEO&co-founder

[email protected]

@timjsharpe


2/23

2012SabisuLtd Page2of23

EnterpriseSoftwareImplementation:ANewApproach WhitePaper

V1.0

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................3

2. CHALLENGES...............................................................................................................4

2.1. SELECTIONMECHANISM........................................................................................................................................4 2.2. COMMERCIALTERMS........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ..........52.3. USERADOPTION&TRAINING.......... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... .......62.4. RISK.......... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... .......7

3. DEFININGABETTERAPPROACH..................................................................................8

3.1. PROPERTIESOFANIDEALAPPROACH.................................................................................................................8 3.2. TROJANMICE...........................................................................................................................................................9 3.3. OVERVIEWOFTHEPROCESS..............................................................................................................................10 3.4. SCOPE.....................................................................................................................................................................11 3.5. OUTLINEDELIVERABLES....................................................................................................................................12 3.6. CUSTOMERRESPONSIBILITIES...........................................................................................................................13

4. PROCUREMENTCONSIDERATIONS............................................................................14 4.1. SELECTINGINNOVATIVESOFTWARE................................................................................................................14 4.2. AFAIRCOMMERCIALMODEL............................................................................................................................15

5. STEP-BY-STEPGUIDE.................................................................................................16

5.1. FINDINGTHERIGHTPROBLEM..........................................................................................................................16 5.2. DEVELOPSTAKEHOLDERSUPPORT.......... ........... ........... ........... ............ .......... ............ ........... ........... ........... .....175.3. REFERENCESITES................................................................................................................................................18 5.4. DEVELOPTHEPOINTSOLUTION........................................................................................................................19 5.5. DEPLOYTHEPOINTSOLUTION..........................................................................................................................20 5.6. SEEKFEEDBACK...................................................................................................................................................21 5.7. REVIEW............ ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... ........... .......22

5.8. THENEXTTROJANMOUSE.................................................................................................................................23

Figures

Figure1.ApproachOverview......................................................................................................10


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1.Introduction

Enterprisesoftwareistypicallysecure,resilientandpowerfulbutitcanbe

difficulttoselectandimplement,withsignificantcostandriskinvolved.Often

benefitsareover-statedandtakesometimetobeseeninrealterms.

Thiswhitepaperoutlineshowitspossibletotakeadifferentapproachbydeliveringsubstantialchangeintargeted,lowrisk,highvaluesolutions.These

solutionsarealignedtobusinessstrategy,meetagenuineneedandcarrygreat

businessbenefit,yetaredeliberatelysmallinscope.Theyaremoreeasilymanagedthanlargeimplementationsandcarrylessfinancialandoperational

risk.

ThisapproachhasbeensuccessfullyadoptedbytheSabisuteamindeliveringthe

Sabisuplatform,resultinginchangestothedesignoftheplatformtohelpmeet

nicherequirementseasily.

Thiswhitepaperstartsbylookingatsomecommonchallengesfacedwhendeployingenterprisesoftware,includingsoftwareselection,commercialterms

andrisk.

Itthenlooksattheproposedalternativeapproachinthreesections; Definition

o How an ideal approach would be designed to be iterative and manageableo Properties and concepts that have informed the development of the process.o Scope, outline deliverables and responsibilities for each iteration of the

process.

Procuremento How the procurement process must reflect the nature of innovative software

solutions and their vendors.o How a well designed commercial model can be fair to all parties.

A typical iterationo Key considerations for each step in the iteration.o Focus on delivering business benefit and development of a complete

solution.


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2.ChallengesSomecommonchallengesorganisationshavetoovercomewhenselectingand

deployingenterprisesoftware.

2.1.SelectionMechanism

Startingatthebeginning,withtheselectionprocess;itsoftenaprocessthats

greatforprocurementcompliance,butnotsogreatforgettingtheright

enterprisesoftware.WithoutdwellingtoomuchontheRequestForProposal/Informationprocessitself(see

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=208380foradetaileddiscussion)its

fairtosaythatatraditionalRFP/Idrivenprocurementprocessdoesntguaranteethebestresults.

AtypicalRFPprocurementprocessstartswithanexecutivedecisiontoprocurea

strategicsolution.TheexecutivegetsaprojectmanagertobuildtheRFP/Ibysurveyingaffectedparties.VendorsrespondpositivelytotheRFP/Isotheycanbeinwithachanceofwinningtheinevitablebeautypageantwherethevendors

gettheirchancetopitch.Thebestsalesteamwinsnotnecessarilythebest

software.Infact,experiencedsalespeoplewillshortcuttheprocesswhereverpossible,goingstraighttotheexecutivewhostartedtheballrolling.

Thisapproachdoesntguaranteetherightsoftwarewillbeselectedasitdoesnt

allowforallthefactorsthatinfluencesuccessfulimplementationandadoptionof

enterprisesoftware.Italsodoesntallowforparticularlyinnovativeneedsor

solutions,wheretheremightbeonlyonesolutiononthemarketasiscoveredintheSelectingInnovativeSoftwaresectionbelow.

Itsalsotoorisky;oncetheselectionismadeandcommercialtermsagreed,the

procurementprocessoftenseenascomplete,whereinfactitsjuststarted;theongoingmaintenanceanddevelopmentofthesoftwareshouldseecontinued

procurementinvolvementthroughoutthesoftwaresfulllife-cycle.


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2.2. CommercialTermsEnterprisesoftwarehastraditionallybeenofferedonalicenseplusannualmaintenancemodel,wheretheannualmaintenancechargediscalculatedasa

percentageofthelicensecost.Thesecostsareoftensetashighaspossiblebythe

vendorastheyexpecttobenegotiateddownduringtheprocurementprocess.

Thelicensemaybepayableupfront,ormaybeannual.Typicallythecostwillbecalculatedonfactorslike:

Feature SetIts relatively common for enterprise software vendors to charge an initial fee basedon feature set. Typically the offered software will be priced according to the marketsegment. Complex pricing models that lack transparency can be a barrier to entry forcustomers, or for senior management sign off of procurement decisions.

UsersA license per seat is quite usual; this may be user specific, machine specific, or a

non-specific maximum number of users. Often large enterprises enter into enterpriseagreements effectively bulk buy contracts. Either way, every new user adds cost.

Data pointsSome process industry software is charged by the number of data points to beaccessed. As the tendency is never to delete data points but add more as thebusiness evolves, the total cost also increases.

Data stored/accessedParticularly and understandably prevalent in cloud solutions, this sees theenterprise incurring additional cost as solution starts becoming used in earnest. Aswith the data point model above, the tendency is for data stored to increase.

Enterprise search solutions are often seen following a similar model, where cost isdependent on the number of documents to be indexed.

Theannualmaintenancecostisthenbasedonthelicensetypically15%to20%

ofthelicensecost.Thismaintenancecostcanthereforebesignificant.Generally

annualmaintenanceincludesupgradesandadefaultlevelofsupport.

Generallyasusageofthesoftwareincreasesthecosttotheenterpriseincreases.Thereforeoncethecostreachesaprohibitiveleveltheenterprisestartstoration

usage.Thisissomewhatcounter-productivegiventhatthesoftwareisrequiredandisexpectedtodeliverbenefit.

Wouldntitbegreatifenterprisesoftwarewassubjecttoacommercialmodel

thatencouragesitspropagationandincreaseduse?


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2.3. UserAdoption&TrainingOftenenterprisesoftwarerequiressignificantusernumbersbeforeitstartsdeliveringbusinessbenefit.Thisargumentisparticularlyprevalentinsocial

business,collaborationorbusinessprocessexecutionsoftware.

Mostenterprisesoftwareisdesignedwiththebusinessinmind,ratherthanthe

enduser;itsfocusissecurity,process/dataintegrityandcontrol.Theseareworthyandnecessaryprinciples.

Oftentheresultissoftwarethatisinsomewaynon-intuitiveandsoasignificant

amountoftrainingforend-usersisrequired.Thisbothincreasestheexpense

andthelikelihoodthatsomeuserswillnotadoptthesoftwareparticularlythosewhohavenocausetouseitday-to-day.

Wouldntitbegreatifanyusercouldderivemaximumbenefitfromenterprisesoftwarewithouttraining?


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2.4. RiskEnterprisesoftwaretraditionallycarriessignificantriskbothintermsofimplementationandoperation.

Implementingenterprisesoftwareshouldbelowrisk;untilthesoftwareisoperationalitshouldbepossibletochangeorevencanceldeployment.However,

fundingisusuallystaged,reputationsinvestedandtightcontractsdrawnupsothatmid-waythroughdeploymentachangeisdifficultandpainful.

Ifenterprisesoftwarewaslessexpensivetolicense,deployandsupport,then

organisationscouldmakemorebalanceddecisionsabouttheprocessof

implementation.

Oftenenterprisesoftwareisdeployedacrosstheorganizationwithinasingle

project,asquicklyaspossible.Thisisahighriskstrategyintermsofcost,asitfront-loadsspend,andschedule,asanydelaysresonatethroughtheplancausing

slippage.Itsalsohighriskintermsofoperationsasmanyusersneedtobetrainedsimultaneouslyorinquicksuccession.

Wouldntitbegreatifbenefitcouldberealizedthroughpartialadoptionandthroughoutagradual,well-manageddeployment?

Operatingenterprisesoftwareshouldbelowrisk;thesoftwarehasprobablybeendesignedandimplementedbyexperts.However,itoftenleadstoincreased

andsometimeunsustainabledrainsonfundingandexpertisewithintheIT

functionastheuseofthesoftwaregrows.Organisationsareunderstandablyreticenttotakeonnewsoftwareasitcarrieswithitunforeseenoverhead.

Wouldntitbegreatifenterprisesoftwarewasdesignedtoalleviateresource

andfundingstressontheITfunction?


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3.DefiningABetterApproachHowanidealapproachshouldbedesigned;iterative,manageable,lowrisk,with

highimpactrapidlyachieved.

3.1.PropertiesofanIdealApproach

Giventhechallengesofcurrentapproachesasdetailedabove,analternative

approachwouldhavepropertiessuchas: Limited initial spend

Low initial effort

Low initial risko Revenueo IT and business continuityo Security

Thisapproachwouldchooseastrategic,scalablesolutionbutstartwithasmall

deploymentfocusedonsolvingaparticularproblemtoensurequalityandsuitability.Thisfocusensuresvalueisaddedbothimmediatelyasthecurrent

problemisresolvedandinthefuture,astheidealproblemwillberepresentative

ofothersintheorganization.Thesolutionisastrategicone.

Althoughtheapparentoppositeofthemassroll-out,big-bangapproach

requiredinsomebusinesstransformationprogrammes,infactthisapproachcouldbetheessentialprecursortosuchprogrammesasitreducestheirrisk

exposuresignificantly.Theinitialdeploymentmaybeintentionallyfocusedbutthesolutionisstrategic.

Whilstoftenthelargertransformationprogrammesaredeliveredusingaspecificmethodology,theidealapproachwouldbeasusefulasanrepeatabledelivery

methodasitwouldbeforaproofofconcept.Indeed,theiterativemodelis

perhapsabetterwaytotrulyachieveenterprisechange,assuggestedintheTrojanMicesectionbelow;itallowsconstantfocusonthecustomers.

Oneofthebenefitsofstartingwithalowriskpointsolutionisthatthekey

procurementdecisionpointscanbeincorporated,informingprocessratherthan

leavingitseparate.Theprocurementprocessismademoreefficientasaresult.

Enterprisesoftwareisvaluablebecauseoftheproblemsitsolvesandefficienciesitintroduces,soallpartiesbenefitfromrealizingrealbusinessbenefitasquickly

aspossible;theresnobetterwaytodemonstratetheplatformspotentialwhen

implementedevenwithasmallsubsetofcustomerdataorsmallteam.


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3.2. TrojanMiceThisapproachisknownwithintheSabisuorganizationasthetrojanmouseapproach,ascreditedtoPeterFryer(http://www.trojanmice.com/index.htm).

Enterprisesoftwareimplementationsrepresentaparticularnichekindofenterprisechangeprogramme.Suchprogrammesarefrequentlyexpensive,time

consumingandambitious,yetdelivervariedresultsandlimitedchange.Asanexample,enterprisesoftwareimplementationsareoftenexcellentatreproducing

thesameproblemsonanewplatform.

Thetrojanmouseconceptdescribes:

small,focusedchangeswhichareintroducedinanongoing,inconspicuous

waysmallenoughtobeunderstoodandownedbyallconcernedbuttheir

effectscanbefar-reaching.PeterFryer

Applyingthisconceptappealsgiventhepropensityofenterprisesoftware

deploymentstobehigh-riskandhigh-costwithbusinessbenefitrealizedlateon

inthelife-cycle.


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3.3. OverviewoftheProcessTheprocessproposedinthispaperwouldrunasfollows:

Find the right problems

Identify well-defined, high impact business problems to address.

Develop stakeholder supportEngage stakeholders to validate the problem and assist in the identification of asolution.

Visit reference sitesConsult other users to learn from their experience.

Develop the point solutionIterative, developers working directly with end-users.

Deploy the point solutionEnsure business change is appropriately managed for communities of users, pilotingwith smaller communities if required.

Seek feedbackCommunicate successes, highlight benefits, build momentum.

ReviewCheck strategic fit, identify other business problems that might benefit.

Oncethisprocesshasbeencompleted,thenitsintothedeploymentprocess,

whichisforanotherwhitepaperbutwillfollowaniterativemodelwiththesame

orsimilarelements.Fig.1showshowtheapproachcouldbethebasisforthis.

Figure1.ApproachOverview

Notethatapilot-apre-roll-outstageintendedtoensurethattheroll-outisofa

highquality-couldbeincludedintotheDeploypointsolutionprocess.

Thereisamanagementprocessthatrunsinparallelinvolvingthedevelopment

andacceptanceofaproposaltocovertherequiredwork,alongwithan

appropriatepurchaseorder.ThiswouldbecompletebeforethestartoftheBuildphaseshowninFig.1.


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3.4. ScopeThescopeofeachiterationoftheprocessistoimplementaniterationresultinginafullyworkingSabisusolutionalbeitasolutiontoanicheproblem.This

couldbeadeliverableaspartofalargerplan,oraSabisuproofofconcept.

Theprocessincludes:

Evaluation of technical landscape to ensure Sabisu will deliver as required

Installation and configuration of Sabisu On-Premise onto one hardware platformor the installation & configuration of a Sabisu On-Premise Appliance

Configuration of connection to data sources typically a single data source initially

Integration with Active Directory environment

Creation of communities (usually 3 or 4)

Creation of reporting dashboards (usually 2 pages, each with 5 widgets)

System familiarisation for key users

Regular review and evaluation of the implementation

Support for any further engagement

Inordertodeliveracompetitivelypriced,rapidproofofconceptthetargetsystemsforintegrationareintentionallylimited.

Theidealstrategicpartnershouldbepleasedtoassistpost-projectbyattending

usergroupsorworkshops.Indeed,theimplementedproductismadestronger

andimplementationshigherqualitybycloseinvolvementofdeveloperswithusers.

Conventionalenterprisesoftwarewouldrequireasignificantamountoftraining

witheachiterativedelivery.ThishaseffectivelybeendesignedoutoftheprocessbybuildingSabisutobesointuitiveanduserfriendlythatuserscanfindtheirownwayaroundthesystem;weusemodernuserinterfacedesign

principlestomaketheexperienceasconsistentwithmassmarketwebplatforms

aspossible.

Ifthescopeistodeliveraproofofconcepttheobjectiveistoleavethecustomer

withasolutionthatuserscaninteractwithastheywouldafullimplementation;itsnotexpectedthatthecustomerwillbesufficientlyfamiliarwiththeplatform

thattheycancarryoutcomplexconfigurationactivitiesthistendstonaturallyfollowinsubsequentphases.


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3.5. OutlineDeliverablesThekeyfinaldeliverableisatestedandoperationalSabisuproofofconcept.Thefollowingaretypicallyrequired:

Technical Evaluation

o Active Directory Implementationo Outbound/Inbound Connectivityo Access to Target Systemso Other Integration Potentialo Hardware Platform Suitability

Installation of Sabisu On-Premiseo Installationo Activationo Verification

Connectivity to specified data source

Active Directoryo

Connectiono Configuration of evalution userso Verification of internal login & redirection to On-Premise

Creation of communitieso Usually 3 or 4, after which users should be able to create their own (see

System Familiarisation)o To be specified by customer

Creation of solution, e.g., reporting dashboardo Usually 2 pages, after which users should be able to create their own (see

System Familiarisation)o 5 widgets per page, illustrating different Sabisu capabilities and key customer

requirements

System familiarisation for key users

o One sessiono Community creation and administrationo Community page creation and administrationo Creating new pages from widgets

Review of progress and evaluation of ongoing requirements


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3.6. CustomerResponsibilitiesAsimpliedintheOverviewoftheProcesssectionabove,acustomercommitmentofresourceeffortandfundingisrequiredtoensuresuccess.

Ideallyacustomerseniortechnicalresourceismadeavailablesoastoensureaccesstobothsystemsandotherexpertiseintheorganization.Thesenior

technicalresourcemayberesponsiblefortheimplementedsystem,itsmaintenanceandimprovement.

Aswouldbemadeclearinaproofofconceptproposal,thecustomerwouldhave

responsibilitiesaroundthefollowing:

Documentation

Its important to get the process off to the right start, which means it can only beinitiated in response to acceptance of a proposal. This ensures a joint understanding

of priorities and deliverables.

Problem definitionIn order to get the best value from the proof of concept all parties should be clear asto the identified problem, allowing the most important content to be prioritised duringthe build process.

System accessAppropriate and timely access to data sources is required if implementation andintegration is to be efficiently carried out.


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4.ProcurementConsiderationsProcurementprocessesareoftennotoptimizedforthepurchasingofinnovative

softwaresolutions.Thissectiondiscusseshowtheycanadjust.

4.1.SelectingInnovativeSoftware

AsdescribedaboveinSelectionMechanism,procurementprocessescanhave

difficultywithparticularlyinnovativerequirementsorsolutionswhereasingle

vendormayofferauniquesolution.Inthiscase,thetraditionalcommodityprocurementapproachhasaproblemthereisnocompetition.

SomethinglikethistendstohappenwithSabisu-itsinnovativefeaturesetputsitinaclassofitsown.Inadditiontheresponsiveandinclusivenatureofthe

Sabisuorganizationcausesapartnershipwiththecustomertobedevelopedearly.Thiscouldbeseentodisadvantagecompetitors.

Howeverthispartnershipisjustasimportantasthefeaturesetbecausetheproductisnotthesolution;itstheproduct,implementationandsupportthat

createsaworkablesolution.Thisissometimesreferredtoasthewholeproduct,

ascreatedbyRegisMcKennaandpopularizedbyGeoffreyMoore.

Insteadofthencreatinganartificialcompetitiveenvironmentagainstwhichtoevaluateaninnovativesoftwaresolution,wedrecommendtheprocurement

processlooksatthe: Feature set

Implementation

Support Cost

Benefit

Strategic fit

Withallthesefactorstakenintoaccountthelikelihoodofcreatingastrategicpartnershipisgood.


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4.2. AFairCommercialModelTheSabisucommercialmodelisdesignedtoencourageuseoftheplatformwhilstbeingfairtoallparties.

Sabisuhastwokeycomponents;thecloudserversandtheon-premiseservers.

UseofSabisuscloudcomputingcapabilityisfreeofcharge.Thisencouragescollaborationbetweenusersandenterprisesandcreatesmoreefficientbusiness

processesasaresult,asoutlinedinthewhitepaper,RebootingOperationalIntelligence.

ForenterprisesthatrequiresignificantSabisucloud-basedfilestoragewenegotiateindividualtermsperGBpermonthused.

Useoftheon-premiseserversoftwareiscoveredinasingleannualchargethatcoversmaintenanceandlicensetouse.Thelicensepermitsunlimitednumbersof

userssoastopromotegrowth.

Theannualon-premiseserverchargehasthreetiers,withthecostdependingon:

Data sources

Permits customers with simple needs to be charged less.

Processor coresAccommodates customers with virtualised server environments and permitsappropriate and fair charging depending on requirements.

Someservicesessentialtotheengagement,buildanddeploymentwillbecostedintoanyproofofconceptproposal.

Allcommercialnegotiationsareopenbookandtransparentastheyshouldbe

withatrusted,strategicpartner.


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5.Step-by-StepGuideKeyconsiderationsforeachstepinantypicaliteration,focusingondelivering

businessbenefitanddevelopmentofacompletesolution.

5.1.FindingtheRightProblem

Ideally,theprocessstartswithadefinedbusinessneed.Oftenthebusinessneed

developstoindicateastrategicneed,e.g.,auseridentifiesaneedforaKPIreport

thathighlightstheneedforanewreportingplatform.

Whilstthestrategicneedmightdemandastrategicsolution,theinitialstep

shouldbetoidentifytheproblemsthatneedtoberesolved.TypicallywithSabisutheseproblemsareexpressedinbusinessprocessormanagement

visibilityandcontrolterms.

Onceaselectionofproblemshasbeenidentifiedtheyneedtobenarroweddowntooneortwothatare:

Precise and well boundaried, i.e., with clear scope

Low operational risk

High impact, either in terms of customer satisfaction, demonstrating potential,reducing cost or increasing revenue

Stakeholder supported, or likely to engender stakeholder support

Limitingthescopetohighvalueproblemssuchasthesewillallowthemaximumbenefittobedeliveredandthesolutionspotentialtobedemonstrated.Evenif

thenumberofusersaffectedisinitiallysmallthisapproachcandelivergreat

benefit.

Itsimportantthatthesolutionisapplicabletootherproblemsinthefuture.ExamplesofnicheproblemsappropriateforprovingSabisuhaveincluded;

Energy Usage Monitoring

o Make energy usage data from data historian available to management teamo Proved integration, presentation and collaboration capabiliities of Sabisuo Precise measurement and reporting problemo Significant benefit as any energy saving has significant cost impacto Small, focused team

Digital Signageo Make key operational data available on public screens around organisationo Proved integration and presentation capabilities of Sabisuo Low risk, high visibility and impacto Small deploymento Limited number of specific KPIs to address

Shift Managemento Deliver Shift Logging capability alongside operational data for Shift

Management teamo Proved integration, collaboration and rapid development capability of Sabisuo Operational impacto Small, focused team of Shift Managerso Senior management relevanceo Opportunity to exploit integration capabilities of Sabisu.


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5.2. DevelopStakeholderSupportDependingonthenatureoftheidentifiedproblemsitmightbeappropriatetostartthisprocesswithseniormanagement,oritmightbethatanappreciationof

thebusinessproblemsastheyareexperiencedoperationallyistherightstarting

point.Stakeholdersupportvalidatestheproblem,engagesstakeholdersinthearchitectureofasolutionearlyandensurestheproblemissufficientlywell

understoodtoselectanappropriatesolution.

Thevalueofstakeholdersupportshouldnotbeunderestimated,withtheprovisothatsometimesuserscannotvisualizethebenefitofastep-changeincapability

thatnewtechnologywillbring.Thereforesometimesitisnecessarytobuildout

theproofofconcepttobuildstakeholdersupportanotherreasonwhyaninexpensiveandlowriskapproachispreferable.

SeniorManagementsupportisimportantearlyintheprocess.Asdiscussedabove,sometimesthismeansbuildingalowcostproofofconceptwhichfalls

withindiscretionaryspendlevelssoastoallowSeniorManagementtovisualizethepotentialofthesoftware.

EvenifSeniorManagementsupportforthestrategicsolutionisntforthcoming,thepointsolutionmaystillbevalid,soiftherightproblemischoseninthefirst

placeallconcernedcanlooktotheproofofconcepttocontinueaddingvalue

evenifitsnotdevelopedintoawidelydeployedsolution.

Iftheproblemsidentifiedmeetthecriterialaidoutaboveandaredescribedin

termsofbusinessimpactandalignmenttothestrategicgoalsofthebusiness,SeniorManagementengagementshouldbenoproblem.


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5.4. DevelopthePointSolutionWithstakeholdersinsupportandanunderstandingofhowothercustomershaveapproachedsimilarproblemsnowisanappropriatetimetodevelopthe

solution.

ThisisthepointintheprocesswhereitemsidentifiedinOutlineDeliverables

sectionbegintobeproduced.

ThefirststepindevelopingthepointsolutionistoinstalltheSabisuOn-Premiseandconnectittotheappropriatedatasources,whichinvolves:

Technical Evaluation

Installation

Connection

Sabisuisdesignedinsuchawayastomakethisarapidprocessexactlythe

oppositetoenterprisesoftwarewhichseekstomaximizeservicesrevenue.

FollowingthisasmallnumberofusercommunitiesarecreatedwithinSabisu,eachholdingasmallnumberofusersnecessarytosupportdevelopment.These

communitieswillexpandorganicallyasmoreusersarerequiredtotest.

Asthisisapointsolutiontoaspecificproblemitslowriskandsuitablefora

collaborative,iterativeapproach.Thereforeitscommontohavedevelopersworkcloselywithend-userstoensurethatthesolutionmeetstheir

requirements.

Anotherfactorsupportingtheiterativeapproachandoneoftheadvantagesof

implementingaplatformlikeSabisu-isthattheresnodevelopmentassuch;the

solutionisprovidedasanumberofcomponentsthatareconstructedrapidlyinadedicatedSabisudevelopmentenvironment.

IncaseswherecustomdevelopmentisrequiredusingtheSabisuAPI,the

iterativeapproachholds.Whilsttheuseofadevelopmentenvironmentlike

VisualStudiomayberequired,SabisusAPImakesthedevelopmentmucheasierandallowsforarapidrateofprogress.

Duringthedevelopmentprocessitmightbeappropriatetoreleasebetaversionsofthesolutiontoselectedusers.Thisiseasilyaccommodatedbysetting

upapre-releaseusercommunityandmakingthesolutionavailabletothosewithinit.Whenthesolutionisreadytobepublishedthedevelopersimplymakes

theelementsavailabletothewiderusercommunity.


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5.5. DeploythePointSolutionDeploymentofthesolutionisinvariablyasimpleaffair.Whenthesolutionisatanacceptablelevelofquality,thedevelopermakesitavailabletothewider

community.

Aseniorusercanthensharethepagesthatmakeupthesolutionwiththe

communityorwithselectedusers,whocaninturndothesamethingwithintheconstraintsofdatasecurityandadministrativecontrol.Thisleadstoamanaged

butrapiddeploymenttotheuserswhoneedthesolution;acontrolled,administered,viralexpansionoftheuser-base.

Atthispointtheeffortsexpendedearlierintheprocesstodefineanicheproblem,properlyevaluatethetechnicalenvironmentanddevelopthesolution

collaborativelybegintopayoff;thesolutionisusuallyagreatfitfortheproblem

asitsbeenvalidatedandoptimizedconstantlythroughouttheprocess.

Thedeploymentprocessisalsousuallyiterative,asusersmayhavedifferentlevelsofaccesstothedatasourcesornewusersareintroducedtothe

communities.Theseissuespresentfewproblemsandareusuallydealtwithby

end-userswithlittleloadonIT.

Duringthedeploymentprocessitmayberequiredtofamiliarizeuserswiththe

system.TypicallythisisnotrequiredasSabisuisintuitiveandeasytouse,butasinglesessiononthebasicsofcommunityadministrationandpagecreationis

sometimesofbenefit.


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5.6. SeekFeedbackWhilstfeedbackfromtheusercommunitiesinvolvedinthedevelopment,testingandacceptanceofthesolutionisusuallyalreadycollectedaspartoftheprocess,

withanichesolutioninplaceitsappropriatetogetfeedbackfromawider

audience.

Ifseniormanagementarenotyetengaged,nowisagreattimetogetkeymembersoftheteamtogetheranddemonstratewhatcanbedoneatlowrisk

andwithasmallamountoffunding.Thereisnobetterdemonstrationthanthatwhichshowsanorganisationsdatainthecontextofaresolvedproblem.

Widerfeedbackcanalsobeobtainedthroughpublicityincorporatejournals,blogsorothercommunications.Thisisagreatwaytospreadthewordbutalso

laythefoundationsforestablishingthenextsetofproblemsthatcanbesolved.

Communicatingsuccessesandhighlightingbenefitsbuildsmomentum.


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5.7. ReviewAfterfeedbackhasbeengathereditsappropriatetoreviewprogressandlookaheadwithaviewtomaintainingthemomentumalreadybuilt.

Inadditiontouserandmanagementfeedback,Sabisuisuniqueinthatitcanbeusedtodemonstrategenuinesystemusage;amountofdatashared,widgetsin

use,messagesleft,chatsinitiatedandsoon.Thisallowsfuturedeploymentstobebetterplanned,whetherinproblemselection,solutiondevelopmentor

deploymentitself.

Thereviewprocessshouldinvolveseniormanagement;atthisstagethesenior

managementteamhaveeitherbeeninvolvedthroughout,orappraisedofsuccessintheSeekFeedbackstepimmediatelybefore.Thisisagreatopportunityto

engagethematthestartofthenextprocess.

Thereviewprocessmaybecompletedinasinglemeetingwithallstakeholders.

Itemsthatshouldbereviewedinclude: System usage

o How was the system used?o How could the effort and financial investment made so far be further leveraged?o Did anything prevent wider usage?o Were some aspects particularly successful?

Lessons learnedo Could the implementation have been smoother?o Are there any aspects of the process that would be useful in other projects?o Are there outstanding actions that should be carried through to other projects,

deployments or business as usual?

Strategic fito Are the original assumptions on strategic fit still valid?o Have any external factors arisen which change the assessment of strategic fit?

Evaluation of any new requirements raised during the implementation

Identification of well-defined, high impact business problems that should be addressednext


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5.8. TheNextTrojanMouseThereviewprocessdocumentedaboveevaluatesnewrequirementsthatmayhavearisenduringtheimplementationandidentifiesnewhigh-impactbusiness

problemsthatshouldbeaddressed.

TheseproblemsshouldbeevaluatedasdescribedintheFindingtheRight

Problemsectionsoastoarriveatthenexttrojanmousetobeaddressed.

Ofcourse,multipleproblemscouldbesolvedsimultaneouslyandthetemptationistotakeasuccessandapplyittoasmanyareasaspossible.Thebenefitsof

doingthisneedtobeweighedagainsttherisks,particularlyintermsof

committingend-usertime;thisprocesscouldbeend-usereffortintensiveandmultiplesimultaneousinitiativescouldcauseresourceconflicts.

Usuallythenextidealcandidateproblemarisesduringtheprevioussolutiondevelopmentanditsamatterofdelayingworkonthenewproblemuntiltheold

oneisfarenoughalongtheprocess.

Tothatendtheresnothingwrongwithoverlappingsolutiondevelopment;as

onesolutionisindeploymentanothercanbeinthedevelopmentphase.

Inthismannerthetrojanmouseapproachcanbeseenasenablingaseriesof

solutionstobeimplemented,eachwideningthereachoftheplatform,thebusinessprocessesaffectedandincreasingthebusinessvaluedelivered.Inthis

mannertheengagementwithanddeploymenttotheenterpriseisbuilton

successaftersuccess.

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Enterprise Software Implementation - A New Approach