7. February 2010 by admin.

Computerworld reported recently on the difficulty with upgrades.  The story started by reporting about Kennametal, a $2 billion maker of construction tools, who has spent $10 million on ERP maintenance contracts during the past 13 years and not once could the company take advantage of upgrades, says CIO Steve Hanna. The company’s implementation was too customized: The time and effort needed to tweak and test the upgrade outweighed any benefits, he says. But Hanna kept trying. Late last year, he priced the cost of consultants to help with an ERP re-implementation and was shocked by estimates ranging from $15 million up to $54 million.

Ah, customising off-the-shelf software, the quickest way to project and software hell.

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19. December 2009 by admin.

From time to time vendors release major upgrades to their software that become must-haves for their customers.  However, such upgrades are usually projects in themselves – not quite a full implementation but with many of its characteristics.  What are the elements to making the upgrade a success?

1. Formal planning.  While it isn’t a full implementation, there are still complexities that need careful management
2. Standardize.  Is there some workaround in the existing implementation that can be removed, or an existing process improved, in implementing the upgrade.  The reason vendors such as SAP promoting shibboleths like “world’s best practice” is because workarounds are inherently expensive to maintain – perhaps not in money terms but in effort and frustration
3. Conduct a gap analysis.  What’s missing in the organisation?  What’s (still) missing in the software?
4. Involve end-users.  Since an upgrade is, supposedly, adding value to the organization it’s important to involve those whose day-to-day job consists of interacting with the software

And good luck with the upgrade

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20. November 2009 by admin.

Projects often fail through poor planning.  Here are some basic project management tips for a successful project.

• Establish commitment. Implementation takes time and resources. Make sure you have commitment before starting the project.
• Prepare an implementation plan and timeline. A good project plan is a key part of a successful project.
• Kick off the project in a big way. Let everyone in the company know you have started your project.
• Carry out a Gap Analysis with the vendor’s implementation team based on your original requirements.   The vendor will have made some assumptions that could turn into gotchas.

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15. November 2009 by admin.

A project is a project is a project, whether asset management or ERP.  Consona has produced a new White Paper on implementing ERP solutions.  Implementing a new, company-wide business system is no small feat. It requires dedication and focus to see it through, and can overwhelm the most seasoned project manager with the volumes of minute detail that must be addressed during the process. The key to doing it “right” is staying focused on the big picture—future payoffs that include more efficient business processes and substantial cost savings.

Consona as an industry veteran is well-positioned to offer advice on understanding, preparing for and managing the intensity of an enterprise-wide ERP implementation. The six steps outlined in the white paper are designed to help companies successfully negotiate the potential pitfalls of ERP systems implementation, from setting employee expectations before the transition to ensuring the right people take the project’s helm.  Many of the points apply equally to asset management system implementations.

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31. October 2009 by admin.

Reliable Plant has a recent blog an the steps to a successful Plant Management System implementation.  A well-planned and executed computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) project can yield a maximum return on investment (ROI). This return is realized through increased efficiency, productivity and profits. However, a poorly planned and executed CMMS project can result in a loss of revenues. These losses can be measured in terms of the overall investment in the project, as well as from wasted time and lost projected revenue forecast tied to the successful installation and implementation of a CMMS. The article outlines how to successfully plan a CMMS project.

Posted in Implementation, Infrastructure Management Software, Asset Management Software | No Comments »

15. October 2009 by admin.

The current financial crisis has thrown up many ideas at various layers of government on how to spend money in the best way to stimulate jobs.  Many governments have thrown several hundred dollars at each taxpayer in the hope that they will go and spend (and sometimes they have, often enough for such a strategy to be called a “success”).  However stories of crumbling infrastructure (the I-35 W bridge in Minneapolis, for example) or non-existent infrastructure (mass transportation for newly built suburbs) highlight the need for governments to focus on one of their key responsibilities – public services and public infrastructure.  Elinor Ostrum’s recent Nobel Prize for Economics celebrates her lifetime focus on the management of common resources; a role that government should undertake but often does not

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13. September 2009 by admin.

A blog over on Reliable Plant points up the issues around training when implementing software.  Vendors can only do so much.  You know your business.  You should do the training.

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30. August 2009 by admin.

Sometimes projects get, for want of a better term, indigestion.  It’s time to call a halt to stuffing oneself with food, let what’s done digest, and then move on.  Federal News Radio reports that the Veterans Affairs Department is putting 45 information technology projects on hold — at least temporarily — while it figures out how to get them back on track.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki says the agency will evaluate the projects, which range from e-learning to document imaging to medical billing to health IT, to determine if they are worth continuing.  "VA has a responsibility to the American people, who are investing millions of dollars in technology projects, to deliver quality results that adhere to a budget and are delivered on time." Shinseki says. "They need to have confidence that the dollars they are spending are being effectively used to improve the lives of our veterans."

The projects are worth an estimated $200 million in fiscal 2009, according to the Office of Management and Budget.  According to OMB’s IT dashboard Web site, VA lists 41 major investments worth $2.6 billion for 2009.  Of those 41 major investments, 26 are considered at high risk, including 20 that are off schedule.

On Friday’s In Depth with Francis Rose, VA chief information officer Roger Baker outlined why the projects were put on hold and not simply terminated, "We are going to change things and try and bring them back on track. We still have a requirement for the things those projects are trying to accomplish."   Federal chief information officer Vivek Kundra says on a blog post that the worst offender of these 45 projects is "110 percent over budget and 17 months behind schedule."

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22. August 2009 by admin.

A recent article in Computerworld discusses project failures.  Chris Curran, a consulting partner at Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, remarks that failures never seem to affect the vendors involved: "It’s never their fault," he says, "and the vendors tend to keep above the fray."  The unfortunate and unfair fact is that because these initiatives are considered "technology projects," the business will most always look in IT’s direction when there’s blame to be tossed around.  When it comes to walking the walk with technology projects (and presumably when the ‘you-know-what’ hits the fan), non-IT executives appear to fall back on familiar rhetoric. In a similar 2009 survey of more than 500 IT professionals by ISACA, a nonprofit trade group focusing on corporate governance, nearly half of respondents said "the CIO is responsible for ensuring that stakeholder returns on IT-related investments are optimized," notes the survey report.

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20. August 2009 by admin.

A survey of infrastructure business leaders released last week by KPMG International and the Economist Intelligence Unit found that more than three-quarters (76 percent) of American executives named "government effectiveness" as the greatest challenge they face to planning, delivering and managing infrastructure projects.

"The Changing Face of Infrastructure" surveyed 455 infrastructure executives worldwide, including 118 Americans, and while the sample may be small, the results were telling: Almost half (47 percent) of U.S. respondents cited excessive bureaucracy as the reason for government ineffectiveness, while a little more than one-third (34 percent) blamed a short-term planning horizon and another third (33 percent) attributed it to neglecting long-term maintenance.

How can government at all levels do a more effective job of delivering infrastructure projects? What needs to change about the public sector’s current approach, and what is the appropriate role for the private sector to play in improving the process?

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