Post on 28-Dec-2015
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Delivering Maximum Business Valuefrom
Information Systems
Part 1
David P Jacobs
Copyright Profit From Information Limited 2001. All rights reserved.
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“Each Succeeding Generation of Computers Seems to
Teach Businesses to Operate Slower Faster.”
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Information Systems
“Only 15% of IT departments were able to meet strategic business goals.”
“There is no link between IT spend and corporate profitability.”
“We need a fundamentally new approach.”
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Context
of the problem and the start of a solution
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The Business Log and Phys Design Code
10% 90%effort effort
Users Analysis Software
90% 10% !?
Use of Processing Information of Information
The Ten-Ninety Diagram
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Business
Sector
Operation
Strategy
Mission
Process
Creativity
FunctionalInformation
System
LogicalDesign
Physical Information
System
Physical Design
Application
Data
Software Foundation
Infrastructure
Operating Systems
Networks
Market
Customers
Sales
Profit
Image
Loyalty
Suppliers
Traditional domain of ‘IT’
The Profit Business Value ApproachPeople, Culture, Creativity, Objectivity, Information
The Information Systems Activity/Role Spectrum
Market Research
Advertising, Marketing
ConceptualInformation
System
InformationUsage & Type
MarketingOperational
Financial
OperationalStrategicExternalInternal
V
A
L
U
E
£
£
£
B
I
N
A
R
Y
V
O
L
T
A
G
E
s
Requirements
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The Exponential Iceberg of Resource
A given business requirement
An exponential, multi-dimensional, unpredictable
and volatile resource requirement
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‘Information Technology’Expectations and Reality
Software
Usage and Business Value
Start of Computing Time 2001
Maximum Obtainable
Levelof
Expectation
Hardware
The 1934 Model
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Benefit Profiles
0
1
+
2
-1
‘Generation’ upgrades
Technical ‘upgrades’
Year 2000 Millennium Bug
Growth, business creativity
Information Systems Business Value (ISBV)
Worth doing, some benefit
Running to stand still, negligible positive benefit
What we’re aiming at
Users ‘satisfied’
IT Effectiveness
Cost ‘containment’
Traditional Automation
Conceptual Units of Benefit
Euro !
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Business Information
Value
£’s
Information
X Y
ZPeople, Activity
Business and Information
‘IT’
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The Core of a Solution
The Layers
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Pro-active Support
£s Value £s
Deployment
Physical Design
Semi-physical design sub layers
Functional / Logical Design
Business Goals and Objectives
Information support for Business Goals
Conceptual Information System
Horizontal Layers of Focus (Major)
VALUE
Requirements and Options
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Vertical Correspondence
To ensure that business value cascades through the process
Requirements
ValueIdentification
Functional Design
Increase detail
Verify Propagate
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Profit Principlesand IT Effectiveness Guidelines
• Functional ConceptsCreativity, Objectivity, Intent
• Principles of AutomationCrunch, In-touch, Value Targeted SubsetsData and Information
• Business Practice and ContingencyHuman and Machine
• Physical PracticalitiesPragmatic Design and Diagnostics
• Documentation Issues‘What you need', Parallelism
• Multi-skilled Role Development
• Culture Change Guidelines
• Strategy and Decision Making
• Etcetera …
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The Profit Business Value Approach
Is based on extensive, multifaceted business/IT ‘hybridism’ and gap bridging.
It is therefore
• a Skill
• a (Unified) Set of Roles
• an Attitude & Ethos
• an Approach
Why and how does this kind of Approach differ from more traditional IT approaches…?
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The Business
The Profit Business Value ApproachProfit Principles and IT Effectiveness Guidelines
Functional Concepts
Identify and Monitor Business ValueApply Principles of ‘Automation’
Data and Information IssuesBusiness Practice and Contingency
Etcetera …
I.T.
PRINCE LBMS/Platinum SSADM, YOURDON, IE DSDM, RAD/JAD, LSDM OO, UML …
Project Manager Business Analyst Systems Analyst Developer
Quality measured on business benefit
Reconciliation of Business & IT views
Use of multifaceted skills
Holistic and business focused
Understand how information increases Business Value
Manage culture transformation
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Working with a BISS or an ISBVS
Project ManagementI.S./I.T.
Provides IS/IT resources, schedules, monitors physical quality, technical analysis, software design, delivery and support
Project ManagementBusiness
Defines business goals, functional requirements, provides business resources, business ‘process’ definition and deployment
Stakeholders/Steering Group, IS/IT Director/CIO
Project TeamBusiness and IS/IT Personnel
ISBVS (BISS)
Translates, mediates,identifies business value, monitors layers of focus,
assesses benefits, reviews use of information
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Enhancing Existing Methods
What can the Profit B. V. Approach add?
For example, to DSDM
• MoSCoW
• Extensions
• Value Tagging/Projection
• Timeboxing
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‘Information Technology’A set of steps for mankind
Software
Usage and Business Value
Start of Computing Time 2001
Maximum Obtainable
Levelof
Expectation
Hardware
The Step Diagram
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Future Value Strategy
For Improved Business Value and Benefits we could do well to …
aim at generating business value rather than ‘getting the software in’
calculate step heights and lengths based on practicality and maximum Business Gain
try to target value at a lower level of detail
improve understanding of the use of information
promote generic, business-IT ‘hybrid’ and gap bridging skills, play as one team - and make better use the skills we have got!
“It’s the broader skills that bring the value out from the narrower ones.”
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We Should Remember That
• User Community requirements may change every day - often justifiably!
• Information System Business Value cannot be manifested before implementation day and therefore requires Pro-active ‘Support’ thereafter.
• We are all ‘stupid’ together in this. Let’s work together - which makes us all clever!
• Producing high value information systems is like competing in a series of grand prix’s, it’s highly marginal, you have to keep tuning and the car only performs as well as its driver drives!
• Gain takes Pain and Strain, like going to the gym!
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21st Century Information Systems
We could also do well to …
Consider the aim to be ‘to create a new way of working that may use information systems at strategic points to engender business value’
Avoid playing politics with business ‘IS/IT’ projects – it kills value (and usually the project!)
Scope realistically, smaller steps rather than slippery leaps!
Profit’s objective is ‘to refine its Business Value Approach so that more businesses can be helped to help their customers and create value along the chain’
“Don’t try to beat this recession, plan to avoid the next!”
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For further details please refer to Profit product literature
Email : business@profinfo.co.uk
Wishing you Success!
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Appendix 1
Additional Slides Part 1
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Aims of The Approach
To maximise GainTo minimise Pain
By improving the effectiveness of an organisation or business unit’s BICEPS
That is the combined strength of its Business Information Creativity, Effort,
People .. and Software
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Style and Derivation of
the Approach
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Style of the Approach
• Business value and benefits focused
• Pragmatic, what you can do ‘on Monday’
• Holistic, takes account of the bigger picture
• A multifaceted view of business, IS and IT
• Shifts the focus to the Why/What from the What/How
• Sees information as the link between business and IT
• Combines evolution with revolution
• Out of the box coupled with inside!
• Enhances existing methods, does not replace
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Inputs to the Approach
• Empirical Synthesis
• Practice
• Observation
• Research
• Hypothesis and Trial
• Comparison
• Socratic Reasoning
• Discussion
• Prototyping
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The Business Value Approach’s Availability
This presentation
Published material
Informally documented material and development of The B. V. Approach
Professional Services and associated Documentation
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Appendix 2Selections from Part 2
Part 2 includes …
Definitions of Information Systems Business Value and IT Effectiveness
Maximising the Business Gain Equation
Assessment, Analysis, Planning and Monitoring with The IT Effectiveness Improvement Programme and The IT Effectiveness Spectrum
Value Projection at a Lower Level of Granularity
The Business Value Approach in Action
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Definitions
Information Systems Business Value (ISBV)
The degree to which the Information System potentially helps the business to achieve its objectives, i.e the business principle that yields the value (the quality of the ‘BICEP’)
IT Effectiveness
The degree to which the physical IT system supports the ISBV (the quality of the ‘S’)
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The aim is to Maximise Gain and Minimise Pain
That is Business Gain = ISBV * IT Effectiveness
• ISBV ranges from approx –1 through 0 to +N
• IT Effectiveness cannot exceed +1 (or 100%)
• ISBV can be more than +1 !
IT Effectiveness cannot increase ISBV, it can only detract from ISBV or fulfil it at best
Therefore ISBV has to be as large as possible in order to maximise BG and survive the Value Reduction Process (referred to in the Activity/Role Spectrum)
Information Systems Business Gain
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A systematic approach to the improvement of Information Systems
Business Value
The IT Effectiveness Improvement Programme
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1Assessment using the IT
Effectiveness Spectrum
E.g. ISBV = 37/100
2Analysis
of ISBV by Criterion
i.e. decompose score into constituents
3Assess Propensity
to improve by criterion
e.g. BAP ‘reconstructivity’ to be increased from 25/100 to
43/100
4Plan Improvements
on selected criteria
i.e. how to achieve required ISBV by criterion
0Select
Business Scope
e.g. Sales and Marketing
5Implement Improvements
and optionally go to re-assessment of new ISBV or
choose new scope
The IT Effectiveness Improvement Programme
Typical assessment and improvement cycle
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The IT Effectiveness Spectrum
First devised by Profit in 1996 as an Information Systems Business Value assessment and improvement ‘mechanism’
Helps to assess the quality of the process as well as the value and quality of the output
Consists of a range of indicative criteria measured and weighted
Designed specifically for the purpose of improving Information Systems Business Value and Gain
Is being continually improved
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IT Effectiveness Spectrum
Example Criteria
• Business Objectives, degree of address
• The degree of business ‘Reconstructivity’
• Adherence to the Layers of Focus
• The Business / IT relationship and its quality
• Degree of User Community involvement
• Information Usage ability of the business
• Etcetera
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‘Automating’ with the Crossword Diagram
+ +
0 0 0 -
0
0
0
BusinessActivity Pattern
Computer Assisted Business Activity
Benefit ‘Score’
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The Approach in Action
Some recent achievements as the approach becomes The Approach
1997 No bugs? – unheard of!
1999 Functional objectivity triumphs
2000/1 MoSCoW extensions in test
Some early wins with the approach
1981 birth of ‘hybridism’
1986/7 proof of the pudding
1987/8 a great idea but ouch!