Category: Uncategorized

Changing commercial operations as we know it

Although open retail APIs have made a big splash in current markets, the open concept as a standard has been around as early as 2015 ¹. So, where are the Commercial APIs?

The concept of open commercial APIs is virtually unheard of and is still in its infancy. Open commercial APIs are a big deal as they provide for a new way to service commercial customers. Open APIs have rooted beginnings in corporations wanting to move faster, be more efficient, and smarter about their product offering to a consumer market. Currently, this new open standard has paved the way for Fintech’s to directly access consumer shopping, banking, and communication information.

We have seen many new successful Fintech start-ups use APIs to sell product directly to consumers. Companies like Acorns, Current, Chime, Simple, and Qapital have been big hits in the mobile application market.

Most fintech’s and corporations have not focused on how Open APIs can benefit their corporate partners and this is seen in the fact that there are very few Open API Corporate or Commercial marketplaces.

Fintech’s venture into commercial Open APIs

To do this, FIs and other Tech savvy groups required an open or public standard which would allow standardized access to commercial institutions data. This open/public API standard can be used by corporations, other third parties, and other Financial Institutions as a foundation for creating new applications that can do pretty much anything in a digital world. This type of API standard has opened the digital world to endless access possibilities.

Lack of corporate or commercial APIs, why is that?

As stated, there is still a large unexplored corporate and commercial API market. Reasons for this include the fact that creation of open commercial APIs are not widely sought after and are mainly undefined, expensive, and don’t provide for a clear and easy ROI. This combination makes for a slow move by Corporate America toward an Open API standard. Another reason that Corporations have not embraced Open APIs is that they don’t have a clear understanding of what to build, a strategy that outlines the customer need for Open APIs, and why they need to be part of the Open API ecosystem.

For these same reasons, institutions that haven’t consider an Open API approach will ultimately fall behind the organizations that have put such strategies in place.

Consider this, back in the day people laughed at, made fun, and balked at the use of an automobile to replace the horse. Ultimately however, the automobile slowly replaced the horse as the main mode of transportation. There are many reasons why this happened, cars are much faster, cars provide climate control, cars are comfortable to sit in, but maintenance costs are certainly one of the largest advantages. The owner no longer needed to feed, clean up after, and care for their main mode of transportation on a daily basis. Even though there are maintenance costs associated with an automobile, they don’t come close to the maintenance fees required to maintain a horse.

As new commercial Open APIs become available, organizations will clamor to them and demand new and more efficient API tools that aid in huge costs savings to their organizations. At that point, corporate institutions will have the information they need to build a correct strategy, business case, and ROI to create or be part of an Open API ecosystem.

Why should corporations use commercial Open APIs

According to market experts, estimates of an Open API ecosystem are in the trillions of dollars² and some of the major consultants are estimating the growth of Open APIs will triple in the next 12 months³. Open APIs will enjoy exponential growth over the next 10 years and pave the way to new digital technologies.

Use of Open or Public APIs enhances the digital application of exchanging data between systems. Having this ability allows for building APIs that can virtually think on their own to make predictions on business cash flow and forecasting much easier for those companies that use them. Those that embrace APIs will enjoy increases in profits, sales, and higher gains in market share. The open and modular architecture of Open APIs allow for business and IT improvement.

Open APIs will aid in deploying new products, reducing costs, and simplifying operations. They can aid in Financial planning and forecasting by providing valuable information on spending patterns that aid in identifying and planning for new opportunities. Deep dive analysis APIs will provide for a better understanding of their customers and their customer’s needs.

Efficiency and Cost savings are definitely two concrete reasons to use open APIs. There is a large cost savings in enabling ad hoc access to specific information without the cumbersome need to access multiple systems, multiple credentials, and multiple cut & paste steps. This includes a savings in data imports that decrease the time needed to get the job done. Open APIs allow those individuals that pull information, such as corporate system engineers and analysts, to talk directly to corporate applications. This ensures greater efficiency, reduced costs, and reduced errors.

Summary

Open APIs and business models that support APIs are still in their infancy. Such models are still working to gain footholds in today’s digital markets, but there is no doubt that commercial APIs can and will increase commercial revenue as well as provide increased savings and efficiencies. Each commercial organization will need to come up with their own individual strategy and plan for being part of an open API digital ecosystem.

1 – OpenAPI Initiative, November 15, 2015. “New Collaborative Project to Extend Swagger Specification for Building Connected Applications and Services”
https://www.openapis.org/announcement/2015/11/05/new-collaborative-project-to-extend-swagger-specification-for-building-connected-applications-and-services
2 – McKinsey Digital, October 1, 2013. “Open data: Unlocking innovation and performance with liquid information”
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/open-data-unlocking-innovation-and-performance-with-liquid-information
3 – McKinsey Digital, September 17, 2017. “What it really takes to capture the value of APIs”
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/what-it-really-takes-to-capture-the-value-of-apis

Although we’ve had great news regarding a vaccine that is stated to be 90% effective fighting the COVID virus, we are still months away from delivering this vaccine to the American public. Small businesses need help NOW and our local and federal governments should and could help them out!

The government could grant small businesses these funds to update their business with HEPA filtration, UV systems, and humidifiers. Also, fund employers employees for the time it takes to install the systems, and then follow a process to confirm a successful installation.  A simple installation/confirmation process could be:

This small business opening grant/process should be added to the current COVID-19 phased plans that many states are using to combat the Corona virus. It would also help boost infrastructure through the construction, installation, project management, and operation of these systems.  Considered a win-win!!!  To me this seems like an efficient, effective, and economical way to get our small businesses up and running to capacity during the winter months. 

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Back in 2017, I was fortunate to manage the BMO Harris Bank / 1871 Fintech Partnership Program where we would mentor up to eight fintech companies.  The program was setup to give Fintech companies a good understanding of how to work with large Financial institutions.  Also, it gave BMO Harris the opportunity to work with up and coming technical rising stars. We worked with 1871 to announce the program and to setup an online application that allowed Fintech’s consideration to be part of the mentorship program.

Working with stakeholders, it was determined that the program would run for 3 months with a final judging contest that awarded cash prizes. We worked with 1871 to announce the program and to setup an online application that allowed Chicago FinTech's an opportunity to be consider for the mentorship program.  A selection committee was created to review the applications and to select the startup companies that we wanted to possibly work with as mentees.

At an 1871 TGIF, the program was announced on April 21, 2017. BMO would accept applications and interview technical startup companies with a Fintech product or service to be part of the mentorship program.  From the identified applications, 6 startups were selected to move forward as part of the mentorship program.  Each startup was matched with FI experts from BMO Harris Bank which acted as mentors for a three-month period. At the end of the mentorship period, each mentee gave a 10 to 20-minute presentation in front of several BMO Harris Bank leaders who in turn selected a first, second, and third place winner.

The program was a huge success as BMO Harris Bank selected two Fintech companies, Genivity and SpringFour, partnering with the tech startups to bring their products and services to specific customers.

Due to the overwhelming success of the program, I was asked to manage this program every year until the department I worked in was disbanded in 2019.

If you are an organization that is looking to enter or solidify your presence in the digital and technical world, please feel free to contact me so we can discuss how I can aid you in your success in the digital or fintech world. https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-m-kottke/

If you are in the medical profession you are most likely on the front line with first responders — the guardian angles that work extremely hard to keep us healthy!  For the rest of us, we continue to manage projects. 

I, along with most Americans, find myself in very unfamiliar water.   With a pandemic seizing our country, an unemployment rate as high as 14 percent with 20 plus million people out of work, and an economy that is in recession, there seems to be no chance of a turnaround in the near future. So, what do great project managers do during this type of crisis?

Although there are a lot of jobs listed on social media and jobs sites, the business in my area of expertise are replying with messages such as the following, “Unfortunately, due to unforeseen business circumstances, hiring for this position has been cancelled.”

My background is in program, project, and product management, manufacturing, software development, consulting, and the finance industry.  So what do great project managers do during a pandemic or crisis?

Outside of collaboration on possible new business, self-development, non-profit, or academic projects with others, friends, and colleagues, I have endeavored to tackle, learn from, and complete projects outside of my background industries!  Great project managers can manage projects in any industry, from finance, to medical, and to construction. As proof of this, I offer a few projects that I managed outside of my normal areas of expertise during the pandemic.   I am a great project manager!

Project One (Boat pad retaining wall)

Problem to be solved – The boat pad was built two years prior with the intent to allow me to store and work on the boat when the boat was out of the water.  It was on the side of the house which allowed for easy access to the boat and trailer, but it proved was difficult to work on as there was little room between the boat and the forest.  Also, this forest side had small hill which dumped mud onto the pad when it rained.

Requirements

The list of requirements include and must:

• Set back 4 to 5 feet from the existing boat pad  
• Made up of a strong enough material to hold back three to four feet of soil and forest  
• Keep dirt and debris off boat pad
• Look pleasant and appealing

Budget

Sponsor allocated 750 dollars to the project or about half the expected cost of hiring a vendor to complete the project.

Project forecast

The budget was based on the following numbers:

Estimated Project Cost (If a vendor is used to complete the project)

Qty	Unit	Description	Price	Extended
10	Bags	Paver base	2.5	25.00
300	lbs	Backfill	0.89	267.00
10	bags	Leveling sand	2.45	24.50
105	ea	Bricks	1.4	147.00
22	ea	Caps	1.8	39.60
8	Tubes	adhesive	8	64.00
25	hrs	Labor	40	1000.00
				$1,567.10

Milestones

Milestone	Included Activities
Area Identification	Mark area, call Julie
Purchase Material	Calculate needed material, Setup Delivery
Excavation	Digging, picking, sawing, leveling, removing
Foundation	Prep, leveling, placing
Wall Build	Pattern decision, laying bricks, cutting
Caps	Cutting, pattern decisions, placing
Backfill	Digging and filling, planting

Risks and Issues

Short Description	Type	Description	Impact	Decision
Tree Roots	Issue	During excavation a tree root was found in foundation path	Critical	dig 6 inches back and around root and cut root
Boulders	Issue	During excavation a 3ft boulder was found in foundation path	Critical	Remove 450 pound bolder
Lot Line	Risk	Risk of building the retaining wall over the property lotline	High	Confirm lotline location
Buried lines	Risk	Risk of hitting a buried cable during excavation	Critical	Contact Julie to locate buried cable

Project Completion

Actual Project Cost

Qty	Unit	Description	Price	Extended
10	Bags	Paver base	2.3	23.00
300	lbs	Backfill	0.5	150.00
10	bags	Leveling sand	2.3	23.00
105	ea	Bricks	1.4	147.00
22	ea	Caps	1.8	39.60
10	Tubes	Adhesive	7	70.00
25	hrs	Labor	0	0.00
				$452.60

Project completed under budget and on time, another project well done!

Project Two (the Garden)

Problem – Garden is too large for a working family to manage.  There are too many critters eating the garden, it is overgrown with weeds, and small trees. The garden is completely unmanageable by the owners.  The garden required an entire rethink and redo.

Requirements

Working with the sponsor and other stakeholders it was determined that a self-contained which could provide a minimal, viable product for growing organic fruits and vegetables with as little maintenance as possible for a busy lifestyle was desirable.  Working with all stakeholders, it was determined that a small greenhouse would be the proper solution to complete this project.

• Current garden and fencing must be removed
• Temporary garden sites must be erected for 2020 garden
• Greenhouse must be secured to a stable foundation
• Site location must be marked and approved by stakeholders
• Greenhouse floor is expected to be filled with organic material that resists weeds

Budget

Sponsor allocated 900 dollars to the project as a gift to her spouse for his birthday and Father’s Day.

Project Forecast (if a vendor is used to complete)

Qty	Unit	Description	Price	Extended
4	ea	4 x 4 lumber	45	180.00
2	Yard	Gravel	50	100.00
4	ea	Masonry bolts	2.45	9.80
1	ea	Greenhouse	600	600.00
2	ea	8″ deck footing	1.8	3.60
6	ea	Quick set cement	7	42.00
60	hrs	Labor	40	2400.00
				$3,335.40

Milestones

Milestones	Included Activities
Fence removal	Remove small trees and dig out roots. Dismantle old fencing.
Greenhouse Purchase	Review product in expected size, quality, and price
Purchase Material	Locate and purchase greenhouse and foundation material
Excavation	Digging, site identification, picking, sawing, leveling, removal
Foundation	Prep, leveling, placing, and installation
Build	Erect purchased greenhouse
Fill	Fill in floor and foundation with gravel

Risks and Issues

Short Description	Type	Description	Impact	Decision
Bird Nests	Issue	A cardinal built a nest in one of the trees that was entwined in the garden fence	Critical	Cut fence around the tree. Leave tree alone until birds leave the nest.
Impact to established plants	Issue	Grapevines and berry bushes are established, must not be harmed	Critical	Site location must be approved.
Greenhouse placement	Risk	Risk of reduced sunlight during various times of the year	High	Study solar location for spring, summer, and fall months for optimal location.

 Project Completion

Actual Project Cost

Qty	Unit	Description	Price	Extended
4	ea	4 x 4 lumber	45	180.00
2	Yard	Gravel	50	100.00
4	ea	Masonry bolts	2.45	9.80
1	ea	Greenhouse	600	600.00
2	ea	8″ deck footing	1.8	3.60
6	ea	Quick set cement	7	42.00
0	hrs	Labor	40	0.00
				$935.40

Project completed at close to budget. All risks and issues were mediated and closed prior to completion. Phase 1 of this project is complete, but phase 2 and 3 are to be completed in subsequent years.

Project Three (Patio extension)

Problem – The original deck to the back of the house was built over a hill that would not grow any type of vegetation due to lack of sunlight. Plus, every time it rained a couple of issues would arise to the deck and the walkout patio below. The ground underneath the deck eroded, spilling mud on the deck below and exposing the deck foundation; this could eventually cause a weakness to the structure of the deck! Plus the mud ended up on the current, existing paver patio which houses a hot tub; this was a muddy mess.

Although there are several solutions to the problem. The request of the sponsor was to create a three-tiered retaining wall and an extension to the paved patio. My part of this project is to manage and complete the extended patio.

Requirements

• New pavers must be a close match or complement the existing patio pavers
• New area will cover entire dirt and pea gravel under the deck on the lowest level
• Costs to be kept to a minimal
• Pavers must border up to retaining wall and be a level surface

Budget

Total budget for the project is estimated at $2,000 if a vendor is used to complete the project. This was based on the following estimated costs.

Qty	Unit	Description	Price	Extended
20	Bags	Paver base	5	100.00
20	bags	Leveling sand	5	100.00
78	ea	Bricks	1.4	109.20
1	ea	Bonding Sand	40	40.00
40	hrs	Labor	40	1600.00
				$1,949.20

Milestones

Milestones		Included Activities
Confirm site		Confirm the size and placement of the patio, notify JULIE
Purchase Material		Locate and purchase patio material
Excavation		Digging, site identification, picking, sawing, leveling, removal
Fill		Paverbase and leveling sand
Level		Level area for pavers
Placement		Placement and cutting
Seal		Add bonding sand and seal

Risks and Issues

Short Description	Type	Description	Impact	Decision
Utility Placement	Risk	Possibility of buried cable or other items	Low	None found
Existing Obstacles	Risk	Existing patio and hot tub	Low	Existing items were not a hindrance

Project Completion

Since the work was completed in-house the labor estimate was eliminated and saved us about $1,600 dollars and cutting the estimated costs by about 90%.

Actual Cost

Qty	Unit	Description	Price	Extended
20	Bags	Paver base	2.3	46.00
20	bags	Leveling sand	2.3	46.00
78	ea	Bricks	0.7	54.60
1	ea	adhesive	30	30.00
40	hrs	Labor	0	0.00
				$176.60

Conclusion

The above projects are only a few examples of the projects that I have completed or continue to work on as I look for new corporate, software development, or manufacturing opportunities. Although I have been impacted by the latest economic recession and a 100 year pandemic, I continue to do what great Project Managers do; projects! It doesn’t matter what industry the project is in, I have a proven track record of successfully completing projects, programs, and products that I have managed. I am a thinker, a doer, and a go-getter. I can successfully manage any program, project, or product in any industry.

I am the great person that you want to manage your projects, programs, or products!

I’ve been asked several times about the differences between centralized and decentralized resource project management and which do I feel is more effective.

Centralized Resource Project Management – All project, program, and portfolio managers are in one group within the organization, usually under the EPMO. The thought here is that all resources are pooled under one group and any project, program, or portfolio manager can work on or manage any project, program, or portfolio within the organization since the management life cycle or process is very similar throughout the firm. This lends itself to an agnostic approach to project management. It does have its pros and cons.

Pros:

• All under one PMO following a single standard
• A single enterprise source or repository for project and program management talent
• Provides for easy rotation between business segments
• Consistent work inputs and outputs

Cons:

• Not aligned specifically to business unit
• More difficult to become a Subject Matter Expert for the business unit
• PM usually doesn’t report directly to the Business Leader
• Normally works in functional or matrixed environment with less authority
• Additional overhead of a PMO

Decentralized Resource Project Management – Project, program, and portfolio managers work directly for a Line of Business. They will most likely become functional or projectized managers. They work directly under a Line of Business and are usually considered experts in their respective field. Usually reports directly to a director, VP, or CEO.

Pros:

• Typically, a projectized environment, so the PM has more authority over the project(s) and associated resources
• The PM is most likely a subject matter expert (SME) in the line of business
• PMs usually report into Line of Business managers so there is not as much overhead as a PMO

Cons:

• Siloed to one business unit; more ramp-up time is needed if the PM moves to a different business unit
• Business unit may not follow a standard PM methodology
• Lack of an adherence or cooperation to project management best practices

My answer to this question is that it depends on what the organization is looking to accomplish.  Both approaches work well in most organizations depending on how the firm determines to use their PMO and resources.

If the organization is looking to standardize their approach to Project management and would like to ensure that the PMO standards are used company wide, are looking for their PM resources to work in any segment or channel in the firm, and wants a single point of contact for PM resources. The centralized approach works to the benefit of everyone within the organization.  The centralized approach offers the one shop stop and standardized approach to project and program management.

However, the decentralized approach is better for an organization that is contemplating their PMs to be become an expert in segmented field of work or as a functional manager.   Also, this approach is better if the enterprise is not looking for a standardized management approach or doesn’t want the overhead of running a PMO as part of the enterprise.   The decentralized approach can be very effective if the segment specializes in an operational discipline.

Back in 1977 George Lucas and 20th Century Fox released one of the greatest movies that I have ever seen. To this date, Star Wars: A new hope has made more money for Fox studios than any other film of its time; kudos to you Mr. Lucas! This movie gave us a glimpse of what we might expect in the future and I loved it. Now-a-day, we enjoy some of the devices as shown on Sci-Fi movies and shows such as mobile phones, self-driving cars, and personal computers; but I was hoping for much more.  For example, in the Star Wars movies, they had holographic communicators; by now we should at least have see through phones.

Why are manufactures having trouble building the products people want? I get it, there are a lot of reasons as to why certain products can’t be built, such as cost, delivery, legal and regulatory rules. However, I have some thoughts on cool apps or products that would be great to have now. Even those that are currently in the works or out in the market aren’t necessarily user friendly or intuitive to the user. This is why I miss Steve Jobs, although I’m not an apple product person, I loved his thinking. Basically, you shouldn’t need instructions, the product should be intuitive on its own. For example – Wouldn’t it be great if you could unlock your PC, your car, apartment, or house by using your finger print from your phone? At a minimum, this option should be embedded in every windows OS. Doing a quick search for this type of technology on the internet it looks as if this  was available through a product called BTProximity, but the product is discontinued.  This should not be a difficult product to create, it would require a simple architecture like the depiction below: The first time you setup the PC/Laptop/tablet this feature would be available to imprint your phone and finger, no brainier right?! So, why hasn’t Microsoft given this to us? Well, I don’t think they thought of it yet.  Instead they decided to work with a USB device that recognizes you through face or finger recognition. But come on, most of us already have a device that securely identifies us, our cell phone or our watch. Or better yet, wouldn’t be great to ask your device’s AI to unlock the computer, door, car, instead of using your finger.  The AI should recognize you and do as you have requested. It would be awesome if Alexia/Google/Siri  would work like Onstar works in your car. It would be great if today’s AIs were intelligent like C3PO and could talk or text to people as C3PO did in Star Wars.  It would be very helpful if you could use your device’s AI to make a call on your behalf. If only your phone could place a food order on your behalf at restaurants or grocery stores. The AI would ask if you’ll be dining-in at the restaurant, pick it up, or if the order should be delivered. If you select dining-in, the AI would ask where you would like to dine, how many people will be joining you, and the approximate time for a reservation. If you select delivery, it would track the order to your door and tell you it has arrived.  If you select pick-up, it would track the order and let you know that the order will be ready in the X amount of minutes it will take you to get to that location.  Wouldn’t that be great?!  What we need is for Android Auto, Google Android, and the Onstar AI to merge and add some minor functions to make an awesome AI that talks and texts for the customer.  Example 1: “Maihnn, please call Rosati’s and order 2 large Pizza’s, one pizza with cheese only and the other with half sausage and the other half mushrooms and onions.” Maihnn response… Did you say call Rosati’s  Pizza and order 2 large Pizza’s, one with cheese only and the other pizza one half sausage the other half Mushroom and onion; is that correct? “Yes” Calling… “Hi Rick, your Rosati’s pizza order total came to $32.80 and the pizzas will be ready in thirty minutes.   Is there anything else that you need?” Example 2: “Maihnn, I would like to eat at Squires tonight.”  Maihnn response… Did you say you would like to make a reservation to eat at The Village Squire tonight? “Yes” “Sir, which location would you like to eat at, how many people will be joining you and at what day and time would you like this reservation?” “I would like to eat in McHenry, there will be 3 others joining me, and make it for tonight at 7 pm.” “Sir, just to confirm, you would like me to make your McHenry Village Squire reservation for four people at 7:00 PM tonight, is that correct?” “Yes, that is correct” Calling… “Sir, they can’t seat you until 7:30, would that be okay?” “Yes, that would work” “Sir, your reservation is set for tonight at 7:30 PM for four people under the name Rick Kottke. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Wouldn’t it be awesome if this and other similar apps really worked this way? The AI to make calls and place orders is not that difficult  to program, Apple, Amazon, Google Android and GM Onstar have already completed half the work. The other half should be just as easy by using the customer’s voice or the AI’s to place the actual order and then receive a confirmation from the retailer/restaurant host as feedback to the customer.  Hey, Samsung, Apple, Motorola, Microsoft, Intel, Amazon, Google, GM, or VC’s, are you listening? If you need a Portfolio/Program/Software manager to create, design, architect, and manage this, just drop me a note.   Some retailers get it, for example, Starbucks has an app that allows you to place your order from your device and pick it up at a specified location. You should be able to do that same thing at all retail stores/restaurants.   You should be able to use your device to pay for your purchases at any retail location. Currently, American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa offer a point-to-pay app for Android and iPhone’s but this is not available everywhere from every POS device. Also, setting this app up should be automatic. Although the Android Pay and Apple pay install and setup is pretty much the same from either app, I had to contact my bank to complete the account linkage.  It is a shame that these apps don’t allow me to order and pick-up the way the Starbucks app does. To me, it is a game changer! Wouldn’t be great to withdraw money from an ATM via your phone and have it dispense the funds when you arrive at the ATM. You don’t have to enter a PIN, the ATM would know you and that you were there to pick-up your withdrawal. It would be amazing to have an app that looks at spending habits and suggests financial funds to invest in – and if you agree to the suggestions, would actually invest in them on your behalf. Apps that will buy and sell equities based on your ranges and requirements. This would not only include information on dividends, volatility, average shares traded, and cycles; but in equities of your interest based on your spending habits, books and news that you read, searches you perform, and sites that you visit.   Mint.com is close to what I would want in a financial app, but it isn’t close enough. The app will look for savings vehicles but not in equities where one can make a lot more money, especially since current savings interest rates are so low. Devices should suggest dinner ideas based on your purchasing habits and they should know what you like and don’t like. However, the app should only do this when you are looking for something to eat. The app should alert you in an android’s voice, “Sir, may I suggest blah, blah, blah”.  It would be great to have that Star Wars effect. A device should tell you whether it would be better to walk instead of taking a cab to your next meeting. And if you walk, whether or not you should bring an umbrella. Your device should know if you forgot your train pass or wallet, or know where your keys are – why don’t we have these apps?  Alexa, where are my keys? Yes, one could use “Tile”, but why don’t we have transmitters in our current keys? As you can tell by this post, I want more out of the apps and technology that are supported on my phone and other devices. I haven’t even begun to discuss how a new AI app could aid businesses, back-office operations,  and employees. There’s a gold mine here. I am passionate about this type of AI, if you are a corporation that is seriously interested in hearing more about or looking to be that next product/app big thing, please drop me a line and we can talk about it in detail.

8 easy things to remember…

I wrote this guide to provide business partners with thoughts on an easy and efficient way to engage their technology partners.  It’s not always easy to embrace technology as it can be rather complex, my aim was to provide a simple guide to working with technology in order to drive project success.  Although the post is long, I’m hoping that you find it useful and will share it with others.

A blog for success by Richard Kottke

Business to Technology Engagement History

Just as there are several ways to manage a project, there are many ways to engage in technical projects. In the early to mid 20th century the modern computer was developed. This gave us the advantage of a computational machine that would complete business related tasks in a fraction of the time that it took a human resource to complete. At nearly the same time, computer science related project management became recognized as a discipline instead of the ad-hoc process of managing projects through a scheduled number of tasks. Prior to this time, formal technology engagement was virtually non-existent. An assigned business lead would reach out directly to the technologist and provide them with spec’s on what was to be built. Most of the time the Research and Development group fulfilled the role of the technology group. There were no PC’s at that time and most main frame computers were leased from the major computer manufacturers or universities.

As the costs and size of computers came down, the need for project manager engagement with technology began to rise. Organizations discovered the numerous reporting capabilities of systems and requested technical projects from these systems. However, the engagement was undisciplined and unruly causing many delays and setbacks in project completion.

History of Advanced Computing Technology

Advanced Computing Technology – starts with the evolution of computing machines and software

Although there are several methodologies, programming languages, and hardware not included in the above timeline, the items listed have had a significant impact on today’s technological advances. With the innovation of the of the modern computer (CPU, memory, and peripherals), technology has moved forward in an unprecedented pace.

Technology has the ability to meet business needs at a much faster pace than it did in past. However, the ability to harness that power has been a challenge over the last 60+ years. Machines don’t speak a “human” language, nor do they comprehend human abstract thought. Thus, we rely on human technologists to explain/relay human thoughts to technology. The problem with that is we are all individuals and have unique ideas on how things should work. Applications developed through technology must be carefully planned in order to deliver expected results. Some of this is seen through the business use of methods that were developed specifically for building software applications, i.e. – Waterfall, Spiral, RAD, and Agile methods. Although these methods have their origins in software development, they have become ingrained in project management and are frequently discussed with business partners to ensure that the business receives expected product.

Technology

Through the 50’s to 70’s the need for a separate Technology team for the average to large company was rare. The equipment was expensive and the technologist were specialized and limited in ability. The existence of business administrative applications were also limited and those that did exist were mainly financial in nature. Because of these limitations, the technology teams that existed were managed and reported to the finance department.

The need for technical teams within an organization came about with the mass production of smaller hardware, faster software, the creation of online/mobile applications, and the ability of computers to perform complex tasks.

With the rise of modern computing systems, leadership redefined their organizations similar to the image below. Several new departments were created to handle the technical needs. In most current environments, these departments don’t report to business management. This would suggest that these resources are viewed as performing a separate function within the organization and thus work under a separate agenda. This may differ from the businesses itinerary.

Business, Technology, and Others…

Technology has a symbiotic relationship with other parts of an organization. It must work hand-in-hand with others to complete finished products.

Technology is responsible for producing products based on Business specifications. The Business is responsible for creating products that meet the organization’s objectives. Other parts of the organization are responsible for the guidelines and quality that are used to manage technology and confirm a quality product

Easy things to remember when working with Technology

The organizational funding process can be complex as it involves the entire organization. Since it is organization wide, the funding request from each group differs and may lead to disorder between the groups looking for funds. This misalignment usually causes a number of problems for both the business and technology groups, examples of these ‘direct impact’ issues are listed to the right.

Projects are expensive, not having startup funds to investigate, the time-frame, requirements, and resources to develop a new product can lead to problems. The business would like to create new products that not only meet customer needs, but follow the organizations direction and turn a profit for the organization. In order to realize the project’s cost benefit, there is a need for a high-level estimate of what the product will cost to build and get into production. There may be a thought that the tech partners will provide such a high-level estimate for free, that is not always the case. Why, because in most cases technology is considered a profit center. This means that the business will need a cost center to bill tech project work, this includes providing high level estimates. If the project has a technical component, the business team will need to engage technology to get an initial project cost estimate.

The lack of required project approvals will slow down if not stop project work. Without these approvals, in most cases the project will be doomed for lack of support from stakeholders within the organization.

It is key to ensure that those stakeholders impacted by the project support the project. Stakeholders that have a perception the project will negatively impact their world must be notified of the project. They must have a good understanding of how the project will benefit them and the organization. Without stakeholder buy-in, the project is likely to fail. Getting approval up front will aid in project support, even from the nay-sayers.

The usual required  approvals: Business case and benefits Stakeholder approval Funding Risks, issues, and changes Project Charter – PM authority to work on the project Governance Document – project resources Project Management Plan

In order to succeed, Technology must work with all parts of an organization. However, as part of that success it must not be tied directly to one specific part of the business. Technology must manage it’s own resources independently to be successful. It shouldn’t be aligned directly with others.

Technology uses a complex series of actions and steps to build product. This process has at least five phases and is used as the foundation to successfully meet customer’s requirements. The process includes steps for initiating, planning, designing, estimating, developing, managing, testing, and delivering the final expect product. The process is used to control project budget, risks, issues, resources, and communication.

Incorrectly engaging the technology group can lead to many problems such as cost overruns, unidentified risks and issues, project delays, incorrect estimates and so on.
Engaging Technology too early can lead to scope creep, funding issues, time delay and additional project costs. You may encounter project bias, early project spend, unneeded resourcing, and unwanted features.

Business product managers spend a lot of time researching and developing the right product. The product analysis should be complete prior to engaging technology. Allowing technical influences at this time would cause a deviation from the planned product. Direct impacts to the product/project would include: Additional Time Stagnate or additional resources Monies spent on non-project work If engaged too early in the process, Technology partners may want to impose their thoughts on the finished product. This is not within their realm and can lead to a product that is not usable in the market…

SDLC is a process for working through the development of a new product. The process starts with an initiation phase to confirm requirements and to get ready for design Once design is complete, development or the build phase begins After development is confirmed to be complete the project moves to the testing This is where the Business will do UAT testing and approve the project to move forward into production The final piece is approval and acceptance of the completed product. Once approved, the product moves to production and the team moves on to the next technical project

In past years, technology would perform testing. This included such groups that supported the testing effort. In modern times, testing is managed by test management. This team is responsible for testing the product to ensure the final product meets approved requirements. Testing Management – the Technology PM works with the testing management team to assign a Test Manager. The Test Manager provides the Test Management Plan. Test Managers – Test Managers create the test schedule, review the plan and schedule with the project team, and obtain test planning approvals. Once approved, the testing team will move on to building test cases that tie back to requirements. Project Testing – Testing is usually broken down into testing types such as: Unit Testing – Testing done during development System Integration Testing – a testing process to test coexistence with other apps or systems User Acceptance testing – UAT is the last performed testing prior to acceptance. The results are usually used to secure product acceptance and approval

Developing and implementing new products may have a direct impact on the current organization systems. Depending on the product, the impact can be so great as to impede existing organizational products in production and lead to higher than expected errors and defects. The Test Manager or Project team should have a plan to manage and control cross system project impacts, most larger organizations have a separate group that manages the cross-system impacts. Business partners may be unaware of a department within the organization known as Release Management. Release Management is the team that identifies, manages, and controls project implementation as well as cross-system impacts. Without this type of management, a project may impact another organizational system in such a way as to cause it to fail. Obviously, this would have a negative impact to the organization and needs to be avoided.

The RMO: Monitors and controls all implementation activities Confirms System Cross Dependencies Plans and Schedules release work on a yearly basis

The inability to hold your technology accountable for their work will cause project delivery issues. Impacts include: Missed deadlines Delays Rising costs Unclear expectation Additional risks Unclear design Not getting the product you want. Keep in mind, your Technology Partners are there to help you.

Questions? If you have any questions, need clarification, or want to learn more… Contact your IT Director or Program Manager if you have any questions about working with Technology. These resources can aid in pulling in other technological groups (the PMO, Technology, Leadership) as required.