Now I remember

I recently started a distance learning MBA - just a little something to while away non-working hours - and 20 year old memories of being a student have started to flood back. Didn’t I always say ‘never again’? So what possessed me?

Well, it can’t be a mid-life crisis. They’re much more fun and I’ve already had a couple of those.

Having an MBA is certainly an entry criteria for some roles, but isn’t that just a way to reduce the number of candidates that apply? How much difference does having an MBA actually make? What does it tell you about the candidate? I’ve known too many well-qualified people (MBAs included) that fail to make an impact in the workplace. However, if not having an MBA is a potential blocker then it’s definitely a factor worthy of consideration.

Perhaps (naively?), I simply thought that I might be able to learn something useful.

I’m a great believer in life-long learning. As a student, I learnt how to learn. As an employee, I learnt how to apply my learning and deliver results. Learn something new every day and that’s one more problem I can solve tomorrow.

I’m at the beginning of (at least) a 2 year journey, so I’m not in a position yet to assess the relevancy of the curriculum or the effectiveness of the teaching methods or, indeed, the dedication of the student. All of which I can reflect upon at appropriate junctures in the future.

One thing that I can say is that the thought of assignments and examinations remains as daunting as ever. The pressure is definitely on.

Inspect & Adapt

Have you ever come across one of those people who, even though they’ve only just arrived on the scene, is keen to tell you that, “(they) know exactly what the problem is” and “what you need to do is...”? Well I have – unfortunately on more than one occasion - and I find them extremely annoying!

I’m sorry, but it doesn’t matter what your background is and how much experience you have, you cannot possible approach a person or team in such a manner and retain your credibility.

It’s not just consultants who can fall into this trap. I’ve also seen recently hired employees make this same mistake. Let me reiterate, this is not a great first impression to leave behind! Having been on the receiving end, my immediate thoughts about the offending individual are generally extremely poor and certainly not repeatable here.

To be fair, I don’t think this is a common trait, which is why it sticks out like a sore thumb when you see it. Most of us understand how to treat people with a bit more respect.

I’m not certain it’s deliberate either. It’s more likely to be a lack of emotional intelligence in the offender. Or am I being too generous?

Anyway, you can probably tell that I’ve just had such an incident and it prompted me to write. It’s actually quite cathartic.

The question that’s just struck me of course is how do I come across when I first arrive somewhere new? OMG, do I make this mistake too? Surely not!?!?!

Perhaps now is the time to state what I actually set out to do and this is where the title for the entry comes in. I believe in the ‘inspect & adapt’ school of thought. Before expounding my opinions, I would much rather take the time to understand the situation, determine if I have any relevant experience to contribute and then tailor my thoughts and suggestions to the context at hand. Experience counts for an awful lot, but it needs to be applied to fit the current environment if it is going to make a difference.

If you read this, know me and think that I have my own challenges and opportunities to improve in this area, then please let me know. However, if that's the case, do treat me gently with your feedback as you now know that at least I think I'm doing the right thing!

"Agile is expensive" - discuss...

I was surprised recently when I was told that "Agile's ok, but it's expensive". That was a first for me. I'd never heard anybody say that before. What could possibly have possessed them?

It's the sort of statement that sets my mind racing. What could I have missed? Is it perhaps true? After all, many say that perception is reality. It was no good, I was going to have to think about this further.

So, here I am, thinking... is Agile expensive?

First, let's understand the basic premise - "I thought 'it' was going to cost X, but 'it' ended up costing X+Y and I got less (of 'it') than I expected.". If indeed that is your reality then I can certainly sympathise. However, can you attribute that failure to being Agile? Isn't this just a classic example of project overspend, de-scoping and, quite probably, time overrun?

Perhaps being Agile has somehow exacerbated the situation? Perhaps the innate ability to embrace and respond to change has been so successful that the only logical conclusion is project failure?

Let's walk through a simple example. Assume at the start of the project I want 5 features delivered and the estimate is 5 person weeks of effort. The team diligently produces the first 3 features, expending 3 person weeks, which are then presented for feedback. Naturally some changes are discussed and prioritised. Being Agile, the team responds. After a further 2 person weeks of effort (reaching the original budget), the team presents the 4th feature, plus the prioritised changes. More changes are approved and the team then expends 1 further person week to complete those...

STOP! Look at what just happened. Because we responded to the changing requirements, we only got 4 out of 5 features delivered for a cost of 6 rather than 5 person weeks. At the micro level, the team took the appropriate direction and delivered the most important features, but at the macro level we have (perceived) overspend and de-scoping.

In my experience, at the iteration-to-iteration micro level, this type of occurrence happens all the time. So, if you're not rolling that up and communicating appropriately at the macro level, it's no wonder that Agile can be perceived as being expensive - "I'm getting less and it's costing me more" screams out, even though what you're actually getting is what you want, not what you originally thought you wanted.

No doubt my example is one of many reasons that might explain the 'expensive' comment. However, I can definitely relate my own experience to that example and, I think, it is an important reminder that managing all stakeholders and their expectations is every bit as important as being Agile in the first place.

Are you consciously choosing your leadership style?

When you have leadership responsibility for a group of people, it is important that you adopt a flexible approach tailored to the individuals on your team. In practice, most leaders naturally do this, however, understanding the mechanics behind the choice will give you more control and help you select the most appropriate style.

The model that I've used to good effect is known as Situational Leadership®, developed by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey. The picture on the left gives a good overview.

Here there are 4 clear leadership styles identified - Directing, Coaching, Supporting and Delegating - which mirror the experience level of the team member from low through to high.

It is important to note that a team member will typically have different levels of experience in each functional area of their remit and may therefore need more than one leadership style applied to them.

This reinforces the point that it is the leader who needs to flex their style rather than the team member.

In my experience, it has been very helpful to share this model with my direct reports and agree with them what approach and style they would like me to adopt. It is also a helpful tool in monitoring an individual's progress as they move through each development stage.

Having the right leadership style at the right time will enable you to build a stronger team, so I hope this inspires you to find the time to look into this further.

Post-Holiday Blues? Just remember how lucky you are!

Doesn't everybody suffer from post-holiday blues to some degree? I know I do. There's nothing like a fantastic break with family and friends to make you reluctant to go back to the day job.

It's easy to forget how lucky you are to have a job in the first place. As unemployment continues to rise around us, now is the time to be thankful for what we have and to re-double our efforts as we get back into the groove.

So leave the blues behind and get motivated to make even more of difference.

Who's managing your infrastructure?

If you're spending too much time managing your own infrastructure and still not achieving the service levels you require, then it's probably time you looked at a managed service.

Unlike some forms of outsourcing, a managed service can be relatively straight-forward to set up and manage. Services and service levels can be defined and agreed quickly. Lengthy contract negotiations, asset and staff transfer are all avoided. More services can be added over time as confidence in a new partner grows.

Picking the right partner is key. A good track record is essential, but more importantly the partner should exhibit similar values to your own company if the relationship is to be successful over the long term. Cost should not be the only consideration, as the opportunity to improve existing service levels can be significant. Location may be important to you, but offshore partners are all adept at providing staff to cover 24x7 and therefore shouldn't be ruled out on this basis.

A balanced scorecard is often used to measure the quality of service received. This allows multiple dimensions to be considered as part of the overall service level. Partners can be further incentivised by having bonus payments aligned to achieving certain targets.

As with any form of outsourcing there are pros and cons that you need to consider. However, when it comes to the remote management of infrastructure, the arguments 'for' can be compelling and your time can be better spent focusing on the value-adding part of your job.

Do you know your MBTI and should you care?

Your MBTI - Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - is the result of probably the most widely used personality assessment tool. Based on four different dimensions, your self-assessment (or test result if you prefer to pay the fee) leads to one of 16 possible results. The assessment is rapid and based on your preferences along each dimension's scale. Your personality type is expressed as a four character code - mine, for example, is INTJ - and comes with an associated description of how you as an individual are likely to operate.

So, does it work? Well, the sheer weight of numbers behind this method and its long-lasting popularity would have to indicate that it's pretty accurate. From my own perspective, INTJ is certainly a good fit for me.

Why should you care? The MBTI can help you become more self-aware, so it's good from a personal development point of view. It can also help identify potential personality conflicts which, from a team or group dynamics perspective, can be invaluable.

MBTI can give you useful insight, so I recommend you invest a few minutes to get yourself up to speed.

Cut, Copy, Paste

When making your next hire, will you be looking for the right qualities in the candidates that apply?

As Apple finally delivered Cut, Copy, Paste for the iPhone this month, a feature that some might refer to as "pretty basic", it spurred me to consider how applicable our past experiences are when solving new manifestations of the "same old" problem and, in particular, what is their relevance when moving between discrete roles and employers?

People are typically brought into an organisation on the back of their past experience. As recruiters, we can be overly prescriptive when describing the ideal candidate and too easily persuaded when we find what looks like the perfect match. At the back of our minds, we should always remember that "past performance is no guarantee of future results".

In practice, solutions are unique to the environment in which they are conceived and implemented. So, to my mind, it is how the results are achieved and the skills that are employed that are the most critical factors, as these are far more portable than the results themselves. What you value in this context will depend on your particular organisation, but examples might include: listening, critical reasoning, collaboration, engagement and tenacity, to name just a few. Often, these are the very things you look for during graduate recruitment when past experience is only a minor consideration.

A strong team needs a broad set of knowledge, skills and experience to be at its most effective. So, before you limit your candidate pool unnecessarily, I recommend that you take a step back and reassess what qualities would have the greatest positive impact on your team.

Customers? Who needs them?

You would think that it makes good commercial sense to have your customers (past, present and future) at the forefront of your mind and at the heart of your business. Yet, whilst we may say that is the case, is it actually true? Are we really turning customer data into revenue generating knowledge?

Sales, Marketing and Customer Service teams are all under pressure to deliver more for less. Without the right infrastructure, tools and insight this becomes a nigh impossible task. Fundamentally, the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution needs to be in place.

For example, do you know:

• Who your most profitable customers are and what's currently on their agenda?
• What cross-selling opportunities exist and which are easiest to close?
• What will keep your existing customers from drifting away?
• What leads have the highest probability of success and best return-on-investment?

CRM is not about contact management. It should be the bedrock of your organisation and the richest source of intermit customer knowledge. If you're not in that place right now, then somebody else is just about to overtake you and take your customers with them.

Offshoring? Don't forget to check out Vietnam

The 2009 Black Book of Outsourcing has recently been published and the Top 10 lists of the safest and riskiest places for outsourcing (and given the geographical spread of the cities being mentioned that means offshoring too) are doing the rounds.

Books of this nature can be extremely helpful, however, given my own experiences, it reaffirmed that you always need to go beyond the circulating headlines. In particular, I am referring to Vietnam which features in neither of the lists mentioned above.

I worked with the Harvey Nash Offshore Software Development team from 2006 through to 2008. During that time I travelled to Vietnam frequently, visiting both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It is hard to summarise the qualities of the Vietnamese people, but I found them to be (in no particular order): courteous, professional, talented, enthusiastic, hard-working, open-minded, quick to learn and good fun. At all times I felt safe, welcome and at ease. The investment that is being made to develop a new source of IT talent is impressive and it feels very much that Vietnam is an up and coming nation.

Picking the right supplier for outsourcing & offshoring is critical to your success and I would encourage you to consider Vietnam as a good place to look.

Software Transformation - who needs it?

When people ask me what I do for a living, I've started replying that I'm a software transformation specialist. Clearly at this point most people run for the exits, but occasionally the odd brave soul will ask the inevitable follow-up, "Really? What's one of those?". I checked on Wikipedia and there is no recognised definition for software transformation, so it looks like it's down to me to come up with one. So here goes...

Software Transformation
Software Transformation enables businesses to succeed by resetting people's expectations about what can be achieved with well-orchestrated software. It delivers basic productivity gains, empowers knowledge workers to be more innovative, brings distributed teams closer together and turns software into a competitive advantage.

Hmm, not bad as definitions go.

I have seen countless examples where software transformation can have a huge positive impact on a business and the people who work there. I have also been lucky enough to lead some of those change initiatives. If you're not getting the most from your software, then transformation is probably what you need.

Delivering More for Less

How many times have you been asked to 'deliver more for less'? Plenty, I would guess. For many of us, given the current economic conditions, we are being asked to do this yet again.

Reviewing and optimising the cost base continues to make good sense, but is that enough? Are we sure that is what we're really being asked for?

In my experience, one of the key areas where IT can demonstrably make a difference is on project delivery. Completing a project late, over budget and with reduced scope can be the norm for some organisations. Even failing on only one of these factors can result in IT being given a black mark. The better we are at producing the right solution, at the right time, for the right cost, then the more likely we are to be deemed successful and, compared to our previous track record, seen to be delivering more for less.

Some areas where hidden costs can start to occur include:

• Having bottlenecks in the development process
• Working around architectural constraints
• Misunderstanding requirements and/or their business value
• Delivering a poor quality solution into test
• Adding too many 'bells & whistles'

Tackling these issues, perhaps as part of a broader transformation programme, will ultimately improve your delivery capability, your track record and your contribution to the bottom line.

The Change Agent

The Change Agent is an essential ingredient on any successful transformation programme. Armed with a mixture of skills, the role revolves around people and the ability to get them wholly engaged with the change agenda. Passionate and energetic, the Change Agent needs to keep focused on the strategic goal and inspire others to follow.

The Change Agent is often new to the organisation and has no attachment to "the way things are done around here" mindset. Working closely with key stakeholders, the Change Agent is there to deliver results, embed lasting transformation and enable businesses to succeed.

The Change Agent can represent both threat and opportunity, both friend and foe. Understanding people and how to achieve a win-win outcome for all parties is crucial. 

Remember, change is constant so get used to it.

Why Agile?

As a software evangelist who has experienced the evolution of software development methodologies, it is easy to see and understand the benefits of the Agile movement. However, our business colleagues are typically less interested in iterations, increments, pair-programming, TDD, etc. So, how do you go about explaining why your IT team is going through a massive change and what the upside will be? Well, here are some ways that I've found effective in the past:

• Delivering Exactly What You Need - working closely with business users throughout the project, refining requirements and deploying the most useful features first
  
• Reducing Time To Market - delivering effective solutions early, building additional features in stages and stopping when it's good enough
• Building Higher Quality Solutions - minimising live issues through collaborative teamwork and solid engineering principles

And if that's not enough, we would of course expect to see:

• An increase in customer satisfaction
• Better resource utilisation
• A reduction in software maintenance costs 
  

Agile is not a silver bullet, but it does tick all of the right boxes.

Hole-in-the-Wall

I wanted to briefly talk about a fantastic project that I was introduced to on my last trip to India, the Hole-in-the-Wall. No, this is not an ATM, but an educational revolution that has had amazing results since the idea first came about in 1999. Dr. Sugata Mitra, Chief Scientist at NIIT, is credited with the discovery of Hole-in-the-Wall and has subsequently developed the concept of Minimally Invasive Education. Hole-in-the-wall Learning Stations seek to create a new paradigm in the learning process by providing unrestricted computer access to groups of children in an open playground setting. The results have been impressive and show a significant positive impact on the children involved. This is a great example of how technology can be used to revolutionise our environment and should be considered as a case study for School 2.0.

Distributed Collaborative Working

Distributed working has become the norm for most organisations over the last decade. During that time, technology has evolved through a number of iterations in order to better support geographically-dispersed teams and the latest variant, Google Wave, is on the horizon. Having the right technology in place is an important enabler, but the mindset of the individuals involved - team members and management alike - is the critical success factor in making successful distributed collaborative working a reality. For Generation Y, distributed collaboration is a very natural approach, but for the rest of us, it can be fraught with constant frustration.

Distributed collaborative working is here to stay. So, it is time to embrace it fully, adapt if necessary and harness the benefits that it truly offers.

Art >> Science

When it comes to getting real value from software it's all about creativity and that is definitely more art than science.

I recently joined the Software Craftsmanship organisation. I like their manifesto, but I think I like their name more. It sort of captures the real essence of building something unique and beautiful.

Software-as-a-Competitive-Advantage

The term software-as-a-service has become ubiquitous over the past few years, but fundamentally understates the positive impact that well orchestrated software can have on an organisation’s competitive advantage. If you can harness that potential then you will stand out from the crowd. So, going forward, let's bring Software-as-a-Competitive-Advantage to the fore.