Published: May 28 2009, 05:36 PM | no comments
by Pradeep Bhanot

Lean defines waste as - anything that doesn't add value to the customer and should be removed to increase efficiency.

A key area that a Lean IT approach can be used to reduce waste is overproduction, which is defined as the unnecessary delivery of low value projects and services.  When times are hard, ensuring scarce resources are focused on the right projects and services is critical. My previous blog that introducing  Service Portfolio Management addresses this requirement.

A second element of waste is failing to capture ideas and innovation. In lean times companies don't cut back on innovation as maintaining a competitive edge and future growth often depend on continuous innovation. This was underscored for me as I read an interview in computing.co.uk in which Marc Silvester Fujitsu UK CTO in which he states

What I have seen and wasn't expecting, is that whereas in the last two recessions firms have said, "Cut it, stop it, put it away, don't do it", the CIOs I've spoken to - and I speak to four or five a week - have got the innovation bug. They're saying, "We can't just stop and turn things off because that may have a big impact on the business. We need to find innovative ways to get things done quickly and differently or things done in a smart way.    

The process of capturing ideas, selecting and nurturing the right ones from conception to production is a practice that been refined over many years and has grown from it's PLM roots and into an extension of mainstream project and portfolio managmeent.    

You can read about a CA Clarity PPM customer who manages hundreds of innovative smart card R&D projects at Giesecke & Devrient story.   

Share this post:  Email

Share

Published: May 25 2009, 09:42 AM | 1 Comment(s)
by Pradeep Bhanot

In a recent article in Computerworld, Arno Kapteyn asked the question: IT governance and IT service management: Are they the same? Arno comes to the conclusion that they are quite different.

My recent experience with Service Management and IT Governance has led me to the same conclusion, but I do see them as very complimentary disciplines.

There is one area that is driving some convergence between them, namely Service Portfolio Management (SPM), which has a focus of enabling informed decision making, similar to IT Governance, but with the goal of facilitating communication between IT and the business.

Service Management is concerned with service execution and support excellence, but provides essential insights to the SPM decision making process. These include metrics around service performance against including availability, incident levels, service level violations and usage.

CA enables SPM through its service management solutions and CA Clarity PPM, which tracks service cost, business value, business strategy alignment, ROI and Risk.

We went for a ride on the London eye this weekend, where I snapped the this image of a impressive statue on the south bank of the River Thames. To me, it illustrates the strength of ITG and the supporting nature of service management, yet they are separate.  

Share this post:  Email

Share

Published: May 18 2009, 03:23 PM | no comments
by Pradeep Bhanot

This is the fifth and final webcast presented by Steve Romero, IT Governance Evangelist on PPM best practices.

You can participate live on the 9th of June at 4PM GMT, (8am PST).

The presentation is focused on metrics that foster successful PPM. These include:

- The Balanced Scorecard
- Governance Metrics
- Portfolio Management Metrics
- Projects Metrics
- Framework and Process Metrics

To learn more and register for the live webcast, please click here. 

Share this post:  Email

Share

Published: May 13 2009, 02:42 PM | no comments
by Pradeep Bhanot

Built on the CA Clarity technology platform, CA Governance, Risk and Compliance Manager (GRC Manager), is  enables organisations to manage multiple regulatory requirements as well as enterprise risk. It' most important function is to provide a comprehensive content repository of regulations, standards, and best practice frameworks to enabling an organization to map controls to multiple regulations. 

You can download the full report by clicking here. 

See the GRC blog by clicking here.  

Share this post:  Email

Share

Published: May 11 2009, 01:52 PM | no comments
by Pradeep Bhanot

Since I last blogged about the value of a centralized PMO, both Forrester Research and Standish Group have published supporting analysis that is worth sharing.

On May 8, 2009 Craig Symons published his latest analysis into the ROI of PPM, in which he points out the ways in which PPM ‘Is a Guiding Light In Turbulent Seas', by improving visibility into projects and programs. Relying on fragmented and siloed project management processes, like spreadsheets or other home-grown systems, counter the efforts of an enterprise to be lean.

Research by the Standish Group in 2009 states 24% of projects failed in 2008, with 44% are somehow ‘challenged', because of a lack of visibility into long-term project needs.

Establishing a central PMO function appears to be a key attribute of a healthy organisation according a recent independent survey commissioned by CA in 14 countries, with data from 249 respondents. In fact, no less than 86% of organisations that already have a centralised PMO view it as ‘a strategic asset when it comes to business decision-making'. This statistic closely correlated with 72% stating their PMO feeling valued.

You can download the full survey results here.

Share this post:  Email

Share