Published: August 25 2009, 09:53 AM | no comments
by Steve Romero

I just read a post titled "IT Metrics, Feast or Famine" http://bit.ly/19ogst. It was a nice post with some thoughtful insights. I especially liked the spirit of the post which in my opinion was to focus on metrics that matter. The post provided some great ideas about understanding the purpose of metrics, but they did not mention my favorite if not the ultimate reason to collect metrics - to make decisions.

I believe all data, metrics provided or otherwise, is used for the same purpose - to make decisions. I have argued all leaders provide value to their organizations in the exact same manner, when they make decisions. To me, decision-making is the essence of accomplishing anything. Which is why I continue to insist if you are collecting data and you don't know exactly what decision is associated with the data, stop collecting the data. It is a waste of time.

So for me, the simplest test of the validity and value of a metric is knowing and understanding the decision(s) associated with the metric. But since we are on the subject, here is a metrics attribute list that provides a good set of requirements for any metric:

• Important - Reflects the ultimate goals and purpose of the organization
• Controllable - Is something that employees can directly influence
• Accurate - Reliably expresses what is being measured
• Objective - Not subject to dispute
• Easy - Not burdensome or expensive to obtain
• Timely - Is available in time to make a difference
• Comprehensible - Easily communicated and readily understood
• Harmless - Does not induce dysfunctional behavior

Take a look at any of your metrics and see how they measure up to this list of attributes. The more attributes satisfied, the better the metric. But first and foremost, understand the decisions that must be made in your organization to realize success. Establish metrics that provide the data to make those decisions, and you will have metrics that matter.

 Steve Romero, IT Governance Evangelist

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Published: August 19 2009, 08:39 AM | no comments
by Steve Romero

I have delivered my Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) presentation for over 2 ½ years since joining CA. Though it has evolved in that time, I maintain a single version. And this is in spite of the audience, be it Professional Association Conference, Field Marketing Event or individual Enterprise. My presentation is the same in each of these forums.

This "universal" applicability of PPM was greatly underscored and reinforced on a recent trip to the Midwest. I visited 4 companies in 3 days, and each of them asked me to deliver my PPM presentation. I did so for a:

• Statewide Government IT organization
• Major Staff Augmentation Firm
• Major Appliance Manufacturer
• Major Healthcare Provider

In every case the presentation was very well received and the audiences were all appreciative and inspired. And I delivered the exact same PowerPoint every time. Take another look at the list of companies. They have nothing in common. That is, until you consider the critical governance process of Project and Portfolio Management.

Each of these organizations have the same problems and challenges. Each asked the same questions and had the same comments. Each realize they have a need to improve their investment governance. Each is forging ahead with the will and conviction to do so.

PPM for one and PPM for all, no matter who you are, or what you do. It's universal.

Steve Romero, IT Governance Evangelist

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Published: August 13 2009, 10:02 PM | no comments
by Steve Romero

Why do we do it? Why do we do IT Governance? I was inspired to revisit the purpose of IT Governance after writing my last blog post. In that post I stressed the criticality of answering the fundamental question of what problem is being solved when undertaking any process effort. I described how the problem to be solved provides the foundation for ensuring a chosen solution provides the desired outcome of the effort. I said that no process should be pursued for its own sake and instead the problem to be solved is the catalyst and driving force for the change.

That being said, I can provide a great argument against my own contention, especially when considering my beloved IT Governance discipline. IT Governance is the processes and relationships that lead to reasoned decision-making to:

• Ensure IT is aligned with the business
• Ensure IT delivers values to the business
• Ensure IT appropriately manages risk
• Ensure IT appropriately manages resources
• Ensure IT appropriately manages performance

These principles provide the goals for every decision we make in regard to the use of technology in any enterprise. They also provide a great test of any endeavor IT chooses to undertake. If the effort can't be linked to achieving one of these principles then I argue it should be stopped. So if this is indeed the case, why wouldn't every Enterprise aspire to advance IT Governance simply to institutionalize their ability to meet these principles?

Despite the inherent and obvious business case for IT Governance, I still insist an enterprise must first identify the business problem to be solved. IT Governance is a journey with countless paths leading to its destination. Different business problems will determine varying paths.

But no matter the catalyst for advancing IT Governance in our organizations, or the path on which it sets us on our individual IT Governance Journeys, the principles of IT Governance will always define its purpose.

Steve Romero, IT Governance Evangelist

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Published: August 07 2009, 12:06 PM | no comments
by Steve Romero

I travel around the world talking to thousands of people about the power and promise of IT Governance and the frameworks, methodologies and processes that make it possible. If you have read my blog, you know how passionate I am about these processes as well as process management in general. But as much as I believe in these processes I will never advocate them for their own sake.

I tell my audiences I don't believe in IT Governance for the sake of IT Governance; Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) for the sake of PPM; PMOs for the sake of PMOs; process for the sake of process; or technology for the sake of technology. And this is despite the evidence I can produce based on leading research (from MIT CISR, Gartner, Forrester, the Butler Group, the Standish Group - just to name a few), research that shows enterprises and organizations with effective IT Governance and PPM processes have significant quantifiable advantages over those that don't.

So even though I firmly believe in every governance process I advocate I tell folks they should not contemplate any effort, consider any solution, or take a single step until they are confident they understand the business problem to be solved (and this includes the "problem" of exploiting a business opportunity).

I know this may seem very obvious to folks but they would be amazed at how many organizations don't openly ask and answer this fundamental question. Instead, an individual leader or influential group endeavors to address a problem or issue and subsequently pursues a specific solution. The proposed solution then becomes the battle cry and before you know it, the problem that fostered the solution is left in the dust. And this is a critical mistake because it is the problem being solved that will:

• Identify alternatives
• Lead to a proposed solution
• Rally the troops by showing everyone "what's in it for them"
• Provide the key metric in determining if success is being realized

In my process management presentation I note 3 problem-based components when an organization undertakes an effort to establish or improve any process:

• Identify the enterprise-strategy-driven business problem being solved or the business opportunity being pursued. Carve it into stone!
• Identify the objectives of the process - These are the objectives required to ensure the process solves the business problem, of which there are two sets: the objectives to delight the customer of the product or service being produced; the objectives to meet the expectations and needs of management. Carve these into stone!
• Identify the critical process issues - these are highest priority problems (and risks for the most ambitious and sophisticated) associated with the inability of existing processes to meet those objectives. Carve these into stone!

Now they are ready to move forward. And as they do, they will continually refer back to these three problem-based components:

• Will solving the described business problem fulfill Enterprise business strategy?
• Will meeting the proposed process objectives solve the business problem?
• Does the process design meet the process objectives and solve the critical process issues?
• Is the process implementation (manifestation of the process design) on track to ensure process objectives will be met and critical process issues will be solved?
• Has the implemented and managed process solved the critical process issues?
• Is the implemented and managed process meeting customer and management objectives?
• Does the process solve the business problem, and if so, are we realizing enterprise strategy?

As you can see, the business problem, process objectives and critical process issues are the key metrics in measuring and determining process success. These are also the most effective tools when it comes to rallying the troops by showing "what's in it for them." Organizations will be ready with the answers when the following inevitable questions are raised:

• "Why do I have to follow this process?"
• "Why do I have to fill out all of these forms?"
• "Why the heck are we doing this?"

Here is an example of a very valid process observation/challenge:

"I am so busy that it's ridiculous. Why do I have to fill out these time sheets? I know what to do and how to manage my schedule and nobody is going to look at the data anyway."

Here is an example of a problem-centric answer:

"Our Company needs to break into a new market and we know it will create numerous new programs and projects that will cause a huge strain on our existing resources. We've never done a good job of managing our portfolio of programs and projects and we are implementing PPM processes to make sure we are only working on the most critical endeavors. Understanding resource availability and utilization is a critical aspect of sound PPM practices and the only way our Leadership Team can know if we have the capacity and capability to undertake these new efforts. In the past, this lack of information and insight has resulted in you and other members of your team receiving erratic, sometimes conflicting, and almost always overwhelming work assignments. We want to make your workload more consistent and reasonable. We want to make your work possible and practical. We want to make you successful and the only way we can do that is if you enter your time so we can collect, analyze and diseminate the resource management data to enable leadership to make reasoned and rational decisions."

Notice how the answer is laced with the problem-based components listed above. Notice how we didn't say:

• Because we need to do PPM.
• Because we need to do Time Accounting.
• Because I told you so.

And this is but one example of the resistance that will create obstacles in your path to process success. There will be countless challenges and focusing on the business problem will always serve to address these challenges. It also serves to test the approach undertaken when these challenges can provide insight into potential missteps in solving the problem.

So before you undertake the IT Governance Journey and any of its wonderful processes in which I believe with all my heart, please first answer this crucial and fundamental question:

What's your problem?

 Steve Romero, IT Governance Evangelist

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