Utility Services: The Funnel For Driving IT Request Fulfillment Efficiencies and Savings To The Bottom Line

by David A. Zimmer, PMP, Sr. Consultant, Veris Associates, Inc.

You know the drill. Someone from the business side makes a demand for new technology. Users have needs unmet because their applications stop working. Servers need to be updated, upgraded, maintained and babysat. The critical business application everyone takes for granted decided to take a vacation during the end of quarter sales blitz. And the auditors are breathing down your neck asking you to prove the value of your existence. Meanwhile, your number one lead technician is sunning himself on the beach somewhere without cell phone coverage.

Your Average Day

Just a normal day in the life of the IT manager and CIO. But, we can handle it – we’ve got enough fire-fighting equipment in place and hours in the day to keep everything down to a low roar. Then, the CFO calls your network administrator directly to ask for an upgrade to the fiber switches and more secure firewalls. “Not a problem,” comes the reply. The VP of Sales is pushing for a record-breaking year and needs more terabytes on the sales processing system. He hall-tackles the lead database administrator to discuss the possibility of adding space by the end of the week.

In the day-to-day operations of the IT infrastructure, we must meet the demands of the business as quickly as possible and maintain stability to the environment. While at one point we might have developed some system to handle requests in an orderly manner, the heat of the moment seems to win out and we bypass our own methods because of emergencies. As a result, we settle into a routine of emergencies, headaches and many activities. In fact, dare I say, we feel comfortable in this mode. We equate busy-ness with productivity, esteem and accomplishment.

At the end of the day, we can look back and actually glory in the number of BlackBerry messages we smacked, meetings attended, phone calls fielded, and “things” crossed off the to-do list. As we lay our heads on the pillow at night after the fifteen hour day exhausted, we feel good because of all the forward progress, even if chaotic, we made.

The major problem with this mode of production is many customers don’t get served. Business units needing IT infrastructure updates done sooner decide to go on their own and create it themselves. Of course, once in place, the IT department must maintain it adding to their already overflowing plates. While the business got served through this method, the company suffers through duplication of effort, loss of purchasing power, disparate systems supporting similar functions, non-traceable changes to strategic systems and an unstable environment. In short, a train speeding down the track out of control and no Superman around to keep it from crashing.

Fulfilling the needs of the business is what the IT department does – that is their purpose. Support the business so the business can meet the needs and demands of its customers. If IT systems fail, the business fails its customers. Therefore, IT Request Fulfillments is a vitally important part to the business. Making it efficient and effective benefits all: the IT department, the business and the business customers.

What is Utility Services?

Utility Services takes IT fulfillment request and pushes them through a defined methodology that funnels requests through a “gatekeeper” without introducing a bottleneck to the speed of business. It puts sanity into the chaos, providing economy of scale through purchasing power, efficiencies in operations, and effectiveness in implementation. It preserves the holistic view of the overall system so changes can be tracked, monitored and maintained. Overall, the IT department gains through planned organization of changes, the business benefits through greater functionality and IT responsiveness plus stability of the IT environment and the business’ customers acquire a more secure sense of comfort from their supplier.

Utility Services is an independent workflow management system providing a single interface for IT requests – updates, upgrades, new functionality and the like. It leverages the good industry practices such as ITIL and reuses existing infrastructure for new applications, combines similar requests into a single work stream leveraging purchasing power for greater cost savings. Most importantly, it frees the IT department from the chaotic request processes of today so that they can be more responsive to the business requests, which seems almost counter-intuitive.

I hear you moan, “Oh great, more processes, more paperwork, more red-tape, more structure equals more pain to get anything done.” After years of helping companies develop and institute processes, we have learned at least one thing: Those companies that develop systematized methods, enforce their use and improve them rather than ignore them, progress further, sell more and increase profits and savings than those that do not. Some see increases in ranges of 20%, 50% and greater. Industry studies back up these claims.

Companies have greater insight into current and project capital spending, human resource allocations and requirements and more efficient day-to-day operations and successful projects.

A Governance Model To Meet Customer Needs

Utility Services is a governance model of ensuring all solutions implemented within an IT organization meet the traditional criteria of customer sign-off requirements, solution design and testing, and release into the environment. It establishes and enforces necessary customer communication checkpoints via a series of documentable and repeatable processes and procedures. It ensures IT goals align with business needs and initiatives through a consolidated resource management interface to manage work-loads and enable resource forecasting. And finally, it streamlines standard requests by automating approvals, traceable milestones, requester communication and hand-offs as appropriate.

Why Utility Services?

The big question still remains. Why implement Utility Services? You already seem to be getting the job done. Sure, your people are overworked and under-appreciated, but they still show up for work each day, don’t they? Why rock the boat, change the way of doing things and suffer through the cultural shock of more efficient operations?

For those companies where we helped them implement Utility Services, here is what they report:

• Utility Services enables organizations both small and large to best utilize their money and people.
  
  
• Utility Services reinforces ITIL good practices by building the underlying philosophy into the systems that IT departments live by.
  
  
• Utility Services can be implemented in a relatively short period of time, enabling “quick wins” for management and IT workforce stakeholders.
  
  
• Utility Services continues to evolve with your IT department so it becomes more transparent and easier to adapt to business initiatives.
  
  
• Utility Services takes the mystery out of implementation status.
  
  
• Utility Services helps align the infrastructure with business goals, and escalates issues before they become problems.
  
  
• Utility Services enables purchasing departments to more accurately forecast spending schedules and empowers them to negotiate better pricing and support from vendors, be it hardware or services.
  
  
• Utility Services allows more effective time management and prioritization of your IT department’s time and money.
  

Conclusion

Fulfilling business requests takes up much of IT’s daily time. Inefficient methodologies erode the very infrastructure and people required to keep the business going. Untraceable changes and updates introduce instability into an already overly complex and vital system to the business. Personal agendas and priorities drive the changes without considering the benefit or detriment to the business. IT staff, desiring to do a good job and meet the needs, work at full speed but seem to fall short at the end of the day.

Utility Services takes the inefficiencies, the uncertainties, the liabilities and the insecurities out of IT Request Fulfillment. By funneling requests through an automated and organized process, duplication of effort is eliminated, overspending on materials is slashed, workloads can be adjusted to align with business needs, personal agendas can be removed and priorities are established to truly meet the business’ highest priorities for the greatest gain.

We have seen companies transformed saving millions of dollar annually on purchases alone. IT efficiency increased dramatically and the stability of the infrastructure reached desired service levels without significantly increasing costs. The implementation and definition of Utility Services takes a chaotic methodology, structures it and drives it for the maximum utility to the business.

You are invited to obtain our free whitepaper, “The Games We Play: Conquering The Challenge of IT Fulfillment” by fellow consultant Cheryl Winters. Simply Click Here to get a copy.

Great News: DiskHero Deal Just Got Better!

David A. Zimmer
American Eagle Group
Copyright © 2007 American Eagle Group, All Rights Reserved Worldwide

In my latest posting concerning DiskHero, the continuous backup routine that saved my backdoor when my notebook PC decided to take up smoking, I expressed my excitement about a program that is so cheap but provides so much. DiskHero continuously backups my data as I create or change files. What amazed me was the low, low cost. For only $50 USD per year, you could backup 10 Gigs of compressed data. That means you could backup more than 10 Gigs, have it compressed and encrypted and store it on an off-site, online service available at your command.

I checked the other day and I was blown away. Now, for a measly $50 USD per year, DiskHero provides unlimited backup! That means all those precious pictures, memorable tunes, and important documents can be preserved automatically. I can't believe it.

I will not relate the sob stories I have heardwhere people have lost it all. They had tons of pictures, gigs of music, hours of videos, and thesis papers lost when their hard drive decided to take a dive. Ask them if $50 per year is worth it. They literally wanted to kill me because I had not told them sooner.

It's up to you. $50 now or thousands later. Simply click here to CYA.

David A. Zimmer

Disk Hero: Automatic Backup of Data Saved The Day

American Eagle Group
Copyright © 2007 American Eagle Group, All Rights Reserved Worldwide

The other day, I returned home from one of those business trips that whatever could go right went wrong and what could go wrong went was disastrous. Even the dog didn’t greet me. Tie eschew and feet hurting, I made the mistake of popping open my notebook computer to download my email hoping that I had finally gotten the go-ahead from a potential customer. As I was downloading my email, I plugged a device into my USB port, a device I had plugged in many times before.

My machine shutdown suddenly and a puff of smoke rose out of my keyboard. Since my kids were standing nearby, the only thing that I could think to say out loud was, “Oooo, that’s not good.” Inside, a whole litany of thoughts flew through my mind. Smoke rising out of the keyboard is not a good sign for the health of the PC.

After regrouping, I decided to turn the machine on. Nothing. Dead. Gone. Kaput. Arrgh! And it is my main machine with all the files that I need for doing the training sessions I was scheduled to deliver in the next two days!

I petted the machine. I cajoled it to come back to life. I pleaded. I begged. I even laid hands on it and prayed one of the most earnest prayers of my life. The screen just starred at me blankly. Not even a glimmer of a little cursor. No signs of life any where. It’s a sad sight to see a grown man cry.

Fortunately, just one week before, I installed Disk Hero on my machine. Disk Hero is a new benefit from the ICCA. I set up the continuous backup schedule for “My Documents” and my Outlook email folder. While I worked on my machine during that week, Disk Hero was quietly working in the background uploading all my precious data files to an online, offsite holding area.

After giving up hopes on my machine, I reclaimed my old notebook from my son (I lent him the computer with the proviso that I would take it back in the event my main machine took a nose dive). After prying it from his fingers, I fired it up and it roared back to life – fortunately, I have an extra hard drive for the machine that contained a disk image suitable for my training sessions.

The first thing I did was to download and install a copy of Disk Hero on the machine. I immediately started the download of my data from the Disk Hero site. Within a few hours, the old machine was at the same point as the main machine was before the poof of smoke. I didn’t even lose any email!

How much in dollars do you think that was worth to me? Besides preserving my contract to conduct training, it was incalculable. How much did I pay for that insurance? Five hundred dollars? Two hundred? One hundred per month?

No, I paid only Fifty dollars for an entire year of continuous backup of my eight gigs of data plus my email. Only fifty bucks. Only $50 for 10 Gigs of space. Shoot, I spend more than that at McDonalds! You can’t beat it.

Disk Hero provides 10 Gig of space for a measly $50 per year. For an additional $15.00 per year, you can protect another PC. Disk Hero compresses the data as it sends it up to the online service. So in essence, depending on the data, you can stuff a lot more than 10 Gigs of data in the backup area. Pictures, music, and executable files don’t squish down as much as MS Word or Excel files but 10 Gigs is a lot of space. If you need more than that, additional space is available for a ridiculously low price. How much are your pictures worth!

So, if you think backup is expensive, it isn’t. First, losing all my data would be much more expensive – we are talking thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars. And I get the insurance for only $50.00 per year. But unlike insurance that covers a loss so you can get a replacement, I got my original data back. You can’t replace lost data. I was up and running with no loss.

By signing up for the service through the ICCA, the organization makes a little bit of revenue. On top of that, you can resell it to your customers and make a bit of money and ICCA still receives a bit of funds. Protect yourself and your clients, get Disk Hero. In a subsequent article, I will describe how you can remotely manage your clients’ backup using Disk Hero. Save a client’s data once, you’ve got a customer for life.

P.S. In case you are wondering about my main machine, I was able to recover it. I took the hard drive out, put it into an external drive enclosure and recovered data from it also. I called the manufacturer because the machine was under warranty to get it repaired. I wiped out the data drive partition which also contained some installed programs so they could get my information. I decided to bring the machine up one more time before I put it in the box for shipping and as you might guess, it came up!

I turned it off and back on several times. After about two weeks of “burning the machine in” (excuse the pun), I decided that it must be ok. Of course, it was now half-baked. The registry thought programs were installed when in fact, they were removed from data partition. So, I rebuilt the machine from scratch, loaded the programs, and restored the data. Of course, I loaded Disk Hero and set up the continuous backup schedule. I believe in safe computing.

Disk Hero – Let it be your hero! What have you got to lose? Click Here for more information.

David A. Zimmer

PMO, CobiT, ITIL – Alphabet Soup for Strategic Information Technology Services

David A. Zimmer
American Eagle Group

When I was younger, I ate alphabet soup. I stirred the broth and watched the letters as they swirled around. Many times, simple words rose to the top. As I learned to read, I would exclaim the new found word. Little did I know that as I matured, letters would continue to swirl and new found words and acronyms would continue to form. The IT broth has been stirred. While not necessarily new, PMO, CobiT and ITIL seem to be rising to the top of the bowl in the IT industry.

Fig. 1: Three Avenues To Better IT Infrastructure Services

We have three, and more, efforts trying to solve the IT dilemma – providing quality services in an ever changing environment while aligning with business requirements and drivers. We need to understand these three – PMO, ITIL and CobiT, and how they integrate to provide the best IT Infrastructure services. The questions we need to answer are

• how will each effort support our need of aligning business requirements and IT infrastructure;
• why do we need three efforts instead of consolidating them into one;
• how do they integrate, compliment and overlap; and
• how do we use them to our benefit?

This article introduces a series of articles describing the various components and how they integrate forming a comprehensive governance of IT within your organization. Each component is not mutually exclusive of the others; in fact, they are greatly complementary. The overlap provides us the opportunities to better understand IT relationship to and support of the business requirements for your organization. IT is no longer a cost center draining the organization of precious resources, but becomes a strategic weapon supporting the business in its efforts to out maneuver the competition and branch into new markets. Although we have often heard that statement, the use of CobiT and ITIL provides the mean to make it true.

By necessity, we will only introduce the various topics at a very high level, saving the details for the later articles in the series. We have purposely simplified these complex areas in order to introduce them, but we will add the details later. So, if you are an expert in these areas already, bare with us as we bring the rest of the readership up-to-speed. We discuss three elephants of understanding, so we need to only chew what we are able. If you are a neophyte, welcome and fasten your seatbelts – turbulence ahead.

Let's start our journey by understanding briefly the five components within the system as shown in Figure 2: Business requirements and drivers, IT/IS Systems, Services and Infrastructure, Project Management Office (PMO), Information Technologies Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Control OBjectives for Information and related Technologies (CobiT).

Fig. 2: PMO, CobiT, ITIL Integration

Business Requirements and Drivers

The business requirements and drivers determine the direction of the organization. The IT infrastructure is expected to support that direction. In many cases, the business requirements are not adequately documented or communicated to the IT personnel to gain such support. Additionally, the requirements speak a different language than the IT department.

The CIO and IT Management translate between the business needs and the IT infrastructure reality. Without a standard approach to such translation, it may not be as accurate as needed. The results: a mismatch between the infrastructure and the needs, festering frustrations and creating divisions. Unfortunately, this incomplete or inconsistent translation is not seen until well into the process of implementation or even during actual use. The cost of fixing such a dilemma becomes exorbitant. Industry studies show that over 66% of IT-based projects fail!

By using a standard approach with appropriate metrics and life-cycle planning, we begin to mate the business requirements and IT infrastructure realities. Within the standard approach, we add auditing ability to give us the checks-n-balances needed to assure we obtain the proper return on investments.

IT/IS Systems, Infrastructures – Realities

The IT infrastructure and systems support the ongoing business. It meets the needs for the users' day-to-day operations and any new development work. The infrastructure includes desktop and server machines, networks, storage, and software used to meet business demands. Software includes the general purpose programs such as word processors, spreadsheet and presentation software, email, etc. It also includes specialty software such as CAD/CAM, publishing, accounting, CRM, ERP, etc.

The infrastructure becomes a reality based upon the business requirements understanding and established through some type of project procedure. The goal is to evolve the infrastructure as the business requirements change and mold to market conditions. One problem that exists is the rapidity of requirements changing versus the speed of evolution of the IT infrastructure. Add to that disparity the non-standard method of translating business requirements into infrastructure reality and the lack of auditable metrics, we begin to see the quandary we possess.

PMO – Project Management Office

The Project Management Office is a virtual organization within your organization that is populated with people who manage projects. Projects translate business requirements into IT infrastructure realities to be used for the business evolution. The PMO dispatches a project manager to manage a project which implements the desired solution. In a perfect world, the end result would match the business requirements. Using best practices and standard procedures, the project manager guides the project to the desired results with full acceptance from the users and receives standing ovations and a hero's welcome. Right?!

The Project Management industry has done an admirable job in defining the process from requirements to reality, but by their very definition, their responsibility ends at project completion. A project is a temporary endeavor to produce a unique product or service (PMBOK). The definition defines a beginning and end to a project. Once the project is complete, there is no ongoing feedback loop to evaluate the results of the project. The project manager's responsibility is complete.

Ongoing monitoring of the project's results must occur in light of the business requirements that drove the project in the first place. Are the results still in line with the business requirements? Did the requirements change? Did the market factors that defined the requirements change? If so, should we change the infrastructure? What is the process? How do we determine the financial impact? These and many more questions start flooding one's mind.

ITIL – Information Technologies Infrastructure Library

Enter ITIL – Information Technologies Infrastructure Library. ITIL is a collection of best practices that help move business requirements through the project stage, into the reality or implementation stage and provides the life-cycle feedback necessary to keep the infrastructure aligned with those requirements. Driven from the technical community to better understand requirements from its primary customers – the business user and management, ITIL standardizes the language so business requirements translate into technical terms properly, or at least, consistently.

ITIL is not a “how's to” guide to better IT Service Management. It is a framework of practices to measure, validate, and report against the business needs and requirements. It shows how the IT infrastructure works together to meet the business needs. In other words, it lets the business dictate the implementation of IT services and infrastructure rather than letting the latest IT advance push the business to its adoption. More importantly, it uses a common vocabulary to promote synergy between the business drivers and IT implementations. It becomes a collection of documents outlining the process from requirements to implementation and back to requirements.

Two versions dominate the ITIL landscape today: version 2 and version 3. Version 3 has been ratified and is being introduced to organizations now. Version 3 is an evolution of version 2.

Version 2 focused on process development. It defines the necessary best practices to create IT realities from business requirements. Using common vocabulary, business users could articulate their needs at the beginning of the implementation process and then measure the outcomes once the IT infrastructure was deployed. Version 2 looked at specific discrete areas and disciplines, so it was seen as “silo focused.” Version 3 takes those best practices, now that they are defined in Version 2, and applies them in a holistic view of the organization. It provides a feedback loop using the common vocabulary and best practices into the requirements process giving us a tangible, business life-cycle from requirements identification and definition to implementation to acceptance and back into the requirements phase again. It provides the step-wise refinement necessary in IT evolution for constant business support.

In Figure 2 above, we can see that ITIL underlies the first three components discussed: Business Requirements, PMO and IT Infrastructure and Services (the blue ellipse). As you can see from the life-cycle arrows, it starts before a project initiates, continues during the PMO's involvement and lasts long after the project manager has gone home.

The PMO uses ITIL's framework to ensure proper monitoring and adjustments necessary to align the project results with the business requirements. The life-cycle arrows show the feedback loop going back into the PMO resulting in infrastructure changes and so on. The PMO does not obviate the need for ITIL, nor does ITIL displace the PMO. The PMO provides the methodology for a systematic step formation for managing projects. ITIL provides the components projects must supply for future monitoring of the projects' outcomes.

CobiT – Control OBjectives for Information and related Technologies

Control OBjectives for Information and related Technologies (CobiT) comes from the audit industry. From the fallout of Enron and other notable large organizations' scandals, we see the rise of legislation and regulations requiring accountability in all facets of companies. Because of regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), every aspect of business comes under the microscope of the auditors. IT is no exception. CobiT is a framework of good practices that places audit points into IT services so that we can determine financial accountability. It goes beyond the financial aspect and compliments the tenets espoused in ITIL. So while ITIL documents the life-cycle of IT infrastructure and services, CobiT keeps our attention to the audit criteria and gives us the checkpoints needed to assure compliance. CobiT defines 34 audit points that span ITIL's domain – before project initiation and lasts long after the project is over. It provides a life-cycle as ITIL does, but it focuses more on a direct correlation between business requirements and IT infrastructure realities financially. It underpins the PMO with audit points.

Conclusion

PMO, ITIL, CobiT – three acronyms formed by the swirling IT broth. Each focuses on different aspects of the IT business. Each hope to convert business requirements into IT infrastructure that support the business needs. Each provides a different perspective on the road from business requirements to IT infrastructure realities. But they are not mutually exclusive. In fact, we see each underpinning the others for a mutual benefit. The PMO uses ITIL and CobiT so the project results enter a life-cycle that is accountable and tractable. ITIL uses the PMO to establish the life-cycle necessary for feedback and monitoring of the infrastructure to the benefit of the organization. CobiT puts into place the audit points keeping our business on course and out of hot water. It uses ITIL to document the audit process and the PMO to implement the audit points. Each leverages the strength of the other.

This article is just a cursory introduction to the deeper aspects of each component. In subsequent articles, we will explore the roles of the PMO, ITIL and CobiT in the business requirements-to-IT infrastructure within an organization and specific integration of these important frameworks.

What Do You Think?

We are interested in your feedback. Do you feel that we have correctly characterized the interaction between PMO, ITIL and CobiT? Have you experienced the need for such frameworks within your organizations? Let us know by sending us an email to info@ameagle.com.

Does Your Consultant Stack Up? Real Consultants vs. Wanna-Be's

David A. Zimmer
Chief of Staff
American Eagle Group

The joke goes something like this: What's a Consultant? It's someone who can't get a real job and carries a briefcase!

Or, it's someone in transition, i.e., just laid off and in between jobs.

For those of us who are "real" consultants (and we will define that for you), the jokes are particularly bad because, as we endeavor to provide value-added services to our clients, our clients don't understand the difference between the Real McCoy and the Wannabe Clan.

As voting members of the Real McCoy’s, we will endeavor to de-mystify the differences and make it plain for those who are in search of an external expert.

The American Eagle Group has been active members of the Independent Computer Consultants Association (ICCA) for over ten years. We have served as officers on the local Delaware Valley Chapter Board of Directors and served as the Vice President, President, Chairman, Treasurer, and now Secretary of the National Board of Directors in addition to serving as committee chairs
and active participants in the discussion groups.

During our service to the ICCA, we have had frequent discussions - mostly heated - about the differences between a consultant, a contractor, and a wannabe. After all the hours of arguments and hot-air, we never really clearly defined the differences.

In a wonderfully written article written, "Are You a Real or Imitation Consultant," Aldonna Ambler, CMC, CSP of Hammonton, NJ which appeared in the Professional Speakers magazine from the National Speakers Association (NSA), dispersed the smoke around the wannabe consultant. She worked with a client who became shocked at the number of people who called themselves consultants, but were not. Ambler listed some characteristics of the Wannabe Clan (I list them here verbatim):

Characteristics of the Wannabe Clan

• Expect business to just be handed to them;


• Lack higher education in the topical expertise of their industry;


• Think that they can learn enough content from a few seminars;


• Do not walk the talk (apply the approach they are recommending / teaching)


• Don't want to read any books, do any research or attend major conferences;


• Had never learned techniques to objectively analyze a client's situation and needs;


• Lack facilitation and project management skills;


• Had never learned how to provide advice;


• Lack creditability and have not demonstrated success; and


• Lack depth and breadth of experience.

Is that a list or what? Does your "consultant" fit that list or the opposite list - the list that would describe a consultant? Whenevaluating a person's claim of being a consultant, do you have a list to measurethem against or do you simply take their word for it?

So What Is A Consultant Anyway?

Certainly "consultant" has a certain air, panache, mystic, and finesse that contractor or wannabe do not. So of course, all of us who sell our services to clients want to be known as consultants. But that leaves you as the client in a lurch. How can you tell the difference between the Real McCoy and the Wannabe? If the Wannabe has no real consulting skills, they must have something that causes you to think they are a consultant. When we are hiring outside expertise, we want to get expertise and not a smoke-n-mirror show that leaves us drained of money, time, and emotion. We want return on our investment - true, tangible return.

In the article, Ambler answered with a list. We will add some ourselves (so we can't be accused of total plagiarism!). Ambler's list:

Characteristics of the Real Consultant

• A real consultant is expected to bring appropriate credentials that result in expanded information and knowledge to their situation;


• A real consultant is expected to bring objectivity to a situation;


• A real consultant is expected to bring innovative thinking to a situation;


• A real consultant is expected to bring facilitation skills to a situation; and


• A real consultant is expected to adhere to a professional code of ethics.

Let's expand on these ideas so that we understand what they really mean.

Credentials

The consultant should have appropriate credentials. Credentials come in different forms: educational, designations, research, practical knowledge and experience, and previous successes (and failures - a real consultant will learn more from failure than successes so that you don't experience those failures).

Does the self-proclaimed consultant have an advanced degree? Lest you think that we are snobs, we do realize that years of experience can equate to formal education. In advanced degrees, students are not taught just more in-depth information, but a way of thinking and research. We at American Eagle Group possess advanced degrees and practical experience. We
believe that the lessons learned in research and thought-process during our advanced learning, we would not have gained as much from our practical experience as we did.

Again, we believe that there are many very intelligent and bright people who don't have the advanced degrees that can run circles around us. The difference is, "How can you tell?" An advanced degree in the topic helps you qualify the veracity of the claimant’s claim. Anyone can talk a good game.

Playing a good game is another thing altogether. The advanced degree shows that the player went beyond the expected and pressed further into his/her expertise.

Aside from the formal education, what further study or research has the consultant performed? Did their education stop when they received their diploma or did they continue through independent study? The continuing education helps keep the consultant’s information fresh and current. Otherwise, it becomes stale very quickly.

And finally, is the consultant’s advice based upon information found elsewhere so that you know it has foundational basis or is the information simply being designed on the fly?

In the case of American Eagle Group, we possess advanced degrees in Computer Science and Project Management. We have been named to several Who’s Who lists, elected to several boards of various non-profit associations, published numerous articles and whitepapers, and contributed to several anthology books. And will continue with those types of activities because they keep our information fresh and expands our experience base.

Objectivity

Is the consultant’s information biased? Do they recommend one solution over another because of their favorable experience or are they receiving financial restitution for recommending it? Is this the only product they represent? You, as a customer, want unbiased, non-directed information. You want information that helps you make informed decisions, ones that align with your goals and objectives, not the consultant’s. The consultant should be void of any allegiance to a particular vendor or supplier. The consultant should walk into a client’s site with a clear slate as to any products or services that would fit the customer’s needs.

This does not mean that the consultant should know or understand the values of various competing products or services. They should clearly know that available set of solutions for the client’s situation. But it is the needs analysis derived from discovery that should drive the consultant’s recommendation. While the consultant might have his/her favorite solution,
he/she should willingly set that favoritism aside to recommend the solution best fit for the client’s needs.

If the consultant should receive any type of compensation if the client purchases the consultant’s recommendation, the consultant should clearly designate that such compensation may occur. Again, the consultant must not let the potential compensation mar or influence his/her recommendation.

In most cases, we have not recommended a solution to a client prior to completing the needs discovery process. Recently, though, the client had requested a proposal for project management consulting and training. In our proposal, we did recommend a specific solution and substantiated that solution with reasons. We clearly stated that we do not receive any type of
remuneration for the purchase of the proposed solution and we carefully stated that the recommendation was based upon market factors and future direction, and not because of any bias toward that particular solution. During our meeting with the client, we re-iterated that point and the client supported our recommendation and was appreciative of the rationale behind the recommendation. They were also glad to know that our recommendation was not based upon any financial gain to us.

Facilitation Skills

Facilitation is a fancy word for “make easy,” “make possible,” and “smooth the progress of.” We are not trying to diminish this important skill, but rather to help you understand that a real consultant isn’t just technically savvy in his/her expertise, but knows other skills to get the
job done. More importantly, they know how to put the ownership of the project back into the hands of the customer and not keep it himself/herself so that the client is always at his/her mercy.

We just got off the phone with a colleague who is trying to get a client back online with their small business server. The situation is dire because the server is not working properly due to multiple Trojan viruses, worms, and other viruses. And those are the simple problems.

The real problems are a result of the “high powered consultant” (and we are using those terms very loosely here) who originally configured the machine. The consultant used improperly licensed software (a.k.a., illegal) to create the server, illegally hosted websites on the server
at the client’s expense and the consultant’s gain, registered the company’s domain address in such a way so only the consultant has the ability to configure the domain records, established several backdoor accounts with secret passwords in the even the client were to change the main password and a slew of other major and unethical offenses. Who knows what other data and information the consultant used to his advantage. Fortunately, the consultant has move onto
other ground and has left the client in a lurch.

To top all this off, the client is really upset the machine is no longer functioning properly. The client is blaming my colleague for the malfunctioning even though the machine was not working properly before he came on-board (which is why the client call for a new consultant in the first
place!) Yet the client stands firmly behind the expertise of the schlock consultant.

Facilitation requires that we follow a five-step methodology: Problem/Opportunity Identification, Research, Design, Implementation, and Evaluation (presumably, the evaluation may identify something that requires another iteration of this process for continued improvement). A Real McCoy consultant will know how to manage this process and move you forward with tangible deliverables and results. A Wannabe won’t. And they may end up holding your family jewels as in the example above.

Professional Code of Ethics

As the Real McCoy, we hold ourselves to a higher standard the Wannabe. We subscribe to acting in the best interest of our clients, providing service that is top quality and ethical. We do not meddle with unscrupulous behavior and walk away for improper, illegal, or unethical practices, even when there is money on the table to be had. Our reputation is more important that any amount of money and we protect our integrity above all else. Not everyone has their price – some are priceless.

As real consultants, we carry the insurances, accreditations, certifications and licenses necessary to ply our trade. No longer do we simply have a business license and workman’s comp, we go beyond that minimum. We continue to grow our knowledge through formal education
providing our clients with the latest information.

Currently, we belong to two groups that hold us to a higher level of ethical code. We have been members of the Independent Computer Consultants Association (www.icca.org) since 1993. Before we can become members, we must read and agree to the Code of Ethics. Violations to that code could result in expulsion from the organization. The expulsion would severely damage our reputation and impact our business.

As professional speakers, we are members of the National Speakers Association. Again, we must read and abide by the Code of Ethics. Violation of this Code can result in expulsion. Again, it would damage our reputation, impact our speaking engagements which would impact our consulting business. Violation of either Code of Ethics would severely damage our business.

We put our clients first. Pure and simple.

To some, this may sound idealistic, but not realistic. The fact of the matter, there are many consultants that hold to these values. Sadly, there are many more that do not. Your job, Mr./Ms. Client, is to determine who is the Real McCoy and who is the Wannabe.

Conclusion

We hope that we have given you some food for thought. The next time you hire a consultant, poke beyond their flattery and boisterous claims. “Where’s the beef!” as the TV ad many years ago proclaim. Not everyone is as they seem to be. See what certifications, ongoing studies and other pedigrees exist to support their claims. You’ll find them if you want to.

Seven Deadly Sins of Project Management

David A. Zimmer
Chief of Staff
American Eagle Group

It has been reported in several articles that the next wave of C-level executives will be former or current project managers. Without much qualification, we can assume that they are the successful project managers. The premises for such a claim is that successful project managers know how to manage a budget, get things done, negotiate solutions, navigate the political waters, solve problems with a single bound, and resolve the daily conflicts that make up their every day world. Successful project managers also know how to not commit one of the Seven Deadly Sins of project management, thus avoiding the sabotage of their projects and helping them claim one of the few C-level offices.

How can we capitalize on the knowledge of these successful project managers and future executives? We need to identify the Seven Sins and excommunicate them from our lives. Over the past several months, I have been conducting a survey to help understand the current use of project management within organizations and the difference between successful and failed projects (To participate and receive a free copy of the report to be published, visit www.ameagle.com and take the survey – about 5 minutes of your time invested). From the study, I have seen consistently the following areas needing improving – the seven deadly sins:

1. Lack of formally trained project managers
2. No standardized project management practices
3. Projects that linger forever
4. Project suffering from scope creep
5. Poor communications among team members, stakeholders, and others
6. Unreasonable expectations on people, time, and money
7. Incomplete definition of what was to be accomplished

Sin #1: Lack of Formal Training for Project Managers

Of all the people that I have trained in project management, I have not met one project manager that was trained in project management before he or she became a project manager. I find this curious. In fact, according to my study, only 24% of those managing projects, either part-time or full-time, have been formally trained in project management concepts. We seem to spend years in college and secondary education, pursuing various disciplines only to graduate, land jobs and then become project managers as if there were no need for formal training. We certainly wouldn’t go to an uneducated doctor or untrained mechanic, but we will use an untrained project manager for our $20 million project.

We see from industry studies that close to 60% of project fail and we wonder why. I would suspect the obvious in this case. What other area do we regularly take people, throw them into some position without training and expect immediate success? But we do that with regularity in the project management realm.

The obvious fix for such a situation is to educate the person on at least the fundamentals of what we are expecting so that they have a shot at success.

Sin #2: No Standardize Project Management Practices

It seems that with each new project, we must re-invent the wheel, taking a bit of what we have learned from prior projects and adding it to the new situation. Additionally, each one of us depends on our own talents and personalities and “roll our own” form of project management. The downside to this is that there is no consistency for either the management of projects or for our resources.

By standardizing the practices used for managing our projects, we gain by knowing a head of time what needs to be done, our team members know what to expect, the organization gains in efficiency and learning, and if we decide to ignore Sin #1, new project managers have something to follow as they enter the school of project management hard knocks.

Items to standardize: project plan templates, required documentation, status reporting, tracking of project progress, project initiation and definition, project planning, and so on.

Sin #3: Projects That Linger Forever

Some projects never seem to complete. They linger forever for several reasons: resources have been drawn onto other projects, company priorities shift, customer requirements are always in flux, sub-contractors and suppliers don’t provide needed materials or work, and so on. The list is endless. As a result, the project never finishes.

Projects that linger are damaging to the organization. No matter what stage they are in, they continue to cost money eating away at the time of those resources still involved, and kill morale within the organization. Additionally, it becomes a gnawing thorn to those who either worked or are currently working on the project. As people, we like closure to chapters in our lives, especially those chapters that are not the most pleasant. A lingering project is not pleasant.

There are two “simple” fixes to this sin: complete it or kill it. If you decide to complete it, you need to determine the reason for the project lingering. It is not always the obvious reason, so dig deep and determine the real reason. It may be that decisions weren’t made that caused the supplier to not provide the necessary material rather than simply their negligence. If you kill the project, make the decision and do it. Take the work that has been done, salvage the lessons learned and celebrate the “completion” of the project. Don’t make it a false celebration, but declare the project over appropriately so that the people put it behind them. Then move on.

Sin #4: Project Suffering From Scope Creep

We have all suffered from scope creep at one time or another. The scope of the project describes what the project is to do. Scope creep occurs when the definition expands during the course of the project. For example, I needed a light bulb on my car changed. I asked a mechanic to change the bulb. Thirty minutes later, he returns to tell me that my brakes needed to be fixed! They didn’t, but he tried to change a $15 job into a $350 job. That is scope creep.

We fix scope creep in one of two ways. Before the project starts, the scope is clearly documented and signed. The scope definition must include what the project includes and what it does not include. The “not included” is very important because it helps solidify the project boundaries. By referring to the scope document, we can keep the project within bounds.

When scope creep starts to occur, we use the document to bring the requester in line with the project parameters. If the requester insists on the change, we have the ability to request the necessary time and money incorporate the change.

Sin #5: Poor Communications

It is a well known fact, more people increases lines of communications exponentially. Keeping everyone informed becomes a daunting task. Even with the advances of communications such as email, cell phones, Blackberries, tele- and video-conferencing, web pages, etc., we still fall prey to uninformed people, information misinterpretation, or simply misunderstanding what was said.

This mis-communication becomes more complex now that we work across borders, cultures, and multi-generational workplaces. Words that used to mean one thing mean totally different meanings from one generation to the next. The expansion of our language with new words being added daily catches our breath away.

There is no simple cure to this sin. It takes diligence, ongoing learning of techniques, and the hardest behavior of all – listening to understand. These are behavior modification changes. Formal training in techniques goes a long way.

Sin #6: Unreasonable Expectations On People, Time, and Money

We have expectations. We expect people to do extraordinary things in limited time with little money. I find it interesting that, because of that expectation, extraordinary accomplishments result. So we live with this double-edged sword. If we truly had all the money, time, and people needed to accomplish a project, would we? And yet, we continually feel exasperated and drained because we are always under the gun to produce.

In a speech given by Pres. John F. Kennedy in 1962, he made the statement that by going to the moon in the next decade, it would prove that we had taken on a hard task that would prove the skill and fortitude of the American people. It builds pride in me every time I hear it. It makes me rise to the challenges.

We must know how far to push the envelope of expectations to gain the best but not so far that we over extend the money, time, and people into failure. And when the team accomplishes the task, we need to make sure that we acknowledge their effort in a great way, not just a simple thank you.

Sin #7: Incomplete Definition

The funny thing about this sin is that many times, we don’t realize that we have an incomplete definition until we are well into the project. The definition’s incompleteness becomes painfully obvious. Even worse, when we spend the “proper” amount of time defining the project and are crystal clear on the definition, we can still end up with an incomplete definition.

With that being the case, we need to be vigilant in our definition efforts to have as complete as possible definition prior to the project and to be nimble to incorporate definition refinements during the project. It takes skill and aplomb to make that happen. Stakeholders will need to be apprised of the impacts and made a part of the definition process, prior to and during the project. Once the area of definition deficiency is identified, we need to work quickly to determine its clarity and incorporate it into the project flow to keep things on track.

Final Thoughts

In life, there are many sins that we may commit. In project management, there are more sins than these seven that we can commit. Those are topics for another time. From my studies and questioning of people, these are the top seven. While at times they can be fatal or at least appear to be fatal, with some forethought, planning, and awareness, we can side-step many of them. So, go forth project managers and sin no more.

Bio

David A. Zimmer earned his Ph.D. in Project Management from the University of Hard Knocks. After twenty-five years of experience, he attended Villanova University for formal training and much eye-opening. While he is a highly effective and successful project manager, project management would have been much easier had he been trained first. He is now an evangelist coaching and training others in proper project management methodologies. His website (www.ameagle.com) is dedicated to his mission.