Link your IT to the business process – not an abstract spec list
To de-risk technology implementation you have to first understand the issues that cause IT projects to run into trouble. A common risk factor is thinking of technology as a wish list of functional specs rather than a system designed to run specific business processes.
The problems start with not thinking about the actual business process you’re going to use the software for,” explains Open Orbit Founder, Niranjan Deodhar.
“At Open Orbit, we don’t talk in spec lists – they are there but we don’t find them a good starting point,” says Deodhar. “We prefer to get the business imagining the process problem it wants to solve and what they would you do first.”
When a business works through ‘I do ‘X’, then I do ’Y’ and that’s when I need the system to do ‘Z’, you explain your user journey rather than hand over a wish list of features that may not provide the best solution.
When you start by defining what you need to do, you can anchor your specs to your process requirements – and their measurable outcomes. It also minimises misunderstandings of the desired outcomes and the risk of the system expectations diverging from the actual business process.
De-risk cost blowouts with software that mimics a consultant
Many businesses still automatically hire expensive management consultants to help de-risk their technology implementation. Deodhar says that because consultancies are still based around manual and human-dependent processes, they are often inefficient and slow to recognise and react to the main process issues that need addressing.
“This lack of efficiency plays out in consultants’ charging high fees billed for time rather than results, adds Deodhar. “It’s a mindset that doesn’t match the pay-for-measurable-outcomes we expect from today’s technology.
Moreover, with today’s speed of business and technology evolution, the value of the consultant’s costly advice expires quickly, leaving the business vulnerable to new technology risks.”
Open Orbit’s blending of algorithms with business expertise from across the client business offers a more efficient, faster and cheaper de-risking solution.
Case Study
A major global bank client was planning to decommission a legacy workflow system that was headed for end of support. There was a need to have an alternate solution in place. They needed to analyse multiple processes impacted by the legacy systems so that the new technology system was aligned to the current business need and not just to replace the legacy system.
Projects of this kind are usually expected to take months in collecting existing documentation and obtaining inputs from a multitude of stakeholders. A lot of time is spent on documenting the as-is process which typically uses traditional process mapping methods.
Read more here about how we were able to help the client achieve and complete this enormous project in weeks rather than months.
The best way to truly understand how Open Orbit can de-risk the implementation of technology in your business is to read our in-depth case studies here.
And as always, if the team can be of assistance, including arranging a demo, please feel free to reach out to us here.
