Should You Hire Consultants in current Economic Turbulence?

‘Depression’, wrote Thorstein Veblen shortly after the end of the Great Depression of 1873–96, ‘is primarily a malady of the affections of the business men. That is the seat of the difficulty. The stagnation of industry and the hardship suffered by the workmen and other classes are of the nature of symptoms and secondary effects. In such “Depressing” times economists, Government and Business class come together to help the market come out of this phase. There are job cuts, uncertainty, stock market falling downwards. Its like war and there is blood bath in the market and everyone is a loser. In these hard times do you feel organization at macroscopic level, need to hire consultants. Lets analyse together.

Consultation is not an easy job and for organizations, Outsourcing a project definitely carries number of potential risks. Hence we can say that control and risk mitigation are key concerns attached with outsourcing of a project from client perspective. The next step to outsourcing will be to introduce sound contract. Your legal advisor or legal department will clearly play a major role in preparing solid contract.

The first step after signing the contract for consultant is to get the requirement correct which itself is the most challenging job. Requirement is divided into 3 categories. 1. Business requirements 2. User requirements 3. Functional requirements. Business requirements represent the high level objectives of the organization. One can record business requirements in a product and scope document.

Functional requirement document should clearly define the expected outcome/result of outsourcing. The non functional requirements include standards, regulations, quality attribute goals, performance objectives, business rules, and external interface requirements.

In any technical consulting project typical stakeholders include

1.       Users

2.       Customers

3.       Alpha/Beta/Pilot testers

4.       Regulators

5.       Developers

Once the requirements have been defined, the question arises as to how to meet them. There will be many meetings with all the stakeholders and a project plan which includes list of activities will be defined after the necessary approvals of the client. A project manager will be deployed who will be mediator between domains of the user and his core team. In addition to these human resource requirements, important system requirements often derive from other devices or systems in the environment, which require some services of the system or act to constrain the system.From all the above activities we can conclude that nothing can beat human brain. A good resource either outsourced or have been developed internally can define the future of the organization. A good consultant will always be in demand because in consultancy word of mouth along with PR skills are the key reasons to get the next assignment. Also many small medium enterprises fail to understand the importance of consultant as they think they know all or feel it’s expensive to hire external consultant.

Consultants are like best paid guides who can tell whether the organization’s processes are good or bad without getting biased hence any point of time its important for organization to hire good consultant who can study the processes or help organization to grow to next level. If you analyse the reason of failure of any consulting project, it is attributed to personal characteristics of the consultant and client (e.g. lack of skills), technical incompetence (e.g. ineffective project management), bad consultant –client relationship and/or social political aspects of the client organization like hidden agendas, not ready to change. If one works on these issues, it is possible to make consultancy project successful.

Many research organisation feel that every organization should hire consultants. Its very important for any organization whether doing well or not to have third opinion. For organizations which are successful doesn't necessarily need to implement all the suggestions given by consultants. They can keep it for their reference and can monitor the growth and can use it in hard times. For other category of organizations, not successful one - can implement the suggestions and can see the result, because for them it will be do or die.

So guys go for it… Ask consultant’s help, let them grow your organization to next level and create win win situation for all. When you budget your finances, it’s important for you to keep small budget for consulting as well. You don’t need to hire functional expertise as consultant, you can approach your father’s best friend, your best friend or anyone whom you trust and as leader, you feel that this person can be the best guide.

*picture credit - http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Outsourcing - Best Practices, latest trends...

Yesterday an article in ET caught my attention on outsourcing model adapted by Wipro “Toyota lean lessons for Wipro” which encouraged me to write my view on outsourcing.

Welcome to the world of outsourcing. The use of global IT services offer the potential for compelling cost savings, but also brings increased risk of problems in communications, quality management and control. Media reports have highlighted some of the difficulties and the possible negative impact on UK jobs. However companies operate in an increasingly competitive world and cannot afford to ignore a sourcing strategy that might deliver major benefits. At time when more companies are gaining experience both good and bad – with offshore firms and outsourcing contracts, fewer companies are willing to share experiences.

Let’s take the example of Wipro learnings from Toyota. As per my experience (based on my little work experience) there are 3 challenges to project management

• Where is the requirement?? – I have seen that some clients change the requirements continually. The challenge is “ How does vendor standardize processes when the processes change rapidly ?” The ultimate goal for any project manager should be to create efficiency by removing variance.

• Where is the process?? : Often employees do much of the work using “ the knowledge in their heads” ( I am one of them). Whereas the knowledge should not be in the head but in open. It should be discussed and put on piece of paper so that everyone understands clearly.

• Where is the value?? : Solve the customer’s business challenges by adding value; Like Toyota did by introducing Toyota production system in its core manufacturing process & Wipro learning the best practices from TOYOTA and implementing in their work culture.

Adopting Toyota’s lean process to software services: Lessons for everyone

While many of the procedures just didn’t apply, TPS ( Toyota production system) cardinal rule of lowering inventory wasn’t direct issue for a software services company; many of the ideas were valuable. E.g if there’s a problem on the production floor, Toyota workers will pull on an andon cord. This signals a manager to come running to help the worker solve the problem. Wipro didn’t install these cords into the offices but it did put the structure/process in place to provide immediate assistance to worker who faces work challenge.

In any operation managers have to find the tools that can identify problems “as early as possible. Then have the person who made the mistake fix it immediately, right where it went wrong. Having that particular employee make the correction is important for two reasons

1. He/She has the relevant knowledge to actually fix it

2. It’s learning for the employee and he/she won’t make the similar mistake in any other project.

Another challenge is for the offshore team to understand in detail what is happening at the customer location. To overcome this challenge Web EX can be used & vendor can watch the meetings/ training.. etc from home location.

Another adaptation was modifying the Toyota’s visual control board, which the manufacturer uses to track progress on the shop floor. “It’s graphically tracks the progress and productivity of the organization” To adapt this project manager puts every team member’s name on blackboard on the vertical axis. The days of the week make up the horizontal axis. The manager fills in the squares with the work each member is supposed to accomplish each day. The employees fill in what they actually accomplished each day before going home.

Control board helped manger see whether team member is performing as per expectation or not. If someone is not performing, it doesn’t mean that team member is incompetent. What it usually means that person hit a problem and needs other members help in solving it. The project manager can assign others to help, so the team gets the job done. Another benefit is everybody gets to see what everyone else is doing. Employees often feel that they are doing more work than everyone else. Sometimes they are !! But after seeing the board they realize everyone is busy and working hard. This information is good for team motivation.

Lets come back to outsourcing issues.

With outsourcing becoming easier, more readily available, common clients fail to appreciate the enormity of the outsourcing industry. Clients spend more time drafting what they want done and negotiating costs than they do on researching how to do it, when to do and with whom to outsource. Unfortunately for clients that don't research, the outsourcing industry is truly colossal and far more intricate than one may think. Popular outsourcing destinations span cross continents, from China in the Far East to Ukraine in Eastern Europe and Ghana in West Africa.

Gartner has described the move towards offshore sourcing as an ‘irreversible mega trend’ companies are increasingly moving work overseas to cut costs and free up resources to focus on new opportunities and innovation. When it comes to vendors there are several outsourcing giants like Wipro, HCL and Infosys, hundreds of different SME (small to medium enterprise) outsourcing service providers and tens if not hundreds of thousands of individual remote outsourcing freelancers. What can be outsourced now also appears to have no boundaries. The outsourcing industry caters to almost everything and anything one can think of, from call centers to programming ,to legal, engineering and accountancy services. You name it & it can be outsourced . Furthermore, some outsourcing companies specialize only in certain sectors whilst other vendors mould to your specific outsourcing needs.

Even countries have built sector specific reputations; the Philippines has made a mark in voice process call center outsourcing and India's dominance in programming looks to go unchallenged for at least another decade or so. There is no less diversity when it comes to the mode of outsourcing. Certain outsourcing companies work on projects, other companies provide remote staffing solutions and some companies work only on long term contracts. The point is very simple; there are many different methods and ways, permutations and combinations by which one can outsource. Whilst it is very important for clients to know what they want, it is even more important for clients to know what for them is the best method of outsourcing, what they need from an outsourcing provider and what type of outsourcing vendor they require. If clients outsource not knowing these important factors, things can go wrong because success then hinges on chance and luck as opposed to facts and knowledge.

The good news for clients that do their homework is that the outsourcing industry offers a wide range of different services. The benefit of this is that clients have a lot of choice and so can find a method of outsourcing that most appropriately suits their exact needs. Hence, from Microsoft to a one man brand everyone can outsource and do so successfully. When clients outsource in a manner that is ideal for them it is then that companies attain very high levels of cost effectiveness and efficiency.

The rewards of outsourcing can be significant but to achieve this client must first know what they are doing. In conclusion, when outsourcing goes wrong more often than not it is because the method of outsourcing or outsourcing vendor was not appropriate for that client. It is not that outsourcing does not work, if it didn't the most successful companies in the world wouldn't be outsourcing. Rather it is a lack of research, and selecting the wrong outsourcing vendor. If one puts the wrong fuel into a car, it is pointless placing fault with the engine when the car doesn't start. So do your Homework ( as you use to do in school) and then select vendor ooops partner.

Special Thanks to my IMT professor : Dr. Reema Khurana & Dr.Jayanti Ranjan

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/7977127.cms

Interesting IT

When I entered Telecom industry everyone use to use words like ARPU, MOU, REC base, VLR base, HLR base………. Etc etc. That time Google was not invented so I always use to ask my friends the meaning of these words & I was lucky to get assistance from ”Happy to help” friends.

Time flies & I learned those abbreviations but one day I thought why I should not make my own book of abbreviations & I started with names like SB, KP, CKM…. etc etc. I had interacted with many departments but there was one department from which I learned a lot & that was IT.  Interacting with developers, project managers & their way of working impressed me & I decided that I will enhance my IT skills & that lead to my major in IT.

So What is Information Technology ?( My learning till now… ? 

Information technology (IT) system refers to any computerized command, communication control and reporting system that companies use to plan and operate their businesses. IT services refer to the development,implementation, configuration, and support of computerized system and tools that are used in the development and maintenance of such systems. The industry came into existence in early 1950’s as the first computers made their way into the business world with the introduction of IBM’s first large computer The IBM 701. After decades of slow but steady growth, the IT services market stood at $153 million in 1990. The market went through hyper-growth in the 1990’s by riding three overlapping waves spurred first by the client server revolution then the

threat of the year 2000 software problem and finally by the internet revolution, which in 2008 was still unfolding in its web2.0 iteration

In 2007 the worldwide IT services market registered 8.7% growth from 2006 reaching $730 billion in the end user spending and was projected to continue growing to $964.4 billion by 2011. At the beginning of 2008 IT services companies were retooling to address the needs of fast growing consumer oriented web companies while continuing to deliver enterprise level automation projects using software from oracle & SAP AG. Social networking, online auctions, blogs, podcasts, and video casts, webcasts and 3G wireless  networks were all terms invented to describe  information services delivered to consumers by businesses and increasingly by other consumers. Over the next 5 years as

companies integrate the information flow of their supply chains and eventually their entire value chains. Web technologies developed for B2C and C2C use (social networking, blogs..etc) will migrate to the enterprises as well. This will keep the IT services industry on growth trajectory for some time to come

According to my study there were 3 waves in the life of “Big Daddy” called IT.

1.      First wave - Client Server Revolution : Client Server refers to a computing model where two distinct software programs often running on separate computers, collaborate with each other to automate business processes. The client software (running on client computer) often performs all tasks related to user interface functions such as using a graphical user interface like Microsoft windows to obtain data from functions such as using graphical user interface like Microsoft windows to obtain data from  the user and display processed data. The server software services receive data provided by the user processes the data and returns the results to the client software for display.

2.       Second wave – Y2K Problem : The year 2000 software problem ( known as Y2K bug) refers to computer programming technique used in the 1960’s and 1980’s when dates were programmed as two digit numbers, rather than four digit numbers. Thus, year 67 in legacy software represented year 1967. Software developed at the time assumed that the first two digits f all years were 19, since software like other business equipment was expected to be obsolete in 20 years or less. This meant that in year 2000 computers would assume that the number 00 represented 1900 causing the software to produce unpredictable results. Software engineers who had worked on mainframe programs in the 1970’s and 1980’s started discussing the possibility of a catastrophic meltdown of the programming date functions. By 1996 the low key discussions gained force as the press began to publish opinions about what could be triggered by the Y2K bug. Governments and companies alike swung into action and by 1977 a massive Y2K remediation effort was under way which alike swung into action which peaked in 1999 and wound down by the beginning of 2001.

3.     Third wave – Internet bubble: The Third wave that kept IT services in hyper growth was the internet revolution. In 1994 a small company by the name of Mosaic Communication Corporation released a software product named Mosaic Netscape 0.9 which allowed windows and UNIX computer users to navigate the World Wide Web through an intuitive easy to use graphical user interface known as the browser. In 1996 when Mossaic by then renamed Netscape went public the internet revolution was in full swing. Just about every global 2500 company and government agency was developing an internet strategy almost overnight, so as not to cede any competitive turf. By the time the internet bubble burst and the dust settled in 2001 a massive worldwide overcapacity existed in telecommunications, computing infrastructure and software engineering, contributing to mild recession in the west ad plunging prices in all three areas. By then the world wide IT services market has reached staggering $520 billion but predictions for further growth were scaled back significantly.

4.    The Next wave – Value chain integration & Web 2.0 : The IT services market in 2008 can be viewed as two distinct markets consumer oriented enterprise oriented. For decades IT services automated intra business processes and most recently inter-business processes. But with the advent of the internet and inexpensive web technologies, thousands of companies began to sprout up to provide Web based consumer services which created whole new market for It service companies – catering to web bases companies such as Amazon.com and e bay.

In 1990’s companies such as SAP AG of Germany, Oracle Corporations, Siebel Systems, People soft and others provided packaged applications to enterprises as cheaper and faster alternatives to developing customer applications. By 2008 after several bouts of consolidations SAP AG and Oracle Corporation split the world wide enterprise application market between them. In IT services the traditional players like IBM Global services, Accenture, EDS, Perot Systems, KPMG, Computer Science corporation and others still dominated, but Indian firms such as Tata consultancy & Infosys were fast becoming viable threats.  

Hmm…………enough gyan on IT. If my teacher reads this, she will not believe that I actually had done detailed study on IT…… And since learning is continuous process I am still learning.

*photcredit - Flickr.com