COTS Selection and Adoption in a Small Business Environment. How Do You Downsize the Process?

Transcription

1 Pittsburgh, PA COTS Selection and Adoption in a Small Business Environment How Do You Downsize the Process? Bill Anderson, MTS, SEI Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 1

2 Barriers for SMEs Smaller manufacturers are not embracing many of the latest, best software tools. WHY? Lack of awareness No business case to justify investment - Lack of metrics - Insufficient ROI-focused data - Lack of examples and pathfinders Skill Deficits Perception of large investment requirements Organizational / Cultural roadblocks - Fear of change - Legacy systems 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 2

3 TIDE Overview/Strategy TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (OCTAVE SM -S, AEE, CMMI for SMEs) Technology Adaptations DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS Early Demo Projects (Core Insertions) Advanced Demo Projects Lessons Learned Publications Body of Knowledge - Vendor Impact Support for SMEs Barrier Identification DISTRIBUTION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 3 IT Prof. Development series Selected SEI Courses Tech Adoption Workshops New courses and training CMMI is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University. SM OCTAVE is a service mark of Carnegie Mellon University.

4 Pittsburgh, PA Enabling ecommerce Creating an Electronic Environment Bill Anderson, Sr. MTS, SEI Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 4

5 Magdic Precision Tooling HQ McKeesport, PA, founded in by Carnegie Mellon University page 5

6 High Precision Compaction Tooling 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 6

7 Magdic Precision Tooling The Engineering Department and 20+ others 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 7

8 Challenge Fight the Sneaker Net Paper via sneaker net 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 8

9 Solution - IMES 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 9

10 Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute National Research Council Canada Conseil national de recherches Canada PECA A Recommended Process Plan the evaluation New criteria may be needed to distinguish products Establish criteria New understanding leads to further evaluation Unexpected discoveries may require reevaluation Analyze data 2002 by Carnegie Mellon University/ National Research Council Canada Data may reveal weaknesses in the experiments Ecommerce Enablement Collect Data COTS Evaluation - page 10

11 Downsizing PECA Not enough resources to generate team dynamics Switched from train the team to be the team Techniques that are motivated by need for management alignment were superfluous Team members were business owners so decisions could be immediate Team members had extensive process knowledge, mitigating some stakeholder involvement value Preference for Subject Matter Experts over Facilitators 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 11

12 Downsizing PECA 2 We established criteria with AHP Worked very well We did not dwell on differences between requirements and criteria - Largely because we carried AHP through to Analysis, effectively normalizing the comparison of performance 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 12

13 Licensing Switch from negotiated T&C s to shrink wrapped license No warranty typically only warrant media Protects vendor, little or no protection for buyer Think of it as buying a car in as is condition Remedies are in the maintenance/service arena Perhaps some protection could be generated through Purchase Order terms? 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 13

14 Licensing 2 The vendors could not predict the specifics of the required use licenses PC emulating terminal services mode had embedded licenses Thin client terminals needed a separate user license One of the third party packages would not operate due to license incompatibilities 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 14

15 Shrink Wrapped Maintenance Embedded 3 rd party packages were not included in the maintenance agreement Base package feature enhancement relied upon an upgrade to a 3 rd party package When one of the 3 rd party packages did not function the base package license blocked the reverse engineering required to remedy the situation The vendor recommended separate agreements with the 3 rd party packages - Will they recognize the base license? - Who does the integration? - Are the interfaces open and disclosed? 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 15

16 Adoption or Adaptation Small business adopts the software and can only adapt their processes Vendors want to be all things to all people - The Prego syndrome Process mapping still brought value Can the vendor communicate his recommended usage scenarios? Pull the recommended best practices out of the vendor Stay in the vendor s sweet spot 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 16

17 Adoption or Adaptation 2 Training in the small Business doesn t want to spend the time, has little capacity to continue operations if someone is in training A key reference question specific names of trainers We made the mistake of trying to make the vendor customize his training - Take your (small) vendor off his beaten path at your own peril 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 17

18 Measurement A foreign concept to the small business Once the money is spent, return is by gut feel Weekly usage chats spread knowledge, increased utilization, and solved problems Paperless environment is self healing Electronically linked files generated big savings in search time Web portal freed internal resources by allowing clients to directly status their orders - Great win-win 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 18

19 Measurement 2 The database backbone is full of performance indicators The typical user cannot mine the data This package had no business trending reports - The information is there but no easy way to retrieve it was provided A system requirement that we missed and did not evaluate at selection The package had only runtime licenses of the report tools, so user report generation was limited - But the user doesn t have the skills or resources to apply, even if they had the tools 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 19

20 Lessons 1 When downsizing - be aware of the motivations behind your process steps Management alignment is easier, so these activities become superfluous All the stakeholders may be on the team so outreach is not as necessary Decisions can be rapid when the business owners are team members 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 20

21 Lessons 2 Decision support software can be very helpful for software selection and other issues Properly implemented, decision support software can help rank, compare, and clarify subjective issues, improve communications among different stakeholders, and facilitate the what if thinking that can lead to better decisions. With facilitation it appears to scale well for the small business by Carnegie Mellon University page 21

22 Lessons 3 Shrink wrapped licenses protect the vendor not the buyer Find other vehicles to communicate buyer concerns and issues. Don t try to renegotiate a shrink wrapped license but do understand the vendor s position on the many important issues that impact the program s life cycle by Carnegie Mellon University page 22

23 Lessons 4 It takes two to tango Our attempts to reengineer the business processes were limited by the vendor s willingness to participate in our efforts. The less expensive software package doesn t support a lot of custom process work by the vendor. The vendor organization may not even grasp the concept by Carnegie Mellon University page 23

24 Lessons 5 Stay in the vendor s sweet spot Finding a vendor that knows and is committed to your business is critical. If the vendor is dedicated to you as a market, your issues will be market issues, creating more incentive for the vendor to resolve them. The smaller the business entity the more important this becomes. The small fish doesn t get to design the pond by Carnegie Mellon University page 24

25 Lessons 6 Do your homework Often, vendors and prospective customers focus on the bells and whistles of the software, rather than the nuts and bolts. Qualify the vendor s trainer, s/he must not only know the software, but how you are going to use it. The small business doesn t get to change the software, make sure you can live with it before you buy by Carnegie Mellon University page 25

26 Lessons 7 Listen to the vendor s recommendations Follow the vendor s recommended best practices, not because they are best practices but because they represent the road most traveled, most well known. Modify your business practices to leverage this well known road by Carnegie Mellon University page 26

27 Lessons 8 Vendors will sell flexibility The marketplace forces the vendor to be all things to all people (or at least a broad enough set of people to generate a market). In reality the software will have optimal use scenarios those ways of using the system that are tried and true. These are the scenarios that will have the lowest implementation risk; find them and change your practices to take advantage of them by Carnegie Mellon University page 27

28 Lessons 9 The business must be prepared to change COTS software is designed around a general business model. The business should expect that changes will be necessary and desirable, especially if the software embodies improved or industry best practices. This also will keep you closer to the vendor s sweet spot by Carnegie Mellon University page 28

29 Lessons 10 Conduct an open and frank dialog with your vendor about all these issues. Cover commitments in writing. Understand the vendor s position and your associated risks by Carnegie Mellon University page 29

30 BACKUP 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 30

31 TIDE Program Objective demonstrate the cost savings and efficiency benefits of applying commercially available software and information technology to the manufacturing lines of small defense firms. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000 Elements Demonstration Projects Studies of Controlled Technology Insertions Workforce Development Education & Training Technology Developments TIDE - risk reduction, proof of feasibility for SMEs 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 31

32 Process Mapping for System Implementation Wednesday, August 21, 2002 NOTES System Selected Adoption Planning & Management Goals and Risks Change Management Communication Rewards & Recognition 1. TIDE Flow Charts 1. Flow Chart w organizational, departmental swim lanes 2. Major Process Steps w/ deliverables by role Co 抯 differents sizes; different # products; Work Processes Analysis & Design Develop/review High Level Map ID areas of desired improvement w/ managers ID Big Picture 慉 s Is?stages 慣 o Be?Vision ID Data Sources Analyze 揂 s Is Walk thru w/ vendor ID steps for sys implementation Design 慣 o Be process (1 st draft) Review Artifacts (available from Selection Process) What are missing pieces? Work w/ Vendor Negotiate w/ vendor SYSTEM MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR TRIAL USE Vendor describes/charts ideal process (3) Organize Process Mapping (Architecture, boundaries) Map 慉 s Is?to Vendor Ideal, so areas of significant change are evident As Is Process Mapping (2) (Changes, Keepers, Issues) 2. 慉 s Is?Process Mapping Include: Tasks (steps) Decisions, decision criteria, data needed, % of decision outcomes Systems & usage Deliverables 3. 慉 s Is?Process Meetings Don 抰 include vendor in these meetings. May distract participants, as they are tempted to ask questions about how the system will perform. 4. Analyze 慉 s Is?Process Vendor can 抰 be expected to read flow charts. Person conducting walk thru will learn & will id gaps/needs. ID steps = hightlight, circle may do while doing walk thru Plan Implementation (phased) Design process for feedback on system/process testing/trials Develop role based training Document Processes 5. Vendor Process Vendor uses org 慉 s Is? making only changes to current as are needed for efficient use of system GOAL: Begin w/ best use of system 2003 by Carnegie Mellon University page 32