As part of an insightful morning at the Gartner EA Summit in London yesterday, I had the pleasure of listening to keynote speaker, the Undercover Economist, Tim Harford.

Introduced by Gartner’s Brian Burke as “being blessed with the talent of making the complex simple”, Tim engaged the audience with a series of quite unrelated stories which indirectly highlighted two key considerations for any IT business process management – trial and error and human intervention

If at first you don’t succeed…
Tim initially recounted a seemingly bizarre story of a student who wished to make, from scratch, their own version of a simple house hold item – the toaster. The inquisitive students’ approach was to acquire a cheap toaster and strip it down to see what parts it was made up from. Staggeringly, he discovered a single toaster comprised over four hundred individual components parts.

The student laboured for months to create a basic toaster, involving use of a microwave to act as a smelt for the raw Iron Ore (I’d imagine this highly dangerous process took more than one go) through to using a tree trunk as a moulding for the plastic outer casing.

Finally ready nine months later, the completed toaster lasted approximately five seconds before bursting into flames. As Tim explained, this demonstrates the multiple issues you need to address when you want to achieve anything – even the build of a simple toaster became such a complex, as well as the stages of trial and error you must endure.

Tim further built on this theme describing Unilever’s creation of a simple pouring nozzle for one of its detergent products. The methodology adopted by the consumer goods giant was to create ten different nozzles, then find which one worked best. From the best performing pourer, ten more modifications of a similar design were produced and the process repeated until the very best result was found. To this day no one actually knows how or why it works so well, but it just does – through human input combined with trial and error.

With these two verbal analogies, Harford described how organizations faced with changes – no matter how simple they may appear – need to use trial and error in their processes in order to achieve their objectives.

Right here, right now…
Harford went on to explain how IT, though key in the business management and Enterprise Architecture environment, is no substitute for the “there and now” knowledge of the person in any situation.

Sharing an exemplar tale from the first Gulf war, Harford regaled a story which could have had distressing consequences, if human intervention had not played a role…

Following orders, issued based on key information from a central computer, a US Army tank division raced through the desert in a terrible sand storm. As the unit cleared the top of a ridge they realized they we driving straight into a platoon of Iraqi troops hiding in a dug out just beyond their position. According to the data feed being received by the tank division, the enemy army didn’t exist at that point – though clearly the men on the ground could see a different scenario and needed to take immediate action.

In a critical, split second decision, the General leading the troop ordered them to attack. Within twenty five seconds the superior US machinery, fire power and trained troops disarmed the enemy unit. Meanwhile, back base there still wasn’t clarity whether Iraq were actually there or not.

In sharing these simple yet effective examples, Enterprise Architects and Business Process Management Specialists can learn the following:

• Start by finding out what you need to know
• Be prepared to underestimate a problem the first time round
• Keep testing and learning, repeatedly
• Listen to your men and women on the ground, respect the knowledge of your subject matter experts and build this into your process

And, finally, yes you will make mistakes, but try make them good ones!

So, my question is: what good mistakes have you made that have improved your processes for the better, in the longer term?

Casewise CEO Alexandre Wentzo with children from the nursery

I visited our South Africa office in Pretoria last year to meet the team over there. All the people were great and the office is doing really well, but I was amazed by the sights I witnessed in the local cities. There was such a difference between those areas lining the route from the airport to the major cities and the other townships off the main commuting roads. The visit of the FIFA World Cup in 2010 clearly attracted a lot of regeneration in the areas that would be visited by supporters and sponsors, but other townships have been neglected and show another side to the country. I travelled through a township called Khayelitsha which is experiencing immense poverty and it gave me a real wake up call. It is Cape Town’s largest township but many of its residents still live in shacks and don’t have electricity or running water. I couldn’t forget what I saw and I felt I had to do something to help. I didn’t want to just send money so I decided to visit Khayelitsha again between Christmas and New Year. I flew to Cape Town and took a taxi to the city without anywhere to stay or any knowledge of what was ahead of me.

Khayelitsha Nursery

I met a lady called Lucy who manages a nursery in Khayelitsha, a vital centre where parents can leave children – from as young as four months – at 5am while they go and find work in Cape Town. Parents in Khayelitsha have no option but to leave their children in the nursery; if they don’t go out and find work then they can’t afford food to feed the family. There are only three rooms and one table for the children to use at the centre. Conditions are unsafe leaving the children vulnerable and at risk, so much so that Lucy has just been given notice that the building is to be closed in eight weeks due to health and safety concerns. It’s going to take at least eight to 10 months to rebuild the nursery but funding for that is uncertain and there is no facility for the children to go to in the meantime. Even with the World Cup visiting the country recently, it’s shocking to see that no substantial investment was made in local communities. That’s why I want to set up a charity to finance the building of a new nursery. After my last trip I was haunted by the images I saw and when I returned home I sold my car to help fund the new charity. I don’t expect others to make the same sacrifice but I am looking to partner with charities and businesses to help me start my project. I’ve already set up a few meetings with local builders and community leaders in South Africa.

Casewise CEO Alexandre Wentzo meeting families in Khayelitsha

Khayelitsha is one of the fastest growing townships in South Africa and I want to help invest in the futures of the children living there today to help provide a better quality of life for future generations. If you feel like me, and these images make you want to stand up and help the families of Khayelitsha live healthier and happier lives then please contact me at community@casewise.com. I’d love to write another post in a year saying how much the situation has improved.

Despite the downturn and huge cuts in technology budgets, Casewise proved to be a great friend to many businesses going through the pain of a restructure or a reorganization.

In this exclusive video interview conducted by broadcaster, broadsheet columnist, business and leadership speaker and author René Carayol, Casewise CEO Alexandre Wentzo reflects on 2011 and provides a positive peek into what the future holds for Casewise.

With the strong growth in cloud computing and software-as-a-service, especially with small businesses, the Casewise SBO was the next logical step in Casewise’s evolution to meet the needs of a wider market”

The market intelligence carried out on this sector last year provided great insight into the potential and rapid growth of this marketplace.

There are 4.7 million Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs) in the UK accounting for more than 95 per cent of all UK businesses generating half of the nation’s turnover – a staggering £1,440bn it’s clear to see this is a sector with enormous growth opportunities. It therefore comes as no surprise that 2011 was cited by Microsoft as being the year SMBs started to embrace cloud computing.

To put this into perspective, let me quote some further stats. Research conducted by global industry analyst and market research organization Techaisle indicates that EMEA SMBs spent US$2.5 Billion on Cloud Computing in 2011 and this figure will continue to grow at a CAGR of 12 percent till 2015. An estimated 35 million SMB users in EMEA are expected to use some form of Cloud by the end of 2011. UK, France, Germany will have a little more than 1 in 5 SMB Users on Cloud.

And so to the point I am trying to make…. we all understand the methodology behind the principle of Cloud Computing, how it can help reduce a company’s costs while offer an easily manageable platform to work from; but more importantly hosted solutions can also help a business to grow and improve performance.

In addition to helping the balance sheet look more favourable, cloud computing also gives small and medium-sized businesses access to the tools and applications that previously were out of reach due to cost, limited storage capacity, bandwidth, servers, not to mention expensive upgrades etc… This means that SMBs are now able to compete on a more level/even playing field, in large markets, often dominated by major enterprises.

I didn’t hold much hope given the hugely oversubscribed sale process; it therefore came as no surprise when I was informed that I’d been unsuccessful in my attempt. The controversial ticket application process was by no means straight forwards; and I wondered at the time about the system behind scenes and whether it really was geared up.

Earlier this week the media reported that the London 2012 organising committee (Locog) confirmed that a decidedly unsynchronised error in its ticketing process had led to four synchronised swimming sessions being oversold by 10,000 tickets. The error occurred in the summer, between the first and second round of ticket sales, when a member of staff made a single keystroke mistake and entered ‘20,000’ into a spreadsheet rather than the correct figure of 10,000 remaining tickets. The error was discovered when Locog reconciled the number of tickets sold against the final layouts and seating configurations for venues, and began contacting ticket holders before Christmas. Ticket holders have been compensated with tickets to alternative events offered at no additional cost, starting with tickets for sports they had applied for but been unsuccessful.

This revelation comes days before Locog unveils its ticket resale system, an online exchange designed to allow fans to swap unwanted tickets rather than sell them to touts.

The ticket allocation process has proved the most controversial aspect of London 2012 planning, with criticism of the failure to get tickets to more members of the public.

I like to use analogies where possible to explain my thoughts behind a matter so that they resonate with many people….

When booking a leave of absence from Casewise, like all employees I am required to complete an online vacation request form built using our very own BPM Suite Casewise Synergy. Once submitted my request is duly sent to my manager for approval. The workflow is geared up so that I can only book a maximum of 28 days per year; my allocated number of vacation days. If attempt to book off any more time, my line manager is alerted by the system and I am also informed that the request is outside of my allowance.

It therefore leaves me to ponder why so many organizations today overlook simple business process applications which feature alerts, validations and notifications to solve their problems.

This year, in the spirit of Christmas, I thought I’d have some festive fun by creating a tongue-in-cheek case study on a new Casewise customer; an iconic, legendary folklore figure who recently approached Casewise for assistance given increased demand for the fulfilment and provision of gifts at this time of year! Enjoy.

May I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year. I look forwards to sharing further blog posts with you in 2012.

Casewise Santa Claus Case Study

Casewise Modeler Christmas Present Process

Many of those who have commented to date make some very valid points including those who suggest that starting small often means starting with an irrelevant process that few will notice if it fails.

I don’t want to dwell on the matter but the point I was trying to make was to start simple and work up to more comprehensive processes.  I totally agree that whatever process you do decide to begin with, you must have an eye on the overall strategic Business Process Management vision.

Let me sign off on this matter and leave you with one final thought…. if you were to bake a cake for the first time would you start off with a simple sponge or fruit cake, or jump straight in by attempting to bake 5 tier wedding cake!

BKEXEH2CE2HB

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) today (19 Dec 2011) announced plans to prevent a return of the risky mortgage lending seen in boom times, by ensuring that common sense standards continue to apply in future.

The Mortgage Market Review aims to prevent a recurrence of the irresponsible lending which resulted in some borrowers taking on mortgages which only seemed affordable on the assumption that house prices would always rise. Many of those borrowers ended up struggling to repay their mortgage and in danger of losing their home.

The proposals will see prospective borrowers – whether they are first time buyers, right-to-buy tenants or home movers – get the right information and advice, at the right time, and ensure mortgage lenders will be properly checking each applicant’s realistic ability to repay their mortgage.

In light of the subprime mortgage crisis which has had such a profound impact on the world’s financial markets it is clear to see from the FSA’s plans that a review of the mortgage application process is required and well overdue.

My own perspective is that the FSA’s plans infer that the current processes employed are not up to the standards they should be. This positive move shows that the FSA are committed to greater mortgage regulation, including income checks and affordability tests, and a review and overhaul of the processes which govern them.

Recently, I was asked to present at my former University on the subject of aligning sales and marketing to aid revenue performance. I wanted to be a little different and took to creating an analogy whereby the salesperson was represented as a Formula 1 driver, and marketing by the team pit crew.

It then got me to think that I could also apply this analogy relating to Business Intelligence…

Having qualified in first place with the fastest time, our driver is starting the race on pole position. Off to a good start, our driver begins to pull out a lead over the rest of the pack; however, as the laps pass by he is beginning to lose grip in his tyres through natural degradation, his fuel levels are beginning to run low and the data analysts and engineers in the pit garage who are constantly monitoring the driver/car performance realize more down force is required to sustain this level of performance and maintain the lead. The team then notify the driver to call into the pits on the next lap in a revision to the original race strategy.

Pulling into the pits our driver comes to a stop in his box; and the pit team go to work changing the tyres, refuelling the car and adjusting the front wing to provide more down force. The intelligence provided by the cars onboard data systems, and the communication and collaborative efforts by team is now the key to winning or losing the race. It’s at this point when pulling the car into the pit box that the driver knows he can sit back feeling confident that his team have all the intelligence to set to work and action the tasks in just a few seconds.

The point I am trying to make here with this analogy is that you should not have to go in search of the data intelligence, it should automatically come to you. This is just the way in which the Casewise Analytics product bundle works in providing you with a series of tools to make successful decisions and communicate the business value to your entire organization ensuring complete transparency.

In today’s society everyone wants information and answers immediately and to a detailed level of choice; and that’s exactly what Casewise Analytics provides.

Lets say that you’ve selected and implemented the chosen Business Process Management solution within your infrastructure and your now ready to begin building and rolling out workflows. You may have a number of processes in mind that you wish to implement straight away, but careful consideration needs to take place on which one to begin with. Its important to achieve a positive impact from the first, newly implemented process; it needs to show added value to employees and the business as a whole, and gain positive feedback. As a result, users will propel the BPM initiative forwards, creating a real impact on the organization. In a previous blog post I’ve mentioned that the success of a BPM project is influenced by the speed at which employees embrace the new technology, reaffirming that the project is there to benefit all.

If the wrong process is selected, the positive impact won’t be felt. Disappointment, backlash or objections to using the solution can lose the business buy-in, stall embracement from a wider community, or even cause the whole BPM initiative to stall or be cancelled!

The key principles for deciding on the first process for implementation are:

• A process which demonstrates a high level impact, with low risk to the business
• A well defined process that covers all bases
• A process with low complexity

Simple processes that involve approvals are usually good candidates such as holiday requests, expense approvals etc… Other good starting points are processes which can aid management teams especially if the workflow can eliminate any of the insufficient visibility or traceability issues found prior to the BPM solutions implementation.

I would suggest avoiding complex, inter-departmental scenarios for the first process. These types of processes normally involve too many opportunities for political infighting, delays and increase the project risk.

So when starting out, keep it simple, or in the words of Dr. Koichi Kawana ‘Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means.’