Too Many Business Requirements from End Users
An ambitious project using MSFA failed due to demand-overload
My company started an ambitious project to run our entire ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system as a web application, and they were prepared to throw a lot of time and resources at the project to make it work.
We hired a consultant who had experience managing large scale projects and also had an extensive background with writing web applications. We even hired additional staff solely for this project. Despite all of our efforts, the project still ended up as a costly failure.
Now, there were a number of reasons why the project failed, but I would like to focus on what I believe to be the most significant problem: “too much, too fast.”
First, let me provide a little background on the software that we are currently using for our ERP. It is approximately 10 years old, and extremely limited in what it can do. Although it supports some standards such as SQL (a given for any database application) it has a number of bugs that prevent these features from being usable, meaning complex workarounds are necessary for almost every facet of our business.
There are upgrades for the software that fix these bugs and expand functionality, but since it is an “off the shelf” retail application upgrading all of our existing systems is prohibitively expensive. Especially considering that the most recent version would not satisfy all of our business needs and would only be viable as a temporary solution anyway.
We have done pretty well with what we have available, but it is just not enough. Admittedly, many of the problems we have are not with the software itself but with how we use it (and abuse it).
This project, which we started in november of 2007, was not the first attempt to migrate from our disfunctional ERP system, however it was the first attempt we had made using a proven methodology instead of just “winging it”.
You may have heard of Microsoft Foundations for Agile Software Development (MSFA) before, which is the methodology recommended to us by our consultant.
Part of this process involved defining Business Rules (what the current software does now), Business Requirements (what the new software would be required to do), and Use Cases (examples of how the current software is used).
All of this is intended to give a very clear definition of what functionality in the old system needs to be preserved in the new system, and what it will be expected to do better.
So if we allocated plenty of resources for the project, followed a proven methodology, and had experience from failed projects in the past, then why did this project fail? I believe the reason that had the largest impact was the fact that the end users both defined the business requirements and approved them.
Needless to say, this is a recipe for disaster since end users are focused on entirely different problems than developers are. I’d hate to use a car analogy, but if we were building a car, the end users would be more worried about leather seats and air conditioning, while we the developers are just trying to get the engine and transmission to work together so that we can move forward.
Now don’t get me wrong here, nobody knows more about what a system should do than the end users, since they are the ones who have to put up with it.
Ideally, they could provide a wish list of things they want the system to do and the developers could prioritize them based on how feasible they are. Unfortunately, there were several people at each development team meeting that probably should not have been, prioritizing power windows as more important than having a windshield.
Although this project left a bitter taste in my mouth, I learned a lot from it.
As of today I have been told that the project “isn’t dead, it’s just sleeping”, suggesting that we will pick it up again sometime when there is less going on.
Fortunately, I’m not that naive and I can see that the project as we envisioned it this time around is not only no longer reasonable, but should not even be considered desirable.
What we need is to get back to the source of the problems we are having now, and carefully work out as much of the details as we can before we start hiring additional resources to help.
What Makes Content Valuable or Interesting?
What Adds Value to Content?
I have been thinking about this a lot lately for numerous reasons. I hope some people out there have noticed that I am working very hard to turn Pseudorant into a resource that will provide value for my readers. I have also been working on revamping the website where I work and studying ways to employ SEO to help our business do better.
All this work has had me questioning what types of content do users consider valuable? You can read a million guides online about how to promote a business, or advertise a website but once you get people there what will you show them?
I am currently experimenting with a lot of different types of content to see what people react best to as a sign that these topics are of interest to them. I am happy to see the “The BEST Looking “FREE to Play” 3D MMORPG List” is doing good, of the topics I have posted on the site thus far. I worked very hard on putting that list together and I plan to continue to update it so it will remain a useful resource for players in years to come.
I have been thinking of putting together something that is similar to the MMORPG list because it seems like users are getting a lot out of it. People seem to like having many resources laid out before them in one place. I think this has to do with a “convenience” factor for people.
When thinking about the types of things that add value to content I try and put myself in the position of the reader and ask myself what I would like to see on a site.
This is a hard question to answer because my interests are so varied. I really enjoy computers and games but it is hard to find an aspect of these hobbies to share with people that has not been discussed already.
I plan on doing a guide this summer on how to build the ultimate arcade machine. I know this has also been done, but I am going to structure mine so that anyone can follow it and build their own arcade machine with very little technical know how.
I am considering writing some technical guides for the site to walk users through how to troubleshoot common computer problems. I have done this in the past for the place I work at but unfortunately I don’t have the time to maintain the resource.
I guess the point of this rant is that I feel everyone is trying to figure out what makes content interesting to people? There doesn’t seem to be any set rule or otherwise there would probably be books about “How to create interesting content”.
Looking back on the article I wrote yesterday “What is Web 2.0? Web 2.0 is coming!” it really got me thinking about the content people are producing and how it is really hit or miss. There are a couple things I have noticed that I will be trying to study further.
01. People tend to like “resources” whether they are compilations of games or services that they can see as a whole, without needing to search multiple sites for the information they are after.
02. People like knowing the inside scoop, if you have a story that no one else knows and it is appropriate to post it, do so. People will come to your site since you are the only one with the information. Just make sure that your news is accurate so people do not think you are liar. (A good example of an accurate news scoop is my article on “Google to Open Midwest Office in Madison, Wisconsin“)
03. Buzzwords do not necessarily make an article interesting. Just because people are searching for information on something does not ensure it will be a highly viewed topic. My experiment with this was writing the article about Web 2.0. Some people where interested in this but the overall response was lukewarm.
04. Inflammatory statements get more attention than buzzwords. This is a given, we have seen this occurring for years in forums. I attempted to test this theory by writing an article called “Grand Theft Auto IV is the Root of All Evil!” The driving force behind the traffic to this article was not the buzzword “Grand Theft Auto IV”, it was the fact that it was being portrayed in a negative light in some peoples eyes.
These are just general observations I have made from tracking stats on my blog, and playing around with different article formats.
Am I doing this just to mess with people? Of course not… Pseudorant is an experiment for me to learn many things about myself, other people, computers and technology.
I have always had a deep rooted interest in the way people’s minds work. Maybe this is because both of my parents are social workers, or maybe it’s just because everyone enjoys knowing what makes people tick.
From the standpoint of a site designer, author or anyone producing content these are very valuable things to know. While writing a point by point guide on how to do things is meaningful, there is a lacking sense of accomplishment if no one ever reads your work.
I think that is one of the hardest things to get past when a person is starting a blog. I have really had to kick myself in the butt some days to come up with something to write. Not because I don’t enjoy doing it, but because I have other things on my mind and some days when no one reads a post it is hard to maintain that level of motivation.
I originally started writing this intending it would be a short blurb since I am actually pretty busy tonight, building a computer for a friend. This seems to have turned out to be more a guide that I figured it would be.
As I keep working on my blog I will continue to document any observations I make about people, my articles, trends, content and topics, as this may be useful to other people out there that are new to this, or have been doing it for years or are just having a little writers block.
I would be VERY interested to hear other people’s ideas about what makes content valuable to readers, the different things they have written, and the response those posts have received. This is something that I tend to obsess about lately.
It might have something to do with the fact that I have OCD, or it may be because it is something that actually requires a good deal of thought.
Either way I hope those who are checking out my blog are finding something interesting here and there, that makes this blog useful to you. Creating a resource that is valuable to you, creates value for me when I sit down and write an hour long article. I hope others feel the same way and continue to share their thoughts and ideas on how we can continue to improve on what we do.
Thanks for visiting Pseudorant.
News - Google Office in Madison - Additional Details
Follow-up Details on the Google Office in Madison
I am posting a follow-up article on the Google Office in Madison because I have received a lot of questions from people asking about the specifics of that article.
Let me say first, that at the moment the details are very limited. There have been a number of live journal users who have confirmed the information I originally posted. There are several parties involved in the project so far so some people may have additional details that I don’t know. If you do have additional information, please feel free to post it to my comments so we can gather all the specifics and get a thread going with the details.
The questions I have been asked from people are as follows:
How did you find out about this?
As I mentioned in my original post “Google to Open Midwest Office in Madison, Wisconsin” I received this information from a friend who told me this in passing. They were not trying to pump up a story or get me excited. It was more along the lines of “this is what happened at work today”.
There had been a few brief mentions of this prior to this conversation because of paperwork that was currently in the works. This also involved a meeting with representatives from Google to hammer out details regarding the office space.
How do you know that it’s confirmed?
I also stated in my article about “Blog Mission Statement and News Accuracy” that I would only present information on my blog when it has been almost 100% confirmed. The confirmation that I decided to go by when posting this article was signed contracts regarding the office space Google will be using for their Madison location.
How do you know the location?
This is one spot I should have been clearer on when I posted the article. I mentioned in my original post that it would be in the Willy Street “Area”. This means the office may be “on” Willy Street or might be off a side street near Willy. Either way you should be able to see the building from WIlly Street. I do not know the confirmed address of the building. From what I have heard the office will most likely be very close to were John Nolan Drive and Williamson Street intersect, or within 2 blocks of this location.
Why would Google move to Willy Street?
The area that the office will most likely be in is actually closer to the Capital Square than what people would usually envision when they hear the name “Willy Street”. Do not expect to see a Google office mixed in between hippy clothing stores, world food markets and Mother Fools coffee house. Although based on Google’s company mantras I can see why they might like this area of Madison.
The secondary reason being, that Google apparently found a building in this area with a visual esthetic that matched their tastes. If you have seen the Google offices in California (inside and out) you can get an idea for what I am talking about.
What will this offices role be in Madison, Wisconsin?
The short answer is… no idea.
Sorry, I know you probably don’t want to hear that but it’s true. No one I have talked to that has information on this knows what the office will be used for.
There was a suggestion from Lacherig in a live journal comment that said “Aren’t they currently working on scanning all of the books in the UW’s libraries?” This could be the purpose of the office. In my original article I could only offer speculation as to what the new office might mean for Madison.
The only thing I find strange about the office is that the visual esthetic was an important factor about the building for one reason or another. If I was opening a business that would mainly be used for achieving data I wouldn’t spend the extra time or money on a building that looked “neat”.
This may just be they way Google does things with their company or it might mean that the office may have multiple purposes.
As far as how permanent the office will be, that is also up for speculation. I know that they are going to be renting the office space and they have not purchased any commercial property in Madison at the moment. If they had, I would give the confirmation details right from the AccessDane website regarding the purchase.
Because of this it is impossible to really guess what future plans Google may have for this office.
I personally feel that they should look into making Madison a second home because of how technology oriented the city already is. This could turn out to be something really cool, or it may just be that they are here to catalog books. Either way, it is Google, and that in itself is really cool.
Madison has the potential to be a great location for many successful computer related business. With companies like Raven Software and Human Head Studios that have been operating here for years, it would only be a bonus to have other technology related companies like Google move in next door.
I hope this answers some of the questions that have been floating around since my first post. As I said before I will post more details as they become available to me. This article lays out everything I have heard, so now you know as much as I do about it. (Ok maybe a few choice details were left out at the request of my friend)
I guess that might add a little incentive to check back on Pseudorant to see when those details come to light. Until then thanks for stopping by my blog, and please feel free to post any comments or questions in follow-up to this article.
The first person to post a comment will win a spot right below this article to type stuff! 
(and so on, so forth, I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.)
Thanks for checking out Pseudorant!!!
Blog Mission Statement and News Accuracy
What is Pseudorant All About?
I have noticed an increase in traffic to my site since yesterday. Because the site is relatively new, pretty much any change in visitors is easy to spot. I have been tracking some of my Blog stats and realized a couple people are linking to my news article about the Google office that will be opening in Madison.
I have back tracked a couple of the links and have seen people discussing whether this is true or not. I just wanted to let people know that any rumor based news I post on my Blog will always be from sources I know and trust. The people who tell me these things say them more in passing, than to trump up some lie they are trying to spread.
I’m glad to see a couple of the responses to these links have also confirmed the rumor. I know there are numerous people involved in different aspects of this transition so other people have knowledge of various details on this also.
The bottom line is I am intending to use my Blog as a repository for guides on various aspects of technology. Along the way I will throw in some cool happenings that I hear about, but this is not going to be the main focus of my Blog. There are already a million news sources online so I will let them focus on being the full time reporters.
This post is more of a mission statement for my Blog, to say I do not intend to try and drive traffic by making up news that is not true. Anything posted here will be accurate to the best of my knowledge. I will also wait to post any news I have until it has been almost 100% confirmed by the people I talk to.
With that being said I am glad some people are finally checking out my Blog. It is currently taking a lot of my time and energy to get this thing off the ground so if you know anyone that is into games, technology, or just finds it funny to listen to someone rant please send them my way. I hope to make some interesting contacts in the Blogging community so I can learn how to make the most of my Blog.
Thanks again for stopping by and please check back for future guides, and rants!
News - My Blog Ate My Homework!! - WordPress, and Blogging Update
Formatting how I hate thee, let me count the ways!
Argh! I never realized how much work it would be to import the few previous guides I had written into www.pseudorant.com. I really enjoy writing but reformatting articles I have already written is starting to make my head hurt. I started out thinking a Blog would be all fun and games, but it turns out it’s actually hard work!
I don’t think it’s a problem with my software or the site itself. I believe it has more to do with the fact that I need to educate myself on the new software inside and out, so I can find the most efficient way of doing things.
I guess that is part of the reason I enjoy working with computers, because it offers me an ongoing education in technology.
So far every guide I have previously written needs to be reformatted so that it’s easier to read, in my opinion. I feel like it defeats the purpose of writing in depth guides if it hurts people’s eyes to try and read them. I have tried to fix these problems with my style sheet, but I think I am running into trouble because the page was manually formatted when I posted it on Blogger. Because of this, the import function carries over all the old code which causes the articles to look weird once I have them on the new site.
I am doing this post entirely through WordPress to get a feel for using the program and to see how this post will look. Because I am not importing any formatting from another website, Frontpage or Microsoft Word I think that this post will probably look ok.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am not a slave to MS software. I am a slave to change in my personal life. I was diagnosed with Tourettes syndrome and OCD when I was a kid, and have grown up hating anything that forces me to change my routine. This makes the computer aspect of my life pretty funny because I work in a field that requires constant change.
Working on this Blog is teaching me numerous things about computers, technology, and myself. I need to kick myself in the ass and accept these changes to get out of my rut. I have decided one good way to do this will be documenting the random thoughts and events in my life so I can use this as a gauging point in the future.
Hopefully things will start coming together so I can get back to writing some guides for the site. I have a LOT of really cool articles planned out, not to mention all the numerous rants that tend to come pouring out from time to time. I feel like I need to rebuild the foundation on the new site, so I can start off on the right foot! Once the technical issues are out of the way it will allow me to work freely, and I will be able to start offering some really valuable content, and focus on blogging regularly.
Until I get to that point this is pretty much a construction zone, so make sure you’re wearing a hard hat, and bear with me until then! I will keep you posted with any news.
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