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.
More Reasons Why I Hate Microsoft
Microsoft Reaches out from Beyond the Grave!
Woo, early morning blogging. Well more trouble with Microsoft. I’m sure people are shocked to hear that.
I got a call from my customer about another issue she was having with the new computer I built for her. Any Microsoft Works documents she was opening were causing the system to hang and displaying that they were around 32,000 pages long. Even though I know these documents were about 3 to 4 pages tops.
I checked online and could not find any information on the problem. Of course Microsoft does not have any documentation on this issue. I tried to repair Microsoft Works, I changed the installation of Word manually to include all the program conversion filters, and even tried installing Windows updates to see if this would fix the problem.
Nothing did. So on top of these documents displaying incorrectly, they would actually try to print 32,000 if you selected to print them. I did find out that these documents would open fine if you opened them through Microsoft Word, they would not open however if you choose the “open with” option.
My client needed these documents in a rush so I decided the best course of action would be to just convert them all from WPS format to DOC format so that they could be opened in Word by double clicking on them. This would be the easiest option for everyone, or so I thought.
After looking online I finally found Microsoft’s answer on how to convert the WPS files to Word format.
Opening each one individually and selecting “SAVE AS”!
Wow… Once again Microsoft you have left me speechless. It seems to me, a Monkey with a catapult and a bucket of poo, could come up with a better solution than this.
So I spent the next hour and a half converting her 315 WPS files to DOCs. Yes there may have been a better solution, but after having already spent 8 to 10 hours troubleshooting “Windows” problems that had nothing to do with the system I built, my patience was wearing thin.
So after all the shenanigans I went home, had a few beers and played with Kubuntu some more. I learned a couple new things last night with help from my friend Joe, and I will be posting them in a follow-up guide very soon.
Until then thanks for checking out the site, I appreciate the support!
Today’s Moment of Zen – The Hardest Level in Mario
Why Do They Do That !?!
Unfortunately I have been swamped today between work and side jobs. At work I am currently working on redesigning our website and after I got out a customer needed me to come do some side work setting up a system for their business which took a few hours.
My fiancée is out of town on a business trip so things are chaotic at home, and I have barely had time to get a bite to eat.
When ever I start feeling overwhelmed like this I like to meditate on things to regain a Zen like composure. With that in mind, I am leaving you with this video to think about. This guy is definitely having a tougher day than I am.
And I thought I had it bad… 
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.
My iPhone Wishlist – Future Updates?
All the things I want from my iPhone and then some!
Driving home from work today I had a great idea in the car that I needed to write down so I didn’t forget. Now I love my iPhone to death, and use it all the time for taking notes. The only problem is when I am driving in my car this is not the safest or smartest thing to do.
It got me thinking about how I wish the iPhone had an audio recording feature so you could record mental notes for yourself when it is not convenient to write them down.
My mind started to wander, thinking about all the other functions that I wished the iPhone was capable of. I have had my iPhone since the week they first came out and this has given me plenty of time to come across numerous things I wish it could do. As if it doesn’t do enough already, I’m sure I am not alone when I say it needs to do more!
The first thing that is at the top of my list is an audio recording feature like I mentioned for making quick notes of things you need to remember. You could then set these audio reminders to calendar events that could be triggered as reminders or just look them up in a “notes’ type browser.
I really love the camera on my phone and I use it a lot. For the most part the pictures come out great! That is, when I have good lighting. If it is dark out, it is really hit or miss with the camera. Some pictures will come out nice, but most of the time they tend to come out grainy looking which can really ruin some shots.
I can understand why the iPhone doesn’t have a flash as this would probably chew through the battery life in no time, but I wish the camera had a higher megapixel count and some extended options for it. It is just so convenient to have the camera function that I use it all the time, and wish I had a little more control over it.
One thing I am really disappointed my iPhone doesn’t have is a video recording function. This seems like something that could have easily been incorporated since most digital cameras out there have the ability to capture motion jpeg. I am guessing this was also probably a battery life consideration but considering how great the video playback is on the phone it’s disappointing that you can’t record video with it.
Another really nice feature would have been a GPS capability. It seems silly, since most phones are required to utilize some sort of GPS technology for emergency services, that this can’t be put into practical use by users. The incorporation of Google maps and how well it works on the phone always drives me nuts when I think about how cool it would be to be able to track myself on that map as well. Between Apple and Google this seems like it should have been there from the start.
This next one is something I am sure I am not alone on, which is full fledged java and plugin support through Safari, especially for playing simple mpeg videos. Because of competition between Apple and Microsoft I can understand why the phone does not support WMV files but mpeg is pretty much standard. It is frustrating to be limited to videos in YouTube or content you have downloaded to the phone. It would make the internet experience on a phone unmatched in my opinion, if they could add this ability in the future.
Another thing that has really bugged me along these lines is that I cannot save files to my iPhone directly from a website. I’m talking about images to use as backgrounds, mp3s and videos to enjoy when I’m bored, and text files for projects I am working on. I can understand that this may be to protect the phone from potential security flaws, but having an 8GB hard drive that can’t store things at the touch of a button is like having a beach house I lost the key to. I don’t want to climb in through the window every time I want to enjoy that luxury.
The last 2 things I wish the iPhone had are an external keyboard similar to what some of the PDAs out there have, because I take lots of notes with my phone and I mean LOTS! I will use it for taking meeting notes, jotting down ideas, making lists, writing down songs to download, etc. I would really love a keyboard for those times when you are sitting down somewhere and you really want to get your ideas out in full. Especially for things like blogging!
The second thing along these lines would be a stylus. Now don’t get me wrong. The iPhone has one of the best touch screen systems I have ever used. In fact I was blown away by how good it actually is. You see it in the commercial and think there is no way it can be that good and then you use it yourself only to find out it’s better! I would just really like the ability to use a stylus for when I am messing around with various options and sliders in settings that are smaller than the standard keyboard letters. It would also be nice because then you could incorporate some type of doodle program for me too!
Ok have I asked for enough yet?
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone. (Did I already mention that?) I take it everywhere and use it all the time. I have used it so much in fact that my battery is finally starting to show some slight signs of aging after about 10 months.
Requests like this show how good you have made something when people make all sorts of unreasonable demands about “lacking” features. Whenever I read a review on an item and the negative comments are “Did not come with a universal remote to start the vacuum from the other room”, I immediately buy that product because you know it must be good if that’s all there is to gripe about.
Speaking of which, where is my universal remote function Apple?
Why can’t my phone control all the things in my real life like it does in my cyber life? Oh wait that’s right! Check out the following article for information on rumors that apple is developing limited universal remote functionality for the iPhone. (For use with iTunes of course)
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/04/rumor-apple-to.html
But considering they can do this, it would be nice to control all the rest of the stuff in the house with my iPhone too.
Even if it can’t do these things I guess I can settle for what it currently offers me. It’s like having someone cook dinner for me, and then complaining that I wanted to get Chinese take out. I guess I have set pretty high standards for my iPhone but it is only because I see the potential for this device and all the things it can be used for in the future.
I hope Apple sees the same thing and continues to build on the great device they have already created.
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