Posted by Administrator on October 11, 2008 under ERP Software, Process Improvement | 
With the drive to being more environmentally responsible, corporate management is (or will be) setting initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. While moving towards Green and reducing the carbon footprint, the question becomes, how do we manage this? Should ERP be modified to include the tracking of carbon emissions?
ERP systems are essentially large accounting systems that capture oodles of data and summarize it in a report to management. Traditionally, they are focused on financial, operational, human resources, and other resource data reporting. It would seem that the next logical step would be to begin tracking and reporting on carbon footprint data. It is surprising though that major ERP vendors have not yet announced this sort of system module or functionality.
With efforts in reducing the carbon footprint focused on the data center, such as reducing power consumption of the server farms, management may be missing the point. FedEx, for example, has reduced fuel bills by up to 30 per cent through better route planning for its trucks. That justifies a lot of server power.
Without the tracking of this sort of key data, management may be focused in the wrong direction. With proper information and analysis, companies can make better decisions and reduce emissions where it gives the most added value. It seems that an ERP system would be perfect in tracking, analyzing and notifying management on the results of their green strategic initiatives.
What do you think?
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Posted by Administrator on March 23, 2008 under ERP Software, Process Improvement |
In this month’s Harvard Business Online, there is a fascinating article on how one bank in Japan rolled out a new business system successfully by breaking all the rules. By adapting a modular approach and leveraging technologies such as the Internet, they were able to take a dying business and revamp it into a major player in their market. The article requires accepting their terms of use, but is really worth reading for anyone who plans, manages, or deploys systems.
Radically Simple IT
By designing and deploying enterprise systems in a different way, Japan’s Shinsei Bank turned IT from a constraint into a launchpad for growth.
by David M. Upton and Bradley R. Staats
Enterprise IT projects—both custom and packaged “one size fits most” systems—continue to be a major headache for business leaders. The fundamental problem with these systems is that for the most part, they’re constructed using what programmer and open source champion Eric Raymond dubbed a cathedral approach. Like the great edifices that Europeans erected in the Middle Ages, enterprise IT projects are costly, take a great deal of time, and deliver value only when the project is completed. In the end, they yield systems that are inflexible and cement companies into functioning the way their businesses worked several years ago, when the project started. Despite recent improvements in the flexibility of packaged software, companies often find it exorbitantly expensive and difficult to modify their enterprise systems in order to exploit new business opportunities.
Read the full article here
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Posted by Administrator on March 14, 2007 under ERP Software, Process Improvement |
Software Implementation Projects And Six Sigma
Tony Jacowski
Six Sigma concepts were originally developed for use in the manufacturing sector, but are now increasingly being used in the services sector as well. Use of Six Sigma concepts in the software industry has become quite common, but what many people do not know is that Six Sigma concepts can also be used in software implementation. People who have experience in software implementation projects know that such projects often do not take off as planned and may be subjected to schedule overruns and recurring problems. This is why many software companies opt for employing Six Sigma concepts during the process of software implementation at a clients site.
Common Implementation Problems
The two most common problems faced during software implementation projects include customer requirement problems and schedule estimation problems. By employing Six Sigma concepts in software implementation projects, professionals can better understand the needs and business objectives of the client. This way, they can make sure that the software implementation project is successfully completed within the stipulated timeframe. Employing Six Sigma will also ensure that no additional costs are incurred during the implementation process.
Understanding Client Requirements
Software products are normally designed for increasing the efficiency of a business process in accordance with the goals and objectives of the client. Most of the problems related to the software arise during the implementation stage when the client finds out that the software is unable to achieve desired objectives. This situation arises when the client passes vague information about requirements to software developers or when developers are unable to clearly comprehend client requirements.
Six Sigma helps in avoiding problems during the software implementation stage by bridging the gap between actual requirements of the client and what is eventually understood by software developers. Many people believe that Six Sigma is only limited to the use of statistical methods. What they do not know is that Six Sigma follows a disciplined approach that can solve any type of problem, whether it is quantitative or qualitative. This is evident from software companies that have successfully employed Six Sigma concepts in solving qualitative problems that arise during software implementation projects.
Generating Schedule Estimates
Schedule estimation is another common problem faced during software implementation. Mistakes in schedule estimation can affect the outcome of an implementation project; as such projects are often required to be completed in a specific timeframe and within available budgets. Implementation projects are often delayed because planners make the implementation schedule without considering indirect factors that might affect the project. Planners often fail to foresee that implementation can get affected due to the size of the software, location where it is being implemented, internal politics, authority, and governance.
Employing Six Sigma concepts in preparing schedule estimations will help planners to effectively include all these factors which may indirectly affect software implementation projects. Based on the past records of the client, Six Sigma statistical tools will generate an efficiency chart, which provides details about all types of problems faced with the client during software implementation projects. The chart displays the time taken to resolve such problems and techniques that were employed to solve such problems.
The chart also displays any additional time or costs that went into the completion of the project. Planners can use the information given in the chart for giving due consideration to all the indirect factors that can affect software implementations. This will help in generating true schedule estimates, necessary for the success of software implementation projects.
Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.
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Posted by Administrator on March 6, 2007 under CRM Software, ERP Software, Process Improvement |
One of the key success factors in an ERP, CRM, or other implementation is that there is good project management. This article touches on some of the features of managing the project: managing Tasks and managing Resources.
The Importance of Assigning Tasks and Resources in Project Management
John Reynolds
There are two major ways to estimate the lengths (i.e., durations) of tasks. The simplest way is to estimate the elapsed time of a task.
If someone says it will take him a week to do a particular task, he is probably offering an elapsed-time estimate. They generally mean that it will take him one work week to get a task done, not that it will take them 40 hours. When estimating elapsed time, people generally account for not working on the project tasks full-time, and for working on other, higher-priority tasks first.
In most projects, however, lengths should be estimated based on the amount of work, not the amount of time. That way, adding resources will shorten a task, and using resources only part-time will lengthen a task. Tasks that fluctuate like this depending on the resources assigned are called resource-constrained tasks.
There are several ways to estimate the resource time for a task. One is to let the project manager calculate the estimates based on an employees performance on similar tasks. Another is to let the employees performing the tasks calculate their estimates, generally based on how they performed on similar tasks. A third way to estimate is to use standard metrics for generic tasks.
Although many project managers like to follow the standards established by these generic metrics, their plans are generally more accurate when they and their employees do their own estimating. It usually takes three to five projects to become proficient, but the eventual accuracy is worth the delay. Sometimes tasks will not be resource-constrained and can be estimated based on the elapsed times. Examples would be training classes or project meetings. Even though two or more people may attend a class or meeting, the length of the task does not shorten. These types of tasks are called time-constrained.
If estimates are being provided from standard metrics or project managers, them resources (i.e., employees) should be assigned after task lengths are determined. If estimates are coming from the employees performing the tasks, obviously these steps will be reversed. Regardless of the order of these two steps, one or more employees should be picked for each task that is resource-constrained.
Employees assigned to multiple tasks are often scheduled for too much work while there are simultaneous tasks to complete and not enough work when there are no task assignments. To maintain a consistent workload, resources need to be ‘leveled.’ There are only two main ways to level resource allocations: by adjusting the task schedule or adjusting the resource assignments. Project management packages generally adjust the schedule to increase the amount of time it takes to finish the project.
Remember these basic principles for assigning task lengths and resources to improve your management proficiency.
John Reynolds has been a practicing project manager for nearly 20 years and is the editor of an informational website rating project management software products. For more information on project management and project management software, visit Project Management Software Web.
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Posted by Administrator on November 29, 2006 under Process Improvement |
We recently saw a presentation by Howard Cavallaro on the various types of manufacturing companies and how they interact with their supply chain. It was a very good presentation. He now has a new book out called Theory H.O.W.: How Organizations could Work
that we thought you should know about.
The publisher’s description is as follows: Theory H.O.W. was written to enable small and medium-size manufacturing companies who want to aggressively challenge the status quo. With more than 40 years of combined experience in manufacturing, supply-chain, and business management, authors Carol Ptak and Harold Cavallaro have developed applicable theories about how to run a successful company. Using the Theory H.O.W. business transformation approach, organizations will be able to formulate strategies that are supported by specific tactical actions, systems, technology, and other tools to achieve a desired, sustainable competitive advantage. The backbone behind the Theory H.O.W. process is actually a combination of key elements–the ability to classify, define, or characterize key business elements and their effects on business performance and your organizations ability to produce greater results.
We are awaiting our copy, but we would suggest that based on the presentation, the book is worth reading!
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