Executive Coaching: Systems Insight
The DCG-SMS Systems Insight team offer professional know-how and investigation to support the strategic CIO. We will provide the right specialist knowledge at the right price to support achievement of the organisation’s IT strategy, whether that requires a Lean/Agile transformation, reductions in cost, better management of outsourced supply or simply an improvement in project performance and predictability.
To find out how the Insight team can help your business, we need to understand your IT strategy and the challenges your IT department faces in the next few months. If you would like a chat with one of our partners to explore the possibilities, drop us a line.
Contact DCG-SMS:
+44 (0) 843-289-5174
info@dcg-sms.com
CSI-IT
DCG-SMS DIAGNOSTICS1.Investigate the Crime Scene |
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The average software intensive value chain is highly ineffective at delivering the outcomes either commercial organizations or public services need. Most of the money and resources consumed by such systems is wasted.The top 20-25% of organizations, however, achieve business objectives effectively at a quarter of what it costs the average business to fail to achieve them.That’s what real improvement looks like. But when you know your organisation is over on the left, and all you can see is the mountain you have to climb, it’s difficult to know where to start – or even believe you can get there. The Insight team help you break down the journey into manageable sections, building competence and confidence until your team is ready to fly unaided. | ||
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The investigative skills of the Insight team will help you plan and prioritise improvement options. Our topic coaches and experienced mentors build your in-house capability to go on improving the effectiveness of your software development process, saving your business money and continually increasing the value it gets from the IT team. We typically start with a Diagnostic. to give you an informed and objective view of what is going on in the engine room of your business. Click here for more details on DCG-SMS Diagnostics
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DCG-SMS INSIGHT REPORTS2. Gather the evidence |
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How well does your existing system of work achieve yourbusiness objectives? Where are the biggest constraints on performance improvement? Where’s the optimum starting point? What’s the ‘size of the prize’?The Insight team work with you to build the business case for change and get your key stakeholders on boardWe specialise in short, focused studies which uncover the root causes and root costs of inefficient and ineffective processes. These Insight Reports provide the objective, in-depth analysis the CIO’s team need to get a complete and realistic picture of the current effectiveness of IT-related activities and where the opportunities lay. | ||
| Click here for more details on Insight Reporting
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DCG-SMS ANALYSIS3. Model some scenarios |
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Now you have a clear and objective analysis of where you are starting from and where you want to go, we can begin to make plans to get there.What is the comparative cost of standing still vs taking effective action?What are the barriers to success? What are the risks and how can they be mitigated?Which levers will most effectively and efficiently deliver the results you need?
There’s no one-size-fits all approach – the shape and cadence of your improvement journey will depend on your budget, your timescale and the capability of your people. The experience and know-how of the DCG-SMS Insight team is once again at your disposal to work through the opportunities and constraints of your business environment and ensure you achieve the outcome that’s right for your stakeholders. |
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| Click here for more about successful implementation of software process improvement | |
DCG-SMS IMPROVEMENT OPTIMISATION4. Evaluate the suspects |
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If you have identified a need for a major change in project management practice – a switch to Agile methods, or the introduction of functional size measurement – it can be a good idea to run a pilot. DCG-SMS will facilitate such pilot schemes and provide a full analysis for review at the end of the pilot so that the management team can take an informed view of the next step.The scope of the improvement activity should be clearly understood, and the outcomes quantified. It remains surprisingly common to find improvement programmes that are not working towards clearly defined business goals. It should not surprise anyone that such programmes “fail” since there is no meaningful definition of “success”. Business priorities may change – so the success criteria for improvement activity should be constantly subject to review. Rapid, iterative delivery of value will help keep key stakeholders enthused. The DCG-SMS Lean and Agile Method for Improvement Teams is designed along Agile lines, to deliver stakeholder value at the end of each improvement “sprint”. |
| Click here for more about the DCG-SMS Lean and Agile Method for Improvement Teams | |
DCG-SMS ITERATIVE VALUE DELIVERY5. Take it to trial. |
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Once a decision to proceed is taken it should be final. All the pieces necessary to deliver the first stage of the iterative improvement should then be in place, including budgets, training provision, availability of key staff and active, hands-on engagement from the executive sponsors.The Insight Team will provide all the necessary training, support and mentoring to achieve the right result and put in place the foundations of a sustainable, continuous improvement programme.Unlike the classic detective tale, this is not the end of the story but the beginning. The next improvement sprint starts with a review of what has been achieved so far, and what has been learned that can be taken forwards with us.It will typically take a 3-year programme (two full cycles of SLAMit! sprints) for improvement practice to be sufficiently embedded in the organisational culture to operate without further external support. The intervention of the Insight team will decline over this period, and at the end of it their work will be done. Your software development process will be Rightshifted. If it is conducted in the context of a Lean ICT Value Stream, the organisation itself will be Rightshifted. |
| Click here for more on training, support and mentoring | |