by William Wright
This past weekend I was confronted by the reality of *gasp* the dreaded spring cleaning! It’s funny. Every year I avoid spring cleaning until I absolutely cannot put it off any longer and have to do it.
What I’ve come to realize is, while I procrastinate spring cleaning every year, the reality is that it’s not never as bad as I think. While in the midst of “getting on with it” this past weekend, I remembered two pieces of advice that my dad imparted upon me as a young lad:
- If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail
- Don’t put off until tomorrow what you should do today
Where am I going with this? Well, very simply I have thought about the many conversations I’ve had during the past year with customers at Oracle conferences and regional user groups, as well as with my own clients here at DWS. Most of these conversations revolved around the challenges that IT professionals face in convincing their business leaders to adopt projects in three major areas:
- Considering/planning upgrades to version release 9.2
- How to get and remain code-current once having after the upgraded
- Reducing the burden of testing
Okay, so about now you’re probably thinking, if not saying out loud: “What does this have to do with taking a first step?”. Well the answer is obvious: If we don’t take that initial first step to get where we want/ and need to be, then we will never get there. It’s fine to have an idea or strategy, but without execution, what good is it really?
So, what’s preventing organizations from taking that first step to upgrade, stay code-current or reducing the burden of testing? The answer is quite simply: Procrastination. Why? Well it’s not hard to see really: Consider how business leaders view major upgrades or sizable projects. Time and budget are two resources that businesses never seem to have enough of. Thus, when confronted by a major IT project, business leaders will defer and use lack of time and money as the primary reasons – or dare I say it, excuses – not to proceed.
Most businesses are naturally risk-averse. A large project such as an upgrade or even a code current project is viewed as a risk because the perception is that it will be costly, time consuming and possibly disrupt the business. In reality, procrastination is often not about time or money, (though they certainly are factors) but rather a lack of understanding of the value or ROI brought to the business.
How can IT professionals, as stewards of (if not servants to) the business, communicate this value to their business leaders? The answer is by selling the ability to run smaller, faster and smarter projects, enabling you to minimize disruption whilst delivering valuable functionality to the business. This helps organizations innovate and stay competitive in today’s rapidly changing global business environment.
Now the question is: How do I run these smaller, faster smarter projects? Well, running better projects involves changing the way you do things. Using automation and test planning management products enable you to reduce the burden of manual testing. When you consider that testing accounts for up to 60% of any change event project, it’s imperative that you significantly reduce testing cycles to shorten project timelines.
Tools can also be used to help you analyze both the technical and business impacts, whether it be pertaining to a major upgrade, adopting ESU’s or executing an annual code current change event. Having this knowledge enables you to greatly reduce the time allocated to testing, allowing you to better plan and manage your projects. The result? By minimizing the time demanded of already stretched resources and clearly articulating the value of these projects to the business, you enhance the chances of adoption from your business leaders.
Recognizing that it’s not as simple as it sounds, we offer a range of products and propriety tools to help you analyze, focus and automate your testing. Whether you’re looking to upgrade to 9.2 or adopt and maintain a code current strategy, we can help you evolve and innovate so that you get the most out of your JDE1 investment.
If you would like to learn more about how we can support you and your business, please get in touch. Remember: The key is TAKING THE FIRST STEP.
Useful links:
- How to accurately assess the impact of an upgrade to 9.2 and reduce the size of your modified footprint by up to 75%
- How to fix the price and timescale of the modifications uplift component of a JDE E1 upgrade, using the best upgrade approach
- How to make the most of the JDE EnterpriseOne continuous delivery model by adopting code-current-as-a-service
