RF

Corsello Research Foundation

IT Total Lifecycle
From Business to Software

ITs all about business

All businesses are focused on being successful at what they do Success is about being better than your competition Being better than your competition is about continual improvement
Do things faster Do things cheaper

Do things better (higher quality)

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Ever diminishing returns

Todays businesses are more competitive than ever in that everyone is improving
For any given practice, there is a theoretical limit to how efficient we can be That limit is always less than 100% efficiency Humans are less efficient at many things than computers are

Computers are less efficient at many things than humans are

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Business needs IT
In order to approach the efficiency limits for a given practice, the optimally efficient mechanisms need to be employed
For things that computers are better at than humans, automation is needed to achieve better efficiency IT as a whole is the industry that provides these automation capabilities

Businesses DO NOT CARE about IT, they care about their business

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

IT needs Business
IT as an industry is worthless without the businesses we support IT automation, including hardware and software, is about providing improvements in efficiency to the businesses we support Without these businesses, IT is irrelevant Without IT, businesses will never be as competitive as they can be

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

IT is all about the how

IT implementation is about determining which existing business practices will benefit from automation
Not all areas will benefit from automation Speed does not always equate to efficiency

Quality and quantity must be balanced

Prioritization of automation areas is critical to effective usage of resources

Cost is a major factor in implementation
Right is not always best, best is not always cheapest
Corsello Research Foundation

RF

Success is how much

In automation, the business will have limited resources to expend at any time
Over expenditure will bankrupt anyone Under expenditure will loose relevance

IT practitioners play a key role in guiding the client to the appropriate decision
Business process
Automation points Return on investment Continuous improvement Longevity of investment

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

The Business IT Lifecycle

ITs all about the processes of making decisions
Corsello Research Foundation

RF

The evolution of business

Any successful business is continually evolving Business evolution can be addressed in key areas:
Charter changes Scope changes Process changes

All forms of organizational change involve people, culture and mission

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

People and change

When organizations change, all aspects of the organization are affected
People are any organizations primary resource People react to change (good or bad)

IT automation is generally perceived as a significant change

Automation == downsizing Automation == more work

Perception management is a big consideration overall in organizational change

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Change as a concept
Change is a simple idea:
Make something different than it is

Change involves several steps:

Thaw the status quo Perform change Establish a new status quo

Acceptance is the hidden detail

Proper planning will aid in acceptance Proper involvement by experts will aid in acceptance

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Charter changes
Changes to a business charter is significant across the board
As a firm, we are deciding to not do what we do so we can do something else Can be a small drift or a large change
From making fertilizer to making garden chemicals
From selling cars to manufacturing homes

For any organization with IT automation in place, this will result in major changes to the IT solutions Business processes will be impacted first
Corsello Research Foundation

RF

Scope changes
Changes to a business scope is quite common and can be either broadening or narrowing
From manufacturing weapons to manufacturing assault rifles From selling baked goods to manufacturing and selling baked goods

Widening scopes will involve broader changes to processes and automation Either change may also involve a merger or acquisition
Automation will include some form of integration
Corsello Research Foundation

RF

Process changes
Changes in business processes are by far the most common changes in an organization Changes may be made to:
Reduce complexity (simplify, reduce steps) Include new resources (outsourcing, systems) Improve quality (defects / e.g. Six Sigma)

Changes will be made to increase the competitive edge of the business

Money is king, increase profit or reduce cost

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Do you have change for IT?

IT has a primary role in organizational change
Any IT project will be done in conjunction with an organizational change
Before the project After the project Both is generally better if practical

What is the cause?

The IT project causes the change? The change causes a need for the IT project?

There is no correct answer

They should drive each other based upon need

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

The organization life cycle

Day-to-day operations and change occur in the business phase of the life cycle Automation is the IT-centric phase where automation tasks are performed Integration involves the change of the status quo to include the changes

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

The operational phase

Perform day-to-day operations based upon the status quo Collect information about the performance of the status quo Analyze the information collected for overall effectiveness Assess analysis results relative to competitors, industry or theoretical limits Prioritize areas for change based upon expected ROI

Initiate a change process

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

The change phase

Assess process goals Analyze current process with respect to goals Identify changes that will improve process to include automation points

Prioritize potential changes for expected ROI

Select a change to make Perform change
Corsello Research Foundation

RF

The integration phase

Assess the new process with respect to status quo

Identify points of conflict between processes

Prioritize points of conflict for impact Select a point of conflict to address Perform integration of new process with status quo

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Detailing phases of change

Impact of IT on business and vice versa
Corsello Research Foundation

RF

The impact of change

IT implementations are changes in the status quo
Always means a change in business process if ANY change is made is systems

A bad decision on what to automate can cause an IT project to fail before it is even contracted
A bad decision on how to integrate an automated system can cause an IT project to fail after it is successfully completed

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Managing change from IT

IT is not responsible for the processes of an organization An organizations processes are not subject to the limitations of ITs implementations Change is a balancing act between business processes being automated and the design of the automation itself
Requirements can be good and still be wrong

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

The automation phase

Pre-Inception includes enterprise architecture and business process alignment Inception is scoping, requirements gathering and risk assessment Elaboration is the stabilization of the requirements and detailing design Construction is the development of the system itself Transition involves the final testing, user acceptance and release of the system Production is the deployment and maintenance of the system until retirement

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

System Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

The primary business of non-support IT
Corsello Research Foundation

RF

The SDLC lifecycle

There is no single correct view of the SDLC

There are many approaches and process methodologies each with its own strengths and weaknesses Having a process is better than not having one at all, and in many cases it is less important on what process is used than how well it is executed -- Best
practices for software development projects, IBM

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Is process important
YES, having a process is critical to being competitive and to deliver value to the client
Can we succeed at developing a system without processes?
Yes, but it will take longer, cost more and have higher defect densities

Is it cheaper to use processes?

In the long run yes, in the short term maybe

Does it take longer if we use processes?

Generally, yes per milestone

Why should I use a process?

Most clients will require it anyway

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

SDLC standards
There are many standards involving the SDLC including those from:
ISO/IEC/IEEE ANSI/NIST DoD

Each project may be subject to any of these standards based upon client demands Process methodologies and standards are generally guidance frameworks more so than implementations

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

ISO/IEEE 12207
Primary life cycle processes
Acquisition client acquiring a system Supply provider offering a system Development developers building a system Operation administrators operating the system environment Maintenance organization maintaining/upgrading the system

Supporting processes
Documentation Configuration management Quality assurance Verification Validation Joint review Audit Problem resolution

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Engineering view of the ISO/IEEE 12207

(ISO/IEC 12207) Standard for Information Technology Software life cycle processes

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

IEEE SWEBOK
Software Requirements
Fundamentals Process Elicitation Analysis Specification

Software Design
Fundamentals

Software Construction
Fundamentals

Software Testing
Fundamentals Levels

Software Maintenance
Fundamentals Issues Process

Issues Architecture Management

Techniques Measures

Quality
Notations Considerations Methods

Validation
Considerations

Process

Techniques

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

IEEE SWEBOK (cont.)

Software Configuration Management
Management of the SCM Process

Software Engineering Management

Initiation and Scope Definition

Software Engineering Process

Implementation and Change

Software Engineering Methods

Tools
Requirement Design Construction Testing Maintenance CM Management Process Quality Tool Issues

Software Quality

Related Disciplines
Computer Engineering

Fundamentals

Computer Science

Configuration Identification

Project Planning

Management

Definition Configuration Control Project Enactment

Mathematics Management Processes

Configuration Status Accounting

Review and Evaluation Assessment

Methods
Heuristic Formal Prototyping

Project Management

Quality Management

Configuration Auditing

Closure Considerations Software Ergonomics

Release Management and Delivery

Measurement Measurement Systems Engineering

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

SDLC Methodologies
Processes and Meta-processes exist for conducting the SDLC
Procedural
Waterfall BDUF (big design up front)

Iterative
Spiral Agile SCRUM

Most processes are evolutions on a concept

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Comparison of processes
Where is the sweet spot?
It is different for each class of system and for each class of development team

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Common process methodologies

Each process methodology offers benefits and limitations. There is NO one size fits all methodology. Best choice is by need based upon project

Every organization should have pre-defined process methodologies available to apply to each project.

RF

Corsello Research Foundation

Questions
RF
Corsello Research Foundation