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What is an acceptable amount of time that a business process or model is in place before we can challenge the assumptions and basis for it? Maybe this would be a good exam question in a MBA class. Answers are sure to vary and elicit a number of opinions. But I would answer that as soon as a process is in place, it’s fair game for challenges. Every day I think about finding more efficient ways to accomplish tasks or even eliminating processes that don’t add value to the goal of the organization.
The most successful process challenges are sourced from measured results. If the results aren’t what we expect …Continue reading >>
We are multi-channeled consumers. More and more we live in a multi-channel world. How many purchases do you research online ahead of the actual purchase transaction? If you are like me then your research involves multiple retailer sites, a search for promotional offers, and reading customer reviews. Digital media makes it all possible. It’s fast and you can do it from the comfort of your own home.
But sales channels are a marketer mindset. Consumers don’t think about channels when they are going about their daily routine ( and that’s a good thing for consumers). It allows consumers to be educated on not only the product they are purchasing, but …Continue reading >>
A friend and colleague Jim Marous shared an article from American Banker on Googe+ entitled Banks Underuse Mobile for Communication. The article discusses challenges that financial institutions have with communicating with their customers through mobile devices. While mobile device applications and mobile optimized sites are becoming more common, and expected by account holders, financial institutions are not using the mobile channel for proactive communication. Kael Kelly, senior director at Varolii is quoted in the article “Banks don’t have the data that they need. A lot of the phone number data doesn’t easily distinguish between a mobile number and a land-line.”
So the idea that banks don’t know what data they …Continue reading >>
I don’t like process waste.
Who does? But how many of us really try to change processes to eliminate or reduce waste? In my experience this is a tough topic, and I dare say an unwelcome one, most of the time. The problem is that in an organization processes are tied to job existence and security. So the people in charge of setting the processes and administering them really don’t see the incentive to make adjustments.
I’m nearing my 20th year of software development experience, so I’ve observed and talked to many practitioners about software development process philosophies and techniques. Process waste starts to build when the people within the …Continue reading >>
What’s the most powerful step in a software development process? It’s not uncommon for analysts to label steps in a process. The critical path, bottlenecks, waste, and non-essential steps come to mind. So I would say that common wisdom agrees that all steps in a process do not hold equal weighting of importance. Maybe there isn’t a single most powerful step in the software development process you follow or maybe it depends on the context of the situation.
For what it’s worth, a few weeks ago it occurred to me that the act of estimating was perhaps the most powerful step. Estimating is completed at the ground level, by …Continue reading >>
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