In a recent inquiry, a consultant for a large well-known university asked us about the chances of success for implementing an ERP system package, the university estimates the direct labor cost was in double digit millions of dollars.  In our lexicon the project would be considered “Grand”. Doing a direct query of the CHAOS Database on “Grand ERP” projects we found that the chance of success was about 11%. We had over 300 Grand ERP cases in our database. This would be considered a very high risk.  Over the next 5 days we are going to present the chances of success from the Success Ladder Benchmark using different scenarios for the ERP University System. The following is the ERPU Line-up:

Monday 2-22-2021

ERPU Scenario #1 Big Bang Boom: The results of the Success Ladder Benchmark for the University project with large, big bang approach show a…

Tuesday 2-23-2021

ERPU Scenario #2 The Good Team: In scenario #2 we upgraded the team to mature this increase the caused the likelihood of success to go up to…

Wednesday 2-24-2021

ERPU Scenario #3 The Good Sponsor: In Scenario #3 we upgraded the sponsor to highly mature.  This one change moved…

Thursday 2-25-2021

ERPU Scenario #4 Small Slam Shine: In Scenario #4 we changed the project size Grand to Moderate. We reduce the complexity to…

Friday  2-26-2021

ERPU Scenario #5 Infinite Flow: is a non-project approach to developing, implementing, and sustaining mission-critical application software. 

For the last few months we have been doing a book week, where we review five books. February Book Review Week is from of 2-11 to 2-15 2021.

Jim Johnson will review these five books:

Monday  2-11-2021

Jim Johnson reads Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow By Matthew Skelton , Manuel Pais after Henny Portman’s review.

Tuesday 2-12-2021

Jim Johnson reviews Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making by Randall Bartlett. 

Wednesday 2-13-2021

Jim Johnson reviews Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey.

Thursday 2-14-2021

Jim Johnson reviews The Worry-Free Mind, Train Your Brain, Calm the Stress Spin Cycle, and Discover a Happier, More Productive You by Carol Kershaw EdD, Bill Wade PhD.

Friday 2-15-2021

Jim Johnson reads Agile Conversations: Transform Your Conversations, Transform Your Culture by Douglas Squirrel, Jeffrey Fredrick after Henny Portman’s review. 

Infinite Flow Principle Week is from February 1st to February 5^th, 2021. In this week’s adviceblogs, we present the 5 current principles of Infinite Flow. Infinite Flow (Flow) is a non-project-based software development and implementation environment. Flow is a method to manage software development, implementation, and maintenance through a continuous process. The Flow process is a service-oriented method to reduce friction and delays associated with traditional project-based software development methods. Infinite Flow is not only a new method, but is culture change. Here is the line-up for Infinite Flow Principle Week:

Monday 2-1-2021

Principle #1: Deliverables Only Count

Tuesday 2-2-2021

Principle #2:  Have a Good Sponsor

Wednesday 2-3-2021

Principle #3 Have a Good Team

Thursday 2-4-2021

Principle #4: Have a Good Place to Work

Friday 2-5-2021

Principle #5: Always Promote Antifragility

Ted Talk Week is from January 25th to January 29th, 2021. In this week’s adviceblogs, Jim Johnson presents some of this favorite Ted Talks and relates their content by applying the speakers’ messages to Infinite Flow. The nice thing about Ted Talks is they are generally less than 20 minutes long and have a singular focus.

Remember Infinite Flow is an anti-project way of developing software. However, Infinite Flow needs an application as a base.  This application base may be the result of a minimal viable product (MVP) from a small software project. Malcolm Gladwell talk is on spaghetti sauce.  In a Zoom meeting about this Ted Talk,  prompted Hans Mulder to quip “a project is building the kitchen, Infinite Flow is making the nightly dinner”.  Here is the line-up for adviceblogs for Ted Talk Week:

Monday 1-25-2021

Christine Carter Ted Talk is Titled “The 1-minute  Secrete to Forming a New Habit”

Tuesday 1-26-2021

Lorna Davis Ted Talk is Titled “A guide to Collaborative Leadership”

Wednesday 1-27-2021

Four-star general Stanley McChrystal shares what he learned about leadership in his Ted Talk

Thursday 1-28-2021

David Logan Ted talk is titled “Tribal Leadership”

Friday 1-29-2021

Malcolm Gladwell in his Ted talk titled “Choice Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce”

Deadly Sins Week is from January18th to January 22th, 2021. In this week’s adviceblogs, Jim Crear presents the 5 Deadly Sins of project management and suggestions on how to deal with them.  We have added our reflections on how Infinite Flow reduces or eliminates them without restoring to the time consuming and costly efforts that Jim presents. Remember Infinite Flow is anti-project therefore anti-sin method of developing software. Here is the line-up of the Deadly Sins adviceblogs:

Monday 1-18-2021

Overcome overambition: overambition is a strong desire to execute a significant project to gain fame, fortune, or power through the impact of overreaching goals.

Tuesday 1-19-2021

Isolate abstinence: Abstinence in the context of project management, is the act or practice of refraining from participation and contribution to the project.

Wednesday 1-20-2021

Dealing with arrogance: arrogance is the unwarranted, overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward superiors, peers, and subordinates.

Thursday 1-21-2021

Conquer ignorance: Ignorance is the condition of being unaware, uninformed, uneducated, and/or unsuspecting about the project and stakeholder goals, directions, details, issues, and opportunities.

Friday 1-22-2021

Combat fraudulence: Fraudulence is an action intended to deceive; it is deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage, or more commonly to avoid confrontation.

Henny Portman is our reviewer for the January Book Week 1-11 to 1-15-2021. Henny is reviewing these five books:

Monday: 1-11-2021

Engaging stakeholders on projects – How to harness people power by Elizabeth Harrin

Tuesday 1-12-2021

 Agile Conversations – Transform Your Conversations, Transform your Culture by Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick

Wednesday 1-13-2021

Agile transformation – Structures, processes and mindsets for the digital age by Neil Perkin

Thursday 1-14-2021

People Over Process – Leadership for Agility by Michael K. Levine

Friday 1-15-2021

 Team Topologies – Organizing business and technology teams for fast flow Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais

Henny Portman is consultant, author, international speaker, coach and trainer for both traditional project management (MoP, MSP, PRINCE2, P3O) and agile approaches like AgilePM, AgilePgM, PRINCE2 Agile, AgileSHIFT and SAFe. He performs PPM maturity scans, and his past experience includes directing PMO’s in Europe and Asia for ING and NN Group.

https://hennyportman.wordpress.com

Bill Coleman week looks at five adviceblogs from Bill Coleman. On November 29, 2020 serial entrepreneur, Bill Coleman, died after a long fight with pancreatic cancer.  Bill is best known as founding and operating BEA Systems, Inc.  BEA was the original unicorn growing to a billion dollars revenue in just five years. Bill also started and ran several other organizations. In addition, he was a prolific venture capitalist and angle investor.  

Bill was a big supporter of our transaction, high availability, and  project performance research and workshops. He was a frequent speaker at Standish events and participant in a number of Standish focus groups. Bill was the first person I interviewed when we started our research on the skills of the executive project sponsor.  He was major influence in the writing the Good Sponsor Book and education. Here are my five favorite adviceblogs from interviews with Bill. 

Monday 12-14-2020

First Principles: Bill Coleman suggests that an executive sponsor is a coach, a manager and mentor. 

https://www.standishgroup.com/advice/356

Tuesday 12-15-2020

Solution Ownership: Bill Coleman says, “As project mentor, the worst thing you can do is tell the team how to solve their problems. 

https://www.standishgroup.com/advice/390

Wednesday 12-16-2020

Frameworks: Bill Coleman suggests frameworks.  

https://www.standishgroup.com/advice/607

Thursday 12-17-2020

Trains: Bill Coleman suggests using software trains. 

https://www.standishgroup.com/advice/661

Friday 12-18-2020

Value of the Organization: Bill Coleman suggests the leader of an organization only has three first-order responsibilities

https://www.standishgroup.com/advice/721

Jim Johnson

Hans Mulder is our reviewer for the December Book Week 12-7 to 12-11-2020. Hans is reviewing these five books:

Monday: 12-7-2020

Foundations of Enterprise Governance and Engineering"and "Practicing Enterprise Governance and Engineering" by Jan Hoogervorst

Tuesday 12-8-2020

Enterprise Ontology by Jan Dietz and Hans Mulder

Wednesday 12-9-2020

Agilizing the Enterprise by Joseph Raynus

Thursday 12-10-2020

The Good Mate: How understanding team relationships can make you happier and more productive' by Evan Sorensen and Jim Johnson

Friday 12-11-2020

The Good Sponsor by Jim Johnson

Throwback week is 2020 November 30 to December 4th. In this week we will reexamine 5 previous adviceblogs to see how they fit with Infinite Flow. Here is the line-up of earlier adviceblogs:  

Monday 11-30

Titled “Over the Edge”, Albert Soule suggests that executive sponsors look to the project team to put together a list of risks.

Tuesday 12-1

Titled ”Concordia Project”, The Standish Group team of advisors reviewed the Concordia Project.

Wednesday 12-2

Titled “Filters”, Wayne Strider suggests having filters.

Thursday 12-3

Titled “Remove and Replace”, Jennifer Lynch suggests you remove and replace the non-participating stakeholder.

Friday 12-4

Titled “Radical Changes”, Chip Bell suggests radical changes in organizations render skills obsolete almost overnight.

The week on November 16^th to 20^th. The Standish Group is presenting a look at past CHAOS Tuesday programs and how they relate to Infinite Flow. 

Monday  11-16-2020

Flow Team Building: The heart of the Infinite Flow process is the team. 

Tuesday 11-17-2020

Software in One Day: Infinite Flow delivers software in a single day.

Wednesday 11-18-2020

Selling Flow: Infinite Flow might be considered a new methodology, but it is more evolution then revolutionary.  

Thursday 11-19-2020

Fresh, Usable, and Efficient software: Infinite Flow delivers a very small amount of software most days. 

Friday 11-20-2020

No Kill Switch: Infinite Flow has no kill switch because none is needed. 

Note: There will no adviceblogs issued during the week of 11-23-2020