Every business, from driveway lemonade stands to multi-billion dollar corporations, manage Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, in some way or another. For the lemonade stand, it may be as simple as cups of lemonade per day. Conversely, for larger businesses, there may be a myriad of metrics that could provide valuable insight to managing the… Continue reading Help us Help You Create Real Value with KPIs that Matter
Category: Business Analysis
What is a Business Analyst?
Traditionally, a business analyst (BA) has not been widely recognized as a profession in its own right. Like its generic title, the role of a business analyst may differ from job to job. However, a good business analyst connects the dots for the technical team and upper management by: Defining a company’s business needs, strategic… Continue reading What is a Business Analyst?
Business Analysis is Like an Oil Change When it Comes to ERP Implementation
Business analysis involves defining and documenting user requirements, developing and testing technology systems, and navigating through organizational bureaucracies. Just as oil is essential for your car’s engine to run smoothly, business analysis is a key ingredient in a smooth ERP implementation. If you do not change your engine oil, dirt will accumulate over time and cause… Continue reading Business Analysis is Like an Oil Change When it Comes to ERP Implementation
Solve the Right Problem
“It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.” ~ G.K. Chesterton A young woman taking a brisk stroll noticed a child looking into a tree. Following the child’s gaze, she saw a cat on a branch, perhaps 15 feet high. Quickly grasping the lowest limb of the… Continue reading Solve the Right Problem
The Most Important Question in a Successful Software Project
What is the most important question in a successful software project? Questions like “What functionality will we get?” or “When will it be finished?” or “What will it cost?” are all good candidates, but they should come later in the project. The real answer is a small but critical question – “Why?” In high school,… Continue reading The Most Important Question in a Successful Software Project
Back to the Basics – Using Business Analysis to Find the Right Solution
I’m sitting on a plane right now, writing this blog, because I have been struck with the irony of “getting back to basics.” I’m on the last leg of my second roundtrip flight in two weeks, on two different airlines that have all made the same choice, which is to remove free in-flight entertainment. For… Continue reading Back to the Basics – Using Business Analysis to Find the Right Solution
Project Management Budgeting: Phase in, Phase out…it’s the Agile Way!
In my last blog, The Elephant…I mean Project Budget Question…in the Room, I spoke about the importance of having documented requirements in order to move forward with your software implementation. I also wrote about the importance of knowing your budget, how the Project Management Office (PMO) can craft a solution that can fit any budget… Continue reading Project Management Budgeting: Phase in, Phase out…it’s the Agile Way!
Current State Meets Future State: The Magic of Starting ERP Projects
How do you make planning ERP projects into reality? There are often various demands for an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system to perform some automation or another that the system is not currently able to do, or perhaps the entire system itself needs to be upgraded or reimplemented. These ERP projects, large or small, require… Continue reading Current State Meets Future State: The Magic of Starting ERP Projects
Architectural Renderings and ERP: A Unique Perspective
What do Architectural renderings, Hawaiian Christmas cards, and ERP have to do with each other? Very little on the surface, yet strangely enough, there is a path…or maybe I’d just rather be hiking. Amongst other things, my father’s long career as an illustrator was focused on architectural renderings. He was a master of his craft… Continue reading Architectural Renderings and ERP: A Unique Perspective
The Missing Step
I love Spring for many reasons – more daylight, warmer weather, holidays, and my poppies are starting to bloom, all of which all got me to thinking how everything in life has an order in which it happens, some natural and some imposed on nature by us, especially where business operations are concerned. I was… Continue reading The Missing Step