Business Plan Sets Agenda With Stakeholders

Insights on using the business plan (or case) to get stakeholders aligned on measureable objectives and keeping dynamic story updated. ...

... "A business plan is a way to coordinate, communicate, and collaborate with accountability and tracking. It should get all the key people on the same page. Nobody can execute a plan they don’t know about. " ...

Via How to Change the World: How to Write a Business Plan

Project Foe: Complacency

Complacency, or lack of accountability, is a root cause of project failure that proj managers need to be ready for. If it pervades the culture of an enterprise, watch out. Consider cutting scope way back and increasing phases to determine if performance can trend higher. Otherwise, cut your losses. ...

... "Despite the critical reaction to the piece, I'm still convinced that complacency – as evidenced by the recent Economist survey that found that over half of European IT professionals feel there is no risk to their job security if they do not hit project deadlines – is a major factor in the UK's appallingly high IT project failure rate. " ...

Via IT Week: Project Culture

ITIL Asia Controversy?

There's some controversy over whether ITIL will be embraced in Asia, related to culture and accountability. ...

... "23.6 per cent of Southeast Asian respondents reported that their organisations had implemented ITIL. Moreover, a further 44.8 per cent expected to be implementing ITIL by the end of next year. " ...

Via CIO Asia: ITIL

Technology Investment: Time Is Ripe

Implementation of IT strategy requires fresh approach: New standards of performance and greater accountability for achievement. C Davis Fogg discusses actions needed to emphasize a bias for action and points out the potential of IT to innovate. ...

... "IT is such an underutilised power in the marketplace, I would expect right now is a very good time to be thinking about powerful investments to improve market position and efficiency. Particularly if you have cash and your competitors don't. " ...

Via CIO Australia: Implementation of IT Strategy

Project Management Imperatives: Ten Keys to Success

Someone recently asked me what I felt the critical success factors were for any project (i.e. what were the top "must do's"). Although I can think of many more, here were what I felt were the top ten:

1) Get the roles right. (Insure accountability; use a RACI chart or Responsibility Matrix so roles are clearly defined. Insuring people understand their commitments up front will avoid problems later.)

2) Get the goals right. (Make sure all the key stakeholders agree on the goals. I've seen more projects go wrong for this reason than any other. Time spent here will pay dividends later.)

3) Get the current scope right. (I say "current scope," because change should be expected. Projects by default contain change because they are unique in nature. It's not whether you'll experience change, it's how you analyze the potential impacts and manage the approval of the change that counts. Agreed-upon and approved scope changes are perfectly acceptable, with one caveat: It's often wise to set a limit to the number of times scope can be changed for the current product release, and defer some changes to a subsequent release, else value gets delayed.).

4) Obtain commitment from the business, customers, and other stakeholders as to their part in the success of the project. (Many projects derail because the customer doesn't live up to their side of the bargain, doesn't understand their side of the bargain, or some other necessary constituent isn't cooperating for various reasons. Obtain the right commitment up front, starting with senior management.)

5) Determine the critical success factors and risks. (Critical success factors and risks go hand in hand. Many people ignore this or sweep it under the rug, and accept any related risks as a given. The critical success factors will identify related risks and help set expectations).

6) Set expectations. (This is frequently overlooked and is a key cause of failure. The sponsor, customers, and anyone impacted by the project must be given realistic expectations for what is needed from them, how long the project will take, how much it will cost, what the uncertainty factor is, what the available resources are, and anything else necessary to avoid surprises and/or an under-equipped effort.)

7) Beware of conflicting directives. (I call this the "Robocop Syndrome." In the film, Robocop, the titular robotic policeman goes on full tilt when he encounters directives that conflict with his primary directive. I see this happen often in organizations where a project sponsor demands something that is in conflict with other key stakeholders' wishes and/or top organizational directives. This could be covered under "goals" or "expectations," but it's so important that it warrants its own point. The project manager must head this off at the pass before the project goes down a rat hole it won't recover from.)

8) Plan Collaboratively. (The act of planning is not an isolated exercise. It's a collaborative exercise and should be done with the project core team and subject matter experts via some sort of facilitated brainstorming session---possibly with sticky labels on a wall.)

9) Beware of unilateral and granular "one-size-fits-all" solutions. (This is often ineffective, both as a project management methodology and a process implementation policy. Look at the big picture, and the potential variations. Keeping a framework high-level can allow for greatest flexibility and adaptability. Aim for principles over rules wherever possible. Use rules when safety is involved, regulatory requirements exist, or exact accuracy is needed---per Marcus Buckingham's guidelines from "First Break All the Rules.")

10) Don't let rank set you off course. (Often, a senior manager pulls rank and makes requests that are either detrimental, unwise, or in direct conflict with organizational goals. When this happens, see rules 6 and 7. It is the project manager's responsibility to set the right expectations, warn of potential risks, and head off potential conflicting directives at the pass.)

There it is. My list of "must do's." Project management isn't rocket science. In fact it's not a science at all. It's more of an art. Hopefully, the guidelines above can serve as a useful palette.

Focus on Results, not Time: Best Buy Breaks New Ground

The other day, I posted a blog about the traffic anarchy experiment going on in Europe, where seven cities eliminated all traffic signs and the result was a reduction in accidents. My point was that if we focus on accountability and results, people will surprise us.

Well, Best Buy has taken that a step further. In the latest Business Week magazine, the feature story highlights Best Buy's daring new Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) program. As part of the program, they have eliminated all work schedules in their participating areas and have practically eliminated meetings.

If someone wants to come in at 10:00am, fine. If they go to a movie in the afternoon, no problem. The key isn't how many hours they work, or even where they work (most workers are virtual most of the time). It's how well they achieve results.

Sound like chaos? Sound like people will just slack off? Well, once again the results say it all. For the divisions testing this method, voluntary turnover dropped dramatically (-90% for the Dot.Com division, -52% for the Logistics Division, and -75% for the Sourcing Division).

Sure, the turnover rate went down, but what about productivity? That too was greatly improved. The average rise in productivity for the participating divisions was +35% since the ROWE system was introduced in 2005.

Of course, what's important to making this work is to have the right metrics (i.e. customer retention, reduction in turnover, etc.). Many business mistakes happen because the wrong incentives are in place, leading workers to strive to meet a goal that sacrifices quality or is not in the best interest of the company as a whole.

The bottom line is that evidence is growing that we are better served by focusing on results over rules and policies wherever possible, something I've been saying for years. Now I'm glad to see some tangible evidence from those brave enough to try it.

Here's the Business Week article. Be sure to check the sidebar article about how to kill meetings!

Smashing The Clock

Control vs. Accountability: Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?

In our never-ending struggle to gain more control over the chaos in our organizations, and with more and more focus on change management, who would think of going in the opposite direction and allowing more freedom?

Let's take a look at a story with some surprising results (sent courtesy of my old friend, Larry Beane).

Thanks to a project initiated by the European Union, seven sities and regions in Europe have completely done away with traffic signs. The originators of this idea must have been on to something. Contrary to the normal expectation that this would result in pandemonium, the accident rate went down!

Now arguably, this may or may not work in a congested city, but it got me thinking about the need for accountability. Perhaps the more rules we inflict, what we're really doing is relieving people of accountability---the paradox being that we need to give people freedom to make them fully accountable. Otherwise, we claim ownership of the problem instead of delegating it.

This is not unlike Toyota's policy of trusting their work teams to solve problems independently, and trusting that if their solutions are wrong, they'll work to correct it and learn from the experience. This is what a learning organization is all about.

This isn't to say we should just abandon all change management processes. On the contrary, providing people with effective processes can lead to successful outcomes. But for each rule we devise, we should consider an alternate approach of holding people accountable for outcomes, and insuring they have the capacity to succeed. Yes, provide processes, training, principles, guidelines, etc. But then focus on outcomes and accountability. And allow for learning-based corrections.

It's a radical thought, but a little anarchy may just bring the control that we need.

Here's the article about the successes of traffic anarchy...

Controlled Chaos: European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

IT Governance: Data Security Matters

Take data security seriously and dedicate time in the IT governance agenda for it. Define security policy and create roles / accountability for it through postion of information security officer. ...

... "Formalize an IT governance process with documented policies and controls. Representatives from different departments, including IT, should develop this manual together as a task force led by the ISO. " ...

Via Miami Herald: Link

Project Success Story: Veterans Heath Administration

When Ken Kizer took on the challenge of revamping the horrific state of affars that was the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (many of you have probably seen the movies that showed the sorry state of Veterans Hospitals), nobody suspected that they would go from "last to first."

Forget "Good to Great," these hospitals literally went from "worst to best!"

Reading the writeup on it in this week's issue of Business Week, I was struck by the similarities between Kizer's approach and Napoleon (whom most of you know I'm quite familiar with).

Whereas Napooleon was focused on equality, Kizer was driven by quality and safety. Like Napoleon, Kizer inherited a disastrous state of chaos and provided order, visibility, improvements in technology, training, accountability, decentralized decision-making, and most of all, hope and pride. Also like Napoleon, Kizer had his share of enemies, some who felt he was too arrogant and others who perhaps felt threatened by the changes. Finally, like Napoleon, Kizer was eventually ousted, except by Congress instead of foreign powers.

Fortunately, unlike Napoleon, Kizer's successors continued his methods and his passion. Because of these changes, every nurse and doctor in the network has instant access to electronic patient records, and drugs are filled robotically, avoiding the mistakes common to most other hospitals. And because these hospitals treat the patients for life, they spend more time and money on preventative care, as they realize it costs everyone less in the long run (talk about Total Cost of Ownership!).

I highly recommend picking up this week's Business Week (the July 17th issue with "The Plot to Hijack Your Computer" on the cover). Meanwhile, below is another article that talks about the amazing transformation that Kizer led the VHA through.

Expect to hear more on this as I research this in more depth. I also ordered the book, Straight from the CEO: The World's Top Business Leaders Reveal Ideas That Every Manager Can Use, which is mentioned in the article and apparently covers Kizer's story.

Here's the article (not the Business Week one, but a good one nonetheless) ...

"The Best Care Anywhere" by Phillip Longman

Project Measurement Framework ...

Article explores the transformation experience of AGEdwards where the project management success rate was improved, through leadership training, a measurement framework, and enhanced organizational models. ...

... "Ed Pilewski, now VP of IT productivity and quality, chose not to take the traditional route of forcing a rigid project management methodology on the technology staff - a tactic that can backfire and create resistance to change. Instead, he implemented a standard framework for measuring, monitoring and reporting on a project's progress that fosters transparency and accountability. " ...

Project Measurement Framework: Via CIO: When Failure Is not an Option

IT Governance: Model for Accountability ...

Is the CIO accountable for the decisions in IT governance? Michael Schrage discusses techniques for creating accountability in IT governance --- make governing boards and steering committees accountable to each other and for results. ...

... "That story often comes to mind when I hear the frustrations of IT governance and IT project steering committees designed to better align budgets, schedules, requirements and priorities. " ...

IT Governance: Model for Accountability : Via CIO: The Hammer of Consensus ...

Project Accomplishments Recognized: KC MO ...

Kansas City recognized for its accomplishments in project management methods and delivery. ...

... "The City was awarded a regional APWA Management Innovation Award for the development of the Capital Improvements Management Office. The office was created as a partnership with MWH Americas Inc. and Burns and McDonnell to re-engineer the City's delivery processes and reinvigorate its backlogged capital improvement project portfolio. CIMO has used inventive corrective strategies and industry best practices to create a centralized, more efficient approach to capital project delivery and accountability. Additionally, three of the division's capital improvement projects were named regional APWA Projects of the Year. These awards recognize projects that exemplify outstanding project execution through project management; timely execution; safety performance; community relations; and quality control, construction innovations, and time and/or money-saving techniques. " ...

Project Accomplishments Recognized: KC MO: Via Kansas City Mo: News from City Hall: City receives four regional public works awards ...

Project Failure Case Study; Maine's Medicaid System

Talk about a project disaster. As reported in an excellent article in CIO Magazine, the Maine Medicaid Claims System project is a case study of a project gone awry.

The project was undertaken to switch from their legacy systems to a new web-based system to process Medicaid claims and facilitate HIPAA compliance (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). As a result of the failed project, Maine is now the only state in the union not in compliance with HIPAA.

System problems led to many claims ending up in limbo, leading to hundreds of calls from health care practitioners, nearly 300,000 patients being turned away, several dentists and therapists going out of business, and destroying Maine’s finances and credit rating.

So what went wrong?

Mistakes included the following:

• Deciding to develop an entire system from scratch using unproven technology, while other states built a front-end onto their legacy systems
• Caving to pressure from management to meet tight deadlines with inadequate resources instead of pushing for a realistic plan to begin with
• Failing to notice why other bidders either didn’t bid or came in way higher (a sign that the schedule was unrealistic)
• Hiring a vendor with no experience in developing Medicaid claims systems because they were the lowest bidder
• Not having a Medicaid expert on the team, leading to errors in judgment
• Underestimating the time needed to meet with subject matter experts
• Competing with another major initiative (a department merger) for executives’ attention and resources
• Skipping project management basics (including piloting, adequate end-to-end testing, staff and user training, etc.) due to looming deadline pressures
• Failing to stop, regroup, and analyze the risks
• Taking a “big bang” approach to cutover with no contingency or backup should something go wrong

Management’s response, of course, was to switch program managers, and issue stronger demands to have a smooth system, but none of the changes or demands made much of a difference. Consultants were brought in to prioritize the many problems, but still, the complexities proved too much. It wasn’t until a Medicaid expert was brought in that things began to gel.

Like many project failures, it’s easy to point to the project management (and certainly there are many shortcomings there in this case), but the organization must share the blame as well if it insists on unrealistic deadlines and leads by fear (fear of shareholders, fear of competition, fear of management, etc.). None of these variables can make an unrealistic schedule more realistic.

It's really very simple. Either adequate resources must be committed, the expectations lowered, or a more piecemeal approach taken (or all three, if applicable). In any case, the schedule must be realistic and risks need to be managed.

Here's the full article. It's well worth reading, as are the reader comments.

Maine's Medicaid Mistakes - Editorial - CIO

Integrity is Job One

Integrity not only means that your actions are aligned with your words, it also implies that both are ethically bound. Most importantly, it implies 360-degree accountability, meaning that you are accountable above, below, and sideways, in the organization.

That's not to say you can't make a final decision (and indeed you must), but you need to observe, listen, and consider all angles and impacts before making what you feel is the right decision for the organization. And, for real success, you need to do it quickly. This is done easier in an environment of decentralized-decision making, operating under a set of basic guidelines and high level objectives.

When operating in a more autocratic environment, it can be challenging, especially if the orders conflict with your better instinct.

Here's a great quote I came across in a Tom Peters presentation. The quote comes from Colonel John Boyd, the legendary fighter pilot who founded the concept of OODA loops (Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act), which also helped organizations like Toyota become so successful.

“If your boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty.”

-- BOYD: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War (Robert Coram)

This is a motto we should all carry with us.

Project Stage-Gates: NASA Improvement Opportunity ...

NASA receives recommendation to improve project management quality through stage-gate approach (knowledge points) to the project lifecycle and solution maturity. ...

... "A report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that additional decision reviews are needed to ensure that NASA's projects meet their performance, cost, and schedule goals. ...

GAO’s recommendations include requiring that NASA projects demonstrate: that key technologies have reached a high maturity level before approving the projects for transition from the formulation to the implementation phase, that the design is stable before approving the projects for transition from the design phase to the fabrication, assembly, and test phase; and that the design can be manufactured within cost and schedule and meet quality targets prior to any decision to enter into production. " ...

Project Stage-Gates: NASA Improvement Opportunity: Via Democratic Caucus, Committee on Science, U.S. House of Reps: Gordon, Udall Urge NASA to Heed GAO's Project Management Recommendations ...

Scheduling is Dead, Bring on Chaos; So Says A Foremost Scheduling Expert

Project scheduling has no future whatsoever, and this comes from no less than Murray Woolf, the Managing Director of the PMI College of Scheduling's Scheduling Excellence Initiative (SEI).

This article, posted at PMForum is one of the better ones I've seen in a while (possibly because it's aligned with my philosophies). The premise is that, in today's day and age, the industry is headed toward more of a "give the people objectives and let 'em work it out" philosophy, which is completely opposed to the old "build a detailed schedule and make 'em follow it" mentality.

This is completely aligned with a value system that I've long subscribed to (and had posted on here at PMThink), and that is: To foster passion and accountability, we need to provide:

- Autonomy and Trust
- General Guidance and Principles
- Support and Removal of Barriers

This, of course, must be supported by having clear objectives.

Through all this, we also need to send a message that results are more important than blindly following rules. This doesn't mean that we needn't have processes, as people need a system in order to achieve consistent results; merely that we should give project managers the freedom to bypass certain processes if it's necessary to achieve good results. "Good" is the operative word here. Just meeting a date is not "results."

I believe that Mr. Woolf's article endorses my approach, and acknowledges that the following is where the future of project management is:

More organized chaos than it is controlled components.
More project facilitation than it is project scheduling.

This doesn't mean that planning isn't important either; merely that the act of planning shouldn't be confused with rigidly following the plan/schedule. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "Plans are nothing; Planning is everything."

As it is, and as Mr. Woolf rightly points out, project managers and "schedulers" are so bogged down in details and administrivia that they become more project reporters than managers. We need to observe where the future is headed and free project managers from the burdens of such fruitless details.

Instead, their efforts should be spent on adequate preliminary research, communication, facilitation, risk awareness, and other traits necessary to effectively manage a project.

For the full article, which I highly suggest reading, see Mr. Woolf's paper below...

PMFORUM, Connecting the World of Project Management - Papers

Project Work Packages; The Importance of Delegation

I read this story on Stephen Covey's website about his inspiring interview with a well-respected Naval captain. They key success factors for this captain were his ability to delegate, and his trust in his subordinates. This trust and delegation truly inspired passion and accountability in his people (something we've promoted here at PMThink as well).

It reminded me again of the importance of Work Packages in project management, where we assign deliverable (or group of deliverables) to a work package owner, and give them full accountability of managing the details to "make it so" (as Captain Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation would say).

Here's Stephen Covey's account of this interview:

I was training U.S. Navy officers in leadership during the dot.com era, when someone told me about an exemplary leader named Captain David Marquet, Captain of the U.S.S. Santa Fe, who never lost anyone, in spite of the hellish conditions submarine personnel are required to endure. An opportunity arose, which I jumped at.

I was invited to board Captain Marquet’s sub and interview him. Never before had I observed such empowerment. We stood on the bridge of this multibillion-dollar nuclear submarine with a football field of vessel in front of and behind us. A young officer approached the Captain and said, "Sir, I intend to take this ship down 400 feet." Captain Marquet asked about the sonar and sounding and then instructed this young man to give us another twenty minutes on the bridge before carrying out his intention.

Throughout the day, people approached the captain intending to do this or do that. The Captain would sometimes ask a question or two, but then say, "Very well." He reserved only the top decisions for his own confirmation and empowered others to make the rest. He said he wanted to empower his people as far as he possibly could within the Navy’s confines. He felt if he required them to own the problem and the solution to it, they would begin to view themselves as a vitally important link in the chain of command. He created a culture where those sailors had a real sense of adding value.

Months after my sub ride, Captain Marquet wrote to inform me that the U.S.S. Santa Fe was awarded the Arleigh Burke Trophy for most improved submarine, ship, or aviation squadron in the Pacific.

All in all, a very inspiring reminder to us that we don't need to be managing every last detail of our projects, and instead must have faith in our most valuable asset---our team. This "distributed accountability" approach is a surefire way to encourage and exploit team synergy. Just pick the right people, give them guidelines, and get out of the way.

Leadership Tip of the Day: How to Inspire Passion and Accountability

Wanna really make people miserable and make them dependent on you to get anything done? Just micromanage them.

But if you want to inspire passion and accountability in people, just give them general guidelines and full support, removing any barriers that stand in their way. This is what true leadership is all about.

Allowing people to own their deliverables, make their own decisions, and be responsible for their results gives them true accountability for their work, and inspires an entrepreneurial spirit as well. Micromanagement on the other hand destroys this spirit, as does second-guessing, manipulating, and finger-pointing.

Passion and accountability are critical for any organization to thrive, and the key to motivating employees. Let's get beyond this pervasive culture of hierarchy, silo-thinking, and micromanagement. Central administration is fine, but let's aim for decentralized decision-making. Spread the word!

IT Governance: Manage IT Like A Business: Transparency ...

Tideway Systems sponsors research that shows operational efficiency is still the strongest business driver of information technology in the banking sector. There is a fair amount of diversity in approach to managing IT like a business and adopting the various best practice frameworks, like ITIL. ...

IT Governance: Manage IT Like A Business: Transparency: Via Tideway Systems: Confusion Remains While Compliance Remains ...

... "Due to the intrinsic role that technology is playing in financial services the need for effective IT governance, measurability, accountability and simultaneously cost savings, have become critical. Compliance pressures on the financial services sector have served to accelerate the focus on governance capabilities within the IT department, but have not addressed the fundamental need for a fully transparent, holistic view of the IT organisation that will allow IT to achieve the ultimate goal of managing itself like a business. A variety of best practice guidelines, including the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and COBIT (often applied to Sarbanes Oxley compliance), provide frameworks for how this is to be achieved, but the major incentives driving most projects still remain the need to achieve cost savings and provide cost transparency. " ...

Project Management Inefficiency: Manual Crisis Management ...

Tim Kaufmann explores the response of the Office of Personnel Management to the Katrina disaster and how inefficient IT systems project management requires the agency to employ manual and outdated techniques during a time of crisis. ...

Project Management Inefficiency: Manual Crisis Management: Via Federal Times: Hurricane pulls benefits manager out of retirement ...

... "OPM has been working for years on a system to convert paper files now stored in agencies' headquarters offices to an electronic database. Developing and deploying the system is behind schedule due largely to inefficient project management, the Government Accountability Office said in February. " ...

PMThink! resources on business continuity and disaster recovery projects:

• Business Continuity Project: Key Part of IT Strategy ...


• IT Risk Management: Disaster Recovery Planning: Forward Placement


• Project Manage Business Continuity Events

How NOT to build a Project Management Office

If set up "properly" (which I believe is different for each organization) and if led by the right person with the right attitude, a PMO can support a culture of empowerment, entrepreneurship and accountability.

This article suggests that PMO's can do more harm than good. Don't let that happen to your PMO! Start with the end in mind and design it properly, unlike poor Henry and the CIO that appointed him...

Beneath the Buzz: Project Management Office - Beneath the Buzz - Leadership RC - CIO:

IT Governance: Board-Level Visibility ...

Via CIOUpdate: IT Governance: The Solution to IT Anarchy?, Part III

Rick Freedman, Intel, discusses board-level involvement in IT governance ...

... "It is the board that is ultimately responsible for enforcing accountability, and so performance measurement, perhaps in the form of an IT-focused balanced scorecard, is a critical component of board-level IT governance. CIOs must make the case for board-level IT governance, since most IT executives are not lucky enough to have a board that comes to that conclusion independently. " ...

Ontario Government Project Maturity Assessment

This site gives an interesting example of a government department using project capability maturity assessment scores for setting goals for improvement. It includes the essential components of assessment dimesions, current scores and target scores.
Scoring models vary in the range and detail of the dimensions. This one focuses on project accountability and governance. It shows how management has identified the areas that need to change the most.

1.4.3 Corporate Project and Program Management--Third Party Audit of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board: Executive Summary | Ministry of Labour

Project Management Belongs In-House

It started with the ERP boom after Y2K. Massive software projects, such as SAP implementations, were led by consultants and typically came in over budget and behind schedule. While consultants can and should be a vital part of any project that involves new technology or unfamiliar areas, it's important for organizations to retain ownership of the overall project and not leave everything at the mercy of the consulting company.

Part of that is insuring that contracts are creatively designed with a combination of time and materials plus incentives (and/or penalties for not delivering on certain tangible objectives). Fixed-fee contracts only tend to work when the scope can be defined precisely and agreed upon. Otherwise, the consulting company may make unwanted sacrifices to stay within budget. Time and materials without any incentives or penalties (or at least a "not to exceed" limit) puts all the risk on your organization. Incentives work better than penalties as it facilitates more positive collaboration. Vendors will be reluctant to accept penalties unless scope and the means to achieve it is crystal clear.

This doesn't mean that pride should get in the way of benefiting from a consulting company's tried and true methodology, merely that the leadership, ownership, and accountability of the efforts should remain in-house. Part of this accountability is insuring the right contracts are negotiated.

This oldie-but-goodie below from CIO Magazine is from 2002, but is still relevant today. It explores further the pitfalls of consultant-led projects and offers some sage advise. Some things have changed since 2002, but one thing hasn't. Suffering from the residue, organizations are still struggling to get value out of their expensive ERP products. Don't make the same mistakes they did back at the beginning of the millenium. Take control of your projects.

Take Control Consultants-can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em - ENTERPRISE PROJECTS - CIO Magazine Jul 15,2002

Software Supports ITGovernance CorporateGovernance

Software Supports ITGovernance CorporateGovernance: BWise Sets New Compliance Standard with New Product Release: Pioneering Solution Combines IT Governance and Corporate Governance for Full Internal Control ...

BWise software enables integrated IT governance leveraging internal process controls, such as the COBIT, COSO and ITIL standards ...

... "The newest version of the BWise product suite provides the most comprehensive internal control and risk management framework available, with a fully integrated IT and Corporate Governance solution. The flexible solution helps ensure compliance with such key regulatory requirements as those mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and BASEL II. " ...

BWise is a global leader in compliance and enterprise risk management (ERM) software, with a strong heritage in business process management. Established in 1994, BWise delivers proven solutions to help organizations become “in control” by increasing corporate accountability; strengthening financial, strategic and operational efficiencies; and maximizing performance and ROI. BWise has developed a sustainable presence in the compliance sector with quick start templates for SOX, Basel II, SAS70 COSO, COBIT, and others. BWise has more than 1,200 customers in more than 80 countries worldwide, like AEGON, VNU/AC Nielsen, TNT, Bouwfonds/ABN AMRO and 125,000 users in virtually all markets.