Who should read this?
You are leading technology solution delivery for a IT services company.

Why should you read this?
Your sales team needs to you to drive consistent revenue, so as to create a predictable sales pipeline. BUT, you are struggling with consistent delivery problems.

What are the “symptoms”?
Your customers do not know you by your first name.
Your customers does escalations by mail.
When you get on customer escalation calls you have to introduce yourself to the customer.
Your customer does not see the larger value that your delivery team is bringing.
You do not have a ready answer to the question — “What is your delivery framework?”

This series of articles will walk you through a common problem and help you identify the methodology through which you will be able to create your own delivery framework.

Let’s dive right in!

In June 2013, the UK’s Co-operative Bank announced a capital shortfall of 1.5bn GBP.
In 2015, Woolsworth Australia moved away from a 30-yr old in-house ERP system to SAP. In 2016, a write down of 766mn USD and a hundreds of layoffs caused by supply chain disruption contributed by the aforesaid ERP implementation.

Both the above examples are some of the classic case studies of technology implementation failure. While one soldered on [Woolsworth continued to implement one of Australia’s largest SuccessFactors implementation as of Aug’16], the other is one of the world’s largest IT delivery failure at a cost of ~300mn GBP.

However, in times of today — a IT solution delivery failure — spell’s the difference between existence and failure of major corporations.

And — in a world of outsourcing — how do you define a delivery model partnership while bearing in mind your end-consumers.

Change is the name of the game.

The number of projects plagued by constantly changing solution scope is better defined as 95% of all IT projects. While, AGILE and DEV-Ops have been able to address this in parts, the lack of a global delivery framework, is still a problem waiting to be solved in most of the current IT services providers. The right delivery framework is NOT only agile or only waterfall. It is a constantly evolving framework. It learns from failures of others, and builds on successes.

What is a delivery framework?
- It is NOT a single size fit all solution.
- It is NOT an operating model
- It is a methodology.

What does a well defined delivery framework look like?
In a well defined framework, your customers will immediately be able to visualize you will be able to address any of their business problems.

Delivery framework stands in the cross road between architecture and actual delivery.

Do not confuse architecture with technology architecture. In this case, this is referred to delivery architecture. Follow up posts to cover each topic below in greater detail.

How do you define a delivery framework?

Step ONE — ASK questions

No one knows the customer landscape better than your customer. As such, before you start implementing a model, ask questions.

Example:

Jodie is a delivery head for a IT services company. The company has recently won a 10mn USD delivery deal for application maintenance and build services over 3 years.
While she has individual delivery models for each of her services, she does not have a unified delivery model.

She wants to create a unified delivery model, so that her all her services are working together to create an overall delivery value.

Jodie immediately went to her mentor, Ralf, for his thoughts. Ralf, being a seasoned veteran, asked her a simple question — do you know what are the goals of the customer?
Jodie knew the answer — many, but none towards their current delivery problems.

Lesson 1: Identify the current problems.

Sample questions: What are the current problems plaguing your delivery structure? Too diverse? Too many local players? How many applications are currently on-time and on-budget? What are the characteristics of applications which are not on-time?

Jodie went back to the customer and asked them questions ranging from their expectations to the profile of the applications that was required to be built and/or maintained. Her audience was not only their current delivery leadership [CIO, application heads, delivery heads] but also their business counterparts.

Write in comments if you want samples of questions that are being referred to.

The answers were varied. However, all of them fit in a spectrum. Their expectations could be defined into FOUR buckets.

Armed with these, Jodie went back to Ralf. While walk through Ralf with each of the topics, Jodie identified what were the major drivers for the business.

Jodie realized that she needed a delivery framework which addressed each of the above points. All her individual service delivery frameworks needs to be aligned to achieve the greater goal of the value that her company wants to drive into the customer eco-system.

Your customer’s larger needs are your stakeholders. Their problems are your problems. Identifying their base expectations, will give you the goals to align your framework to. Which will ensure your solution delivery is aligned to their core underlying problems.

We take a pause here for this week and reflect on the below:

Have you taken out time from your schedule to actually hold a dialogue focused around delivery with your customer?

Have your customers articulated their base expectations?

Is your delivery framework aligned to your customer’s specific needs? Or is it just a mix of standard off-the-shelf delivery models?

This blog post is a part of a new series, called, ideas for breakfast. FIVE ideas for utility tools, products, software. Each idea will have a short description. Feel free to comment with your take on any idea.

Ideas are a dime a dozen, execution matters. :)

Have fun, creating.

• App minimalism: App to analyze your daily usage and based on that bundle them based on context, location and time.
• Smart covers: No wash required bed sheets. Material engineered to repel dust, dirt and other external pains. Water and dust resistant.
• Human calm: Simple human calming necklace with non auditory waves and aroma.
• NoInvasion furnishings: non invasive furnishings for homes. No more holes on walls.
• BackpackerWash : Dry wash chemical compound to clean clothes / shoes without water.

Now when the evening colors the pallete of the evening sky.

Like a wanderer, lost in the world.

Let us go, through all the empty streets,

The muttering retreats

Of restless nights

In unknown corners, in an unknown world.

Be still, and come with me

And we shall talk of unwise love and unsung quests

The streets will speak their names

The names of those, who tried and lost.

The fog will hide, in its unseen folds,

And the joy of the unknown will touch your soul

Be still, and come with me

For I have seen them all

Touched the evening, kissed the dawn

Measured my life with coffee spoons;

Cause I know the voices dying with a dying fall

And indeed there will be time

To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”

Time to turn back and descend the stair,

With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —

Sitting in the midst of the humdrum of everyday life, you wonder, how quickly it passes. How the joys of someone’s touch, and the happiness of someone’s voice, suddenly, on a fine morning, seems not too sure. We don’t live in the future, but none the less, it often looks back and haunts us. While we all want only a slice of joy, and the warmth of someone’s breath — on some fine days they all look so inconsequential. In some ways — rather hopeless. But sometimes you wonder — are they? Are your hopes, truly hopeless? Just a fool’s wondering? Or are they there for a reason. When her un-kohled eyes, speaks of all the times she would take time to stand in front of the mirror and slowly and gently line her eyes with the dark charcoal. When her deep eyes, speaks of the uncertainty of all the futures past — days which she was longed to live, but are bygones today. And the uncertainty of the days to come. When the silence in her voice, speaks of thoughts much deeper than any can fathom. When her self, made of decades past — wonders if she is ready.. If she can take the leap — what do you tell her?

What do you tell her — when you hold her head between you palms, and look deep into her eyes, and say that you love her, but at the same time wonder, if all will be well tomorrow. Why do people like you — whose nonchalant being does not perceive of the slight emotions of your self, suddenly throws a caution to the wind about times in the future — and days yet to come.

What do you tell her — when she tucks her head underneath your arm, and dozes off to sleep with her head on your chest — all the while knowing in the back of your head — that you would want to hold her — forever. And all the while, secretly hoping that she lets it all go — all her confusions in the turbulent waters of her beautiful mind — and hope that for all days to come she falls asleep, tucked under your arm, and her head on your chest.

What do you tell her — when you run your fingers through her hair — hoping that the entire world would stop on that one single moment… and hoping that you live the eternity in it..

What do you tell her — when you know that she will read this… and then you hope, that she only understands that you love her, and just want to be with her — but all the while knowing that she will think and think and then think some more.. And then once she is done.. She will wonder with her beautiful eyes wide open to the world..

And you do not wonder… when the world comes to a slow stop at the dead of the night — how did you finally fall in love with her. Because in your heart you know that howsoever you try.. And howsoever you find.. That answer will elude you for forever and a day more.

Ex nihilo nihil fit.

Amidst this.

The cafe is empty. Just the folks at the counter. Me. And the constant sound of the keys hitting the keyboard. It’s a rhythm. Broken by the intermittent silence that governs the thoughts of one who thinks before typing the next paragraph.

The subtlety of a momentary love and the emptiness that reigns the hot noon has a common thread. A certain passion. The kind that you often find in the random street corner. In the eyes of the child playing with his little mandolin. His new found love. Maybe will last the next few weeks. But with a passion so fierce that makes the one who sees wonder — the kid might just stick to the mandolin for the rest of his life.

The love is momentary. But not false. The truth is in its effortless, senseless, wild and unflinching passion.

The burn of the mid noon sun was similar. Burning through the empty roads. The birds had not dared to face it. But up in the sky. High. The eagle soared. He loved the sky with a passion equal to that of the sun. To him the searing heat was nothing compared to the passion of his heart.

Sitting in the corner, I wondered. In the momentary silence of the keys, I traversed a world unknown and unseen by the eyes of the wonderful lady who served me my burrito.

Whom did that world belong to any way? To the person who dreamt about it. or to the ones who lived in it.

For whom did the bell toll?

The subtle rays of the warm morning sun has long gone. The month of April begets the sultry winds from the Arabian Sea. And brings with it the promise of dreams in harbors unseen. I opened the little device on my palm and checked for the mobile signal. I was glad that there were no bars.

The cubicles were empty.

I could feel it you know. The joy of non-existence. The parting of time. I only had to close my eyes. And the wind would rush me — tousling my non-existent hair.

I could feel it in my veins. The sorrow of the daily drudgery. The fear of complacence. The silent weeping of the dreams that die.

I could feel it on my fingertips. The monotony they feel as they press the keys to someone else’s dreams. The fear of their own hollowness. The emptiness of the starlight dreams.

Are they that far away? Will they be only starlight in the distance?

I walked to the shore.

I could feel the rush of the water around my feet. And then the sand pulling away from under my sole. Gone. With the tide.

Life is but a memoir of things you let go.

But then you ask as look at the star lit sky — what was it that kept me awake at nights? The non existence of hope, or the fierce fire of my dreams.

Go. Run. Make. Break. Grow. Repeat.

Yonder I saw the kids of the fishermen coming out to play. The sand their ground. The sea their pool. They dream of cubicles. The one I ran away from yesterday.

Lives on either side of the coin. Someone’s dream is someone’s necessity.

Before everyone jumps in, let me re-iterate. NO, I would not leave my day job for all the options available. NO, I do not subscribe to the thought that people needs to leave their day job to travel.YES, I like what I do on the weekdays at my dayjob. YES, I LOVE what I do on the weekends.

Can I have a 365 day weekend?

Yes. Of course you can. Here’s how:

• Go to the mountains and then get frozen over the winter [yeah, Himalayas often does that to you].
• Pack a bag and just go [don’t forget the compass]
• Take a flight ticket to one of the countries which doesn’t need a VISA [read more here — soon].
• Sleep with copious dosage of food [be a glutton basically].
• Surf. And then get barbecued in the sun [Been there. Done that. At one point the sun gets a bit too much].

My detailed master plan ;) on this comes later in a separate post.

What is my day job?

I am simple enterprise collaboration consultant. Which is just a fancy term for a job which basically consists of telling people what to do.

You may ask, what is the joy in it?

There is, my friend, a joy of different proportions. You see, I know we learn more when we are outside, than when we are inside the shelter of glass rooms.

BUT.

Inside those glass buildings, you can, if you really want to, build a better version of yourself every single time.

While on the outside, you have to focus on getting the bread reach your mouth. On the inside, you can focus only on yourself.

While on the outside, you learn to trust in the generosity of people, on the inside, you prepare yourself to trust your own self.

While on the outside, you learn to work for yourself [or the nice people at a farm], on the inside, you learn to do the work for yourself right.

Because you see, the outside, there is no one to be your supervisor, your audit team, your finance team, or your quality control. You are your own auditor, your own finance team, your own quality control, your own sales team and your own consultation team. AND your own implementation team.

How do you become good at being your own employer?

I have been my own employer. And I have also been an employee. And then again my own employer. And then again an employee.

Every time I was my own employee, I screwed up, I did mistakes. I did own them up.

Every time I became an employee, I screwed up. I did mistakes. I also saw a lot many other people doing mistakes. I learned from them.

AND then came back stronger.

You become good at being your own employer when you become good at being an employee. WHEN you become a GOOD LEARNER.

The point you judge yourself with the harshest scales out there, such so, that you don’t give yourself a single inch, you are ready to become your own employer.

The point you appraise yourself as “Needs Improvement” because you did not reach the goals you set yourself, you are ready to become your own employer.

YES. You will make mistakes. That’s not the point. Mistakes, like ideas, are a dime a dozen. And they should be done. Because, otherwise, you don’t learn. You don’t grow.

Why would I not leave my day job?

Because, I have to get better at being my own employee.

DON’T STOP. STAY BUSY.