Documentation Dilemmas

Two areas that I have always found lacking in almost every organization that I have interacted with are metrics and documentation.

While the reasons for lack of effective metrics application in organizations are varied and include psychological mind games and politics, the reasons for poor documentation are simple. They are laziness and the misconception that “things will get along fine without proper documentation”. Truly, this is an area that senior management can influence easily; gaining a lot of return for a small amount of effort expenditure.

Detailed definitions of standards for documentation exist in abundance on the internet. Therefore, the focus of this post will not be on standards and templates for documents. Rather, the justification for proper documentation and suggestions for ease of implementation of proper documentation will be presented.

The purpose of documentation is to either provide proof or evidence of something or to provide a form of communicating information. While the first reason is generally relevant for adherence to standards (such as SOX) or to backtrack and determine causes of a problem (after the problem has occurred), it is the second reason, documentation as a form of communication, that is proactive and will assist in removing defects “before they occur”.

I, personally, have always been a scrupulous documenter; a quality, that I believe, was inculcated into me at a young age by my parents. While the habit of keeping detailed documents made me efficient at work, I was also considered a bit of an oddity for my documentation habits. When I would attempt to reason with those who preferred less documentation, the standard reply would be “But I know all that. It’s already in my head. I don’t need to put it down on paper.” While this may be true, what about those poor souls who do not have it all memorized? What about new employees of the company that do not know everything? The great thing about documentation is that it allows everyone to be on the same page quickly. It also provides a baseline from which everyone can work together. The benefits of detailed documentation are:

• Better communication between business and IT and a properly aligned agreement of the services and functionality to be provided to the business by IT


• Better documentation of risk which leads to better handling and management of risk


• Improved traceability throughout the system development lifecycle which leads to a better aligned product or service with fewer defects


• The ability to make changes quickly and without disruptions which leads to better product positioning by the business and an edge over the competition


• Improved disaster recovery capabilities due to properly documented disaster recovery plans


• Effective training of new employees allowing them to be productive faster


• Errors that are avoided because of clear, well-written procedures


• Effective gathering of metrics which can then be analyzed for potential improvement drives and improved pinpointing of problems and opportunities


• Improved sales that result from the availability of easily referenced product information


• Better scheduling and project management


• Improved inter-employee communication leading to less chaos and enhanced employee morale

Therefore, the benefits of detailed documentation are numerous and ubiquitous. It is a shame that fear of a small amount of initial effort derails the documentation effort and all its benefits. It is up to senior management to enforce the proper application of documentation and not let a few tantrums by the staff hinder this important aspect of the organization. It has been my experience that once the initial hurdle of “extra” documentation has been cleared, people generally get used to it and it becomes a part of everyday life.

A technique that I have used often in the past to produce prodigious amounts of documentation has been to utilize existing documentation and simply “cut and paste” new information into the existing format. For example, once a Service Level Agreement has been created, it is easy to start with it and create another SLA for a different but related service in the same organization. This technique can be used for requirement documents, project plans, test plans and test cases. It is generally only the creation of the first document that requires significant time and effort.

Documentation is really at the heart of effectively managing anything, whether IT or any other activity. Other industries have understood and embraced quality documentation techniques and standards long ago. It is time IT adopted these techniques as well.

Benefits for all

IT Process Improvement is a sadly neglected element of most every organization. A common misconception is that only hard-core IT companies need bother with enhancing their IT processes. The truth of the matter is that in today’s age of increasing dependence by the business on technology, the optimization of IT is crucial for any organization in any industry and not just a Microsoft or IBM or Wipro.

A common misconception is that IT process improvement is limited to the IT department only with no interaction with the other departments of the organization. The belief is that adjustments to the SDLC methodology (or RUP or whatever the IT dept uses) is the only domain of IT process improvement. While this is definitely an area that the IT process expert would apply his or her energies to, improving and aligning the IT department’s services to the rest of the organization is also part of their task. In fact it is the fundamental task from a revenue generation point of view.

Let us for a moment consider a company that produces steel rods. No fancy software being produced. No high tech outsourcing – just steel rods, three feet in length, being produced. Let us consider some of the departments within this organization as shown in the figure below:


Now let us consider some of the interactions taking place. The various departments will require communication with each other as well as interaction with outside stakeholders such as customers, suppliers and contractors. In today’s day and age, a well structured network and email will take care of basic communication needs. This network and email setup will need to be deployed and maintained. Over and above this, a comprehensive ERP and CRM application will be needed to manage the resources, activities and information within departments and external organizations. The proper selection, deployment and maintenance of this application will then need to be performed. Furthermore, the machinery used in the production of the pipes will have their own software application written in a proprietary CAD language which will then require skilled personnel to maintain and operate the machinery and the related software. There may be custom applications that have to be designed, developed, deployed and maintained.

While we can go on and on, what already emerges is that a great deal of Information Technology (defined last week as the use of computers and software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit and retrieve data within an organization) will need to be applied and attended to.

Now let us consider two competing steel pipe companies. They both obtain the same raw materials at the same cost. The number and quality of the personnel employed by the two companies is about the same as is their size and infrastructure. Company A takes its IT processes seriously and is constantly seeking to improve and evolve them, whereas, Company B is lackadaisical about its IT claiming “we don’t need to worry about all that tech gobbledygook – we make steel pipes for heaven’s sake!”

Company A utilizing effective Change Management, Configuration Management, Capacity Management, Service Level Management, Supplier Management, Service Continuity Management, Availability Management etc. and implementing improvement initiatives like Six Sigma will enjoy the following benefits over Company B:

• Improved resource utilization


• Decrease in defects/rework


• Elimination of redundant work


• Improved project deliverables including schedule


• Improved availability, reliability and security of IT services


• Improved service quality which translates into improved finished product quality (superior IT provided to the pipe manufacturing dept results in superior pipes being manufactured)


• Services aligned to customer demands which leads to improved customer satisfaction


• Integration of central processes


• Effective documentation and common terminology that helps with repeatability


• Effective metrics that help in understanding the status of processes and production in the organization


• Continuous process, product and service improvement

All other factors being equal, (cost of raw material etc.) this will then translate into higher sales and increased profits for Company A.

So it becomes apparent that even in a “non-IT” organization like a steel pipe manufacturing firm, IT processes and their constant improvement are crucial ways to gain a competitive advantage. And in a case of highly technical IT companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Wipro etc. the importance of IT processes and their improvement is even more significant. The difference between a Microsoft and our steel pipe company is that not only does Microsoft’s IT have to service its internal customers, it creates products and services for external customers as well. The IT at the steel pipe company only services the internal customers (i.e. the various departments within the organization). Other than that, the IT departments are the same in what they fundamentally do in both organizations.

It is usually a surprise to most folks that the ITIL body of knowledge was first implemented in a significant way by the hotel/hospitality and airline industries. After gaining maturity and delivering positive results while being utilized by these industries, the IT world caught on and began to implement ITIL more seriously. This is not surprising when you consider that the goal of ITIL is to align IT with the business and to constantly improve processes and services being provided.

To summarize, IT process improvement is a significant technique that all companies that have evolved beyond manila folders and calculators must utilize to stay competitive.

Awareness

Welcome to the first posting of the IT Process Improvement blog. My goal in publishing this blog is to provide a site where we may share our experiences, learn what’s new, and network with like-minded folks. Experts, novices and everyone in between are welcome to participate and contribute with their perspectives, questions and comments. My posts will vary in technical depth and subject coverage depending on the topic of the post but I will attempt to compose the posts in a way that everyone benefits from the read. Feedback is welcome at viveks@comwick.com.

The title and central theme of this blog site is “IT Process Improvement”, but what do these words really mean? It would behoove us to fully comprehend and understand the significance and implications of this much used but much misunderstood phrase.

“IT” or “Information Technology” is defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) as “the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware”. But what do we mean by “information systems”? “Information systems” refer to a system of persons, tools, data records and activities that process data and information in an organization. Therefore, “IT” can be thought of as the use of computers and software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit and retrieve data within an organization.

“Process” as defined in the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) body of knowledge is “a structured set of activities designed to accomplish a specific objective”. ITIL further explains that correctly defined processes are measurable, provide specific results, are customer-centric and are traceable to a specific trigger.

“Improvement” as defined by the dictionary is “a change or modification by which a more valuable or desirable condition is achieved”.

So now that we have clarity on each of the individual words, putting it together we may state that “IT Process Improvement” may be defined as “changes and modifications made to a structured set of activities that organizations utilize to manipulate their data utilizing computer software and hardware, that results in value being added to the activities” Or to put it more simply, the goal of IT process improvement is to add value to the organization and its customers by modifying the activities carried out by the organization to achieve its goals.

I had stated earlier that this is a much used but misunderstood phrase. It is much used because management in general and senior management in particular wants to “improve their processes” and be in a “state of continuous improvement”. Their attempts to implement the various process techniques and methodologies then create buzzwords that circulate around the water-coolers and cubicles of the organization. However, companies are rarely successful with their process improvement attempts and most of these well-meant undertakings peter out like poorly maintained jalopies. And this is where the “much misunderstood” statement comes in. Management must be clear right from the beginning about what their goals regarding process improvement are, what they plan to achieve and in what time period, what the costs and impacts to the business will be and the steps that they will take to achieve this. The staff of the organization should be educated on the process model to be followed and the benefits of implementation to the organization as well as to their own work lives emphasized. My experience with attempting to implement IT process improvements in the past has ALWAYS run into these two snags:

1. Unrealistic expectations of the process implementation and its benefits by Senior Management.



2. Resistance by the staff due to:


1. generic resistance to change (inertia, apathy, laziness) and



2. fear of a negative impact on their career and status in the organization if their work should actually be measured and metrics reported.

On the other hand, competition is intense. Perhaps more so in IT than in any other industry in the history of the world. Those that do not change and change fast, simply die. This has been more than validated in the current recession/depression ensuing worldwide. A point that is being made clear by the spate of bankruptcies and layoffs manifesting worldwide is that companies that did not position themselves to be extremely competitive are paying the price. Not staying competitive was never an option and IT process improvement which was generally considered a luxury by both IT and business decision makers has been proven to be a necessity. It was never a luxury in the past and never will be in the future, either. In reality it is an indispensible way that any organization can gain a significant advantage over its competitor in cost-control, superior product design and service delivery and customer satisfaction which obviously translates into increased sales and increased profits. Details of how IT process improvement creates a competitive edge will be addressed in future posts.

So the conundrum we have here is that a state of continuous improvement must be attained if an organization wishes to survive and yet achieving this state of “continuous improvement” requires more than just studying the process techniques or even attaining a certification or two. It takes AWARENESS. Awareness of the need to improve, awareness of the tools, techniques and methodologies out there. Awareness of the roadblocks that one will almost certainly encounter along the way. Awareness by the staff and employees that this is not a way for them to lose their jobs but a necessary part of everyday life to simply exist. And this awareness must exist at every level of the organization for the improvement initiative to be successful.

Hence my desire to publish this blog; I hope that in doing so, I will steadily, week by week, reach out to the IT community and increase the levels of awareness out there so that IT process improvement will be a much more accepted and successful undertaking carried out by organizations worldwide. Fortunately, forward thinking organizations such as SEI, ASQ, PMI, OGC, IFPUG etc. provide a rich source of knowledge and tools for use by IT professionals to stay competitive. Stay tuned for awareness of these techniques and more in future posts at the “IT Process Improvement” blog.