Raising Capital and Estimating, maybe not in that order

Technology Management Seminar in Decision Outcomes – Week 5 Weekly Summary

The discussion questions this week focused on raising capital. Some interesting discussion ensued regarding whether project size matters to the capital raising methods selected. The discussion question also asked if raising capital for IT projects is different from other business initiatives. In response to the first part of the question I sided with the size matters camp, noting that smaller projects may remove certain large scale funding options. In the IT vs. other debate, I commented that some equivalent size business projects may have no depreciable assets tied to them (such as some large marketing initiatives), and that condition may influence the funding choice. Some of the follow-up discussion of this topic centered on project justification, and in particular how large scale projects may have to compete for funds. It simply may not be enough that projects have a favorable cost/benefit ratio- the project may also need to be the best alternative for the company at the time.

The second discussion question asked the age old (and largely unanswered) question of how to determine a project’s cost. There are many estimating techniques that can be applied, so I chose to respond by suggesting an initial focus on expected functionality that a project will contain, then layering on information about required resources and dependencies. With those pieces of information in place, a rough timeline can be created and cost estimating can follow.

The homework this week was the second team assignment, and built on the previous team paper. Fitting in with the discussion topics, the emphasis was on creating a financial justification for the ideas advanced in the previous paper. Building on these concepts from week to week helps focus on the content of the paper and to reinforce the concepts we’re discussing in class.

One week left and then this 76 week long project to complete an MBA will be done. Adam’s IPod would have had a long tour of the halls of higher learning, after next week I’ll have to do some deep thinking to decide what (or where) to target next.  Suggestions are welcome.

Out-source, In-source, or Self-source- but always Measure

Technology Management Seminar in Decision Outcomes – Week 4 Weekly Summary

The first discussion question of the week focused on the risks associated with out-sourcing and self-sourcing.  This seemed to be familiar ground for almost all of the students.  Everyone contributed a variety of experiences and seemed to agree with my position that outsourcing works best with good requirements and specifications, and self-sourcing works best for knowledge development.

The conversation then turned to project measurements, a topic that applies regardless of whether you fall in the “pro-outsourcing” camp or “in-sourcing rules” camp.  The specific measurements suggested by students were varied, but usually involved some flavor or time, materials and budget- with comparisons of planned to actual expenditure.  Some interesting funding gate models were also discussed but left me wondering about how often projects get to a late stage and are passed through simply because it would be too much of an embarrassment to stop them.

The homework this week advanced the project proposals that have been developed throughout the course.  This week’s additions touched on the software development life cycle, connected to the discussion questions in the area of project measurement, and expanded on previous discussions of prototyping.  Advocating for out-sourcing or self-sourcing also made an appearance in the paper.  I still feel a mixed approach is appropriate and tried to support that position.

Unlike the previous week, this week’s work was not done with traveling and hotel rooms involved.  Next week will be interesting, with another team paper on the plan and another three days of robotics competition mixed in.  The only thing that is certain is that time will be tight.

Taking the class on the road

Technology Management Seminar in Decision Outcomes – Week 3 Weekly Summary

The focus of the discussion questions this week was on business-to-business and business-to-consumer differentiation.  A fair amount of dialog was shared on these business models.  The nuances of the two business models were also discussed at length, with a few tangents into cross-over efforts.  Several students expanded on the discussion of the move some well known business have made from being B2B to being a mix of B2B and B2C (as well as reverse moves, from B2C to adding B2B elements).

This was also the first team paper week of the class.  With enterprise wide initiatives as a guide, each team member offered some interesting options for the virtual corporation to consider.  Dividing up the B2B, B2C, and E-Payment discussion points amongst team members also seemed to work well, allowing the team to develop an interesting package.

It was a sketchy week.  Travel to a robotics competition in Milwaukee complicated the work schedule, but I was able to hit all the assignment deadlines and participation requirements.  WiFi at the hotel and a little prep work before hand (pre-canning discussion question answers then submitting them at the appropriate times) helped as well.  It was team assignment week and my fellow teammates seemed to be delaying the work as well, so we all seemed to stay in sync.

What is the Biggest Small Project?

Technology Management Seminar in Decision Outcomes – Week 2 Weekly Summary

This week’s discussion led off with a question about prototyping, both the benefits and constraints.  Overall, the class seemed to view this technique favorably.  Several people described prototyping efforts they had been involved in that focused on mock-up designs, helping team members (and potential clients) visualize the system under consideration.  Other students described more functional prototypes that allowed users to click through and actually see some subset of a system in operation.  A couple of highlights of the discussion were the dialog on whether prototyping shortened or extended overall project timelines, and if prototype code should make it into a final system.

The second question this week focused on challenges present when implementing a new technology on a small scale, and how those challenges differed when implementing on a large scale.  A follow up question raised the issue of how to determine if a project is small or large.  In response to the follow up, I suggested the big three of (1) people (2) time and (3) features be used to evaluate project size.  On the core issue of challenges with small scale projects, robustness and finding a suitable environment seemed to be recurring themes raised by students.  The large scale project challenges raised seemed to center on coordination and integration issues.

The paper this week called for the recommendation of an enterprise technology solution.  The solution proposed by the paper was to be evaluated in terms of the business value the proposed solution offered.  Some discussion of the role of prototyping was raised, fitting in nicely with the discussion question this week.  And finally the paper was to include some implementation activities that would be needed if the solution were selected.  The virtual corporation used by the students in completing the paper provided a good mix of operating activities.  Integrating functions from various divisions within the business will probably be a common theme.

What happens when you’re Done before you’re Finished?

Technology Management Seminar in Decision Outcomes – Week 1 Weekly Summary

So I sit down to jot out some notes for my first weekly summary of my last class and I get as far as “This week’s discussion questions focused on how technology can be a driver of business strategy and what challenges IT can bring to the business manager.”  Then I draw a blank.

Not really a blank really, just the sensation of “that about covers it”.  I really didn’t have much else to say.  That seems to be a trend as I get closer and closer to finishing.  I guess you could say I feel “done” well before I’m “finished”.  Ah well, just another battle in the procrastination wars that have become the focus of my weekly life.

I did stave off procrastination for most of the week.  When it came time to flesh out the research paper shell I had setup earlier in the week I started to slip a bit, but managed to get it together Sunday night.  I even managed to muster a few more sentences for the ‘official’ weekly summary that got sent into the halls of academia.  The grading on this class looks a bit more reasonable than my last, but still has a hint of the “thou shall exceed expectations to get all the points” flare to it.  We’ll see how that goes.

Week 2, Show your face.