OSS Transformation is all about managing change – organisationally, functionally and operationally during in-flight projects. This is the most commonly overlooked factor when planning OSS projects
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt A high percentage of the population has a fear of change – made up of their constituent fears including fear of the […]
“Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone’s hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours.” Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration There is an interesting trend that often occurs when a vendor implementation team begins a new OSS project. There is a tendency to start with […]
“When you hear buzz around the beehive, you know they’re making honey in there.” Terrence Howard In an earlier post we talked about gesture computing and how it might be used to manage the networks and control the OSS of the future, so the possibilities presented by the MYO from Thalmic Labs, seen here, appears to be […]
“I love inventing worlds and characters and settings and scenarios.” Jerry B. Jenkins Have you played the “What if?” game with your OSS lately? Following on from yesterday’s post about moonshots, have you done any “what if?” analysis on how various possible moonshots might effect your OSS? What if the current network technologies were superseded […]
“You need to feel frustration and discomfort before you can really learn.” Jamie on 37signals.com blog How did you feel when starting out on your first OSS project? Frustration and discomfort were definitely two of the many feelings that I felt. The learning curve was definitely steep. And the more I learnt, the more obvious […]
“When you’re building a new product, you’re often thinking about all the new things people are going to be able to do with it. Now they can do this, now they can do that. Exciting! But there’s a better question to ask: What are people going to stop doing once they start using your product?” […]
“Screw it, let’s do it” Richard Branson Whether you’re representing a CSP, a vendor or an enterprise organisation, your OSS probably has some flaws that need to be beaten into shape. Or maybe you have a particular module that needs to be added or heavily modified. Many companies have tried to implement change in their […]
“Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.” H. G. Wells The theory of evolution states not survival of the strongest, but survival of the most adaptable, like the crocodile. Most broad-featured OSS products are highly adaptable/customisable straight out of their shrink-wrapping. A CSP must be careful not to implement highly specialised customisations […]
“The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve.” Samuel Smiles One of the mistakes most CSPs make when implementing a new OctopOSS is underestimating the time it takes for their operators to come up to speed with their new tools, particularly if they’ve never had an OSS before. […]
“You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.” Thomas Sowell In many large CSPs, bureaucracy is a way of life. Procedures provide the bureaucrats with a port of consistency within a sea of change. An OctopOSS project is a very threatening beast because it changes […]
“Herbert Simon, who won a Nobel Prize for economics… identified a decision strategy he calls satisficing: selecting the first option that works. Satisficing is different from optimizing, which means trying to come up with the best strategy. Optimizing is hard, and it takes a long time. Satisficing is more efficient. The singular evaluation strategy is […]
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead Christmas Day would seem like an appropriate day to discuss a guiding coalition. A new OctopOSS project will need a large stakeholder body to be highly organised and excited about the […]
“Change is good. You go first.” Dilbert If you’re implementing an OSS, you’re already being changed whether you like it or not, as is your organisation. The reason you’re implementing an OSS project is because someone somewhere within the organisation thought the change will be for the betterment of the organisation. But it is highly […]
“We don’t need the questioners and checkers, the nitpickers who bog down the process…. Today, each staff person has to ask, “How do I add value? How do I make people on the line more effective and competitive?” – Jack Welch I like to consider a company’s business processes like a flowing river. The aim […]
“The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” James Crook A large proportion of OctopOSS projects fail to achieve their original objectives. This suggests that alternate approaches are required within the industry. I once worked on a project that had been guided by five project managers (PM) in two […]
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” William Arthur Ward When an organisation identifies that a new OctopOSS project is required, it is common for some or all of the project’s influencers and evaluators to have limited knowledge about a potential vendor’s products. In some cases, […]
“I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” Winston Churchill OSS projects are usually delivered to organisations that have many working parts (people, processes, bureaucracies, politics, business units, etc). Rather than closely understanding and adapting to the company, a vendor has a tendency of bringing “best practice” to projects […]
