 |
|
  
Available free on the DCG
Website are numerous publications.
Today's spotlight,
Controlling Software Acquisition Costs With Function Points
by Ian Brown. This article proposes an approach that can
help buyers of software take control of unknown cost
situations by providing the ability to objectively evaluate
software development proposals, select the best value for
their needs, and effectively manage acquisition costs from
kickoff to product delivery.
This article is reprinted
by permission of the author.
Click here publications
to download the full article...
|
|
Newsletter Vol. No. 8, August 30,
2007
Editor's note: The events described in the
following article occured prior to Mr. Harris' acquisition of
DCG...
The Benefits of Coaching – a Personal
View
I was first introduced to the concept of
coaching when one of my management team, based on some
internet research and calling around, suggested that I call
Marilyn Edelson. Some months earlier, our software development
group of about 250 staff had completed a very successful
project to implement CMM® Level 3. After this success, some of
my management team moved on to better things within the
company.
Consequently, my new team consisted of a mix
of long-term stalwarts (slightly exhausted from the CMM®
effort) and some promotions from within who were not entirely
sure how they should relate to their new peers and what was
expected from them. The suggestion to call Marilyn came from
the latter group. From my perspective, I was looking to find a
way to replace the motivational force that the CMM® initiative
had provided.
My early discussions with Marilyn were
about the Best Year Yet program. I liked what I heard because
it combined:
1. A formal and rigorous objective setting
program with training and facilitation from Marilyn
2.
Highly visible objectives and progress reporting built into a
browser-based tool (a nice solid deliverable for those of us
who were not entirely comfortable with spending money on
“touchy-feely” things) with coaching from Marilyn
The
training and Marilyn’s facilitation of the objective setting
were perfect because it enabled me to participate in the
process of discussing our successes and failures with the rest
of the team. Real opportunities and issues emerged and, more
importantly, different members of the team were willing to
take ownership of issues or help their colleagues where they
did not have issues.
Inputting objectives status
updates and reviewing the resulting progress charts monthly as
a team online provided huge value in two ways: first, it
facilitated the removal of lots of major and minor barriers to
success; second, it quickly identified changing priorities as
events in the company superseded some objectives and generated
new ones.
Although we contracted for the Best Year Yet
and coaching as a team, it quickly became apparent that
Marilyn was delivering significant additional value to the
team on an individual coaching basis. This took different
forms for different individuals: for some, it was about
work-life balance skills; for others, it was about stepping up
into the shoes of predecessors; and for me, it was about being
challenged on a regular basis to look again at things that I
was dismissing as “just too hard right now.”
I have
used the Best Year Yet approach many times since our first
experience and have even used it on a personal basis to work
out some key changes in my life.
Mike Harris (August
2003), SVP, Head of Engineering, Sanchez Computer Associates
(Acquired by Fidelity National Information Systems, April
2004)
 DCG / IT
Decisions Coaching Webinar
Improving
Distributed IT Teams Performance through Coaching - Thursday,
Sept 20, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm EST
Register
Today!
“How coaching can improve the performance
of distributed IT teams and managers.” ...
Project
teams have evolved from a centrally located, single culture
group of employees to a globally distributed, multi-national
team of professionals. Team members may or may not be from the
same organization with the potential for different priorities
and company objectives. The barriers or risks inherent within
these team dynamics have become relatively well known. This
webinar will take a look at how team and executive coaching
can help distributed teams align across geographic and
cultural boundaries to improve their performance.
Visit
the IT Decisions Coaching Page today...
|
|
|
