I think the universe is trying to tell me something about resilience!
First, I keep hearing Billy Ocean’s “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going” on the radio!
Then, I opened social media and the first post I saw is a photograph of a Chinese proverb on the wall at Leicester’s National Space Centre: “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls while others build windmills”.
Lastly, a Stoneseed client emailed to say that “due to current market conditions a number of new strategic IT projects are being temporarily shelved” but this wasn’t the waving of a white flag, they were building business resilience with a “focus on optimising, refining, and extracting greater value from existing systems.”
When the going gets tough, the tough get coding!
OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE
Operational resilience, in difficult times, is not always about pushing forward with bold, brave and disruptive initiatives, nor though is it about just “making do” with what you have.
To adjust that Chinese proverb a little, rather than build a new windmill – now is a good time to make sure that your existing one is well-oiled!
This client, who gave us permission to share their strategy, is being very smart. While the projects they have shelved would have made a difference now, they will have a much greater impact when the wider market is ready for them. Meanwhile, if your competition is hunkering down and waiting for the conditions to change, even modest upgrades to how you operate can create blue-sky between you and them and return major value – especially when any enhancements are strategic …
… and implemented by the right people with the right skills!
RIGHT PEOPLE, RIGHT SKILLS, RIGHT TIME
“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters to what lies within us.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
So, who are the right people and what are the right skills?
Naturally, it’s your IT Project teams that have the talent and the know-how to maximise your return from refining existing IT systems – they probably built them for you! Plus, they are used to delivering impact and change against tight timelines and budgets – and innovation is second nature to IT project crews!
This Stoneseed client has identified one extra asset they need – a fresh pair of eyes!
Sometimes, being the people who built something can be a hindrance, I mean … it’s perfect, right? Why would you have delivered something into service that wasn’t an exact match for the business need at the time? The thing is, from the market your business serves, to available IT solutions, things do change! Our Project Management as a Service talent will help identify the evolved business need, what processes and systems exist now and how they can be improved without any preexisting baggage.
That’s mostly where we will contribute most to their “optimising, refining, and extracting greater value from existing systems” I.T. project.
And … don’t belittle this endeavour! Just because you’re not building anything tangibly new – it IS an I.T. project!!!! You are building resilience into your enterprise, and while this might not win many awards, or garner many headlines, set against this climate, “optimising, refining, and extracting greater value” is as vital as any I.T. project you’ll ever work on!
WHY A BA IS YOUR BFF
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Stoneseed will provide Business Analysis as a Service on this particular project. A BA is worth their weight in gold when refining your operation and maximising what you already have.
A Business Analyst acts like a strategic lens, bringing clarity, focus, and alignment and help ensure that the right things are being improved for the right reasons.
This client doesn’t have an in-house BA but, at Stoneseed, we do!!!!
Here are 7 ways Stoneseed’s BAaaS will help this (and your) refining project:
1 – Super-Focus on Business Needs
A BA ensures the project will target actual business pain points, not just what the IT team thinks needs fixing. BAs are used to working closely with end users, stakeholders, and management to uncover inefficiencies, gaps, or underutilized features in current systems.
2 – Bridging the Gap Between Business and Tech
BAs speak both languages: business and technical. BAs help translate high-level goals into specific, actionable requirements for developers, and explain technical limitations or solutions in business-friendly terms, helping reduce miscommunication and ensuring that everyone stays aligned.
3 – Identifying Low-Hanging-Fruit
Low-effort, High-impact improvements can yield HUGE returns! BAs analyse processes holistically, so they’re often able to spot quick wins and changes that require little effort but offer big gains in efficiency or user satisfaction. Perfect when you are trying to do more with less – fast!!!
4 – Validating / Prioritising
Through cost-benefit analysis, stakeholder input, and feasibility assessments, BAs help prioritise improvements based on impact, urgency, and effort. BAs don’t just gather ideas – they evaluate them. This ensures that teams are working on what matters most, especially critical when budgets and time are limited.
5 – Supporting Change Management
Even small system tweaks can disrupt workflows, actually, that’s kind of the point! BAs help prepare users for change, align messaging, and ensure updates are well communicated and adopted, after all: Better adoption = Better ROI.
6 – Data-Driven Decision Making
Now is not the time for just “feeling” that a change is needed (although you’ll probably know intuitively if something can be refined).
BAs understand reporting and analytics tools and so can back up recommendations (and your gut feeling) with data and help define KPIs to track the success of system enhancements. Data adds clarity, purpose and confidence to decision-making.
7 – Reducing Rework
By ensuring clear, detailed requirements from the start, BAs help avoid costly misunderstandings or rework later in the project. Now, more than ever, measure twice, cut once!!!
ALL IN I.T. TOGETHER!
It’s not just BAs!
Stoneseed’s “PMO as a Service” can also improve the link between your business strategy and project delivery and help with: improved Project Planning and Execution; Resource Management Optimisation; Risk Management; Quality Assurance, Performance Measurement; Enhanced Portfolio Management; and Governance and control.
Our tech advisory services do more than “what it says on the tin”. Stoneseed’s range of services within the Technical Advisory portfolio, deliver that fresh pair of eyes to evaluate your organisation’s technical capabilities, programmes and projects to ensure that they’re fit for purpose, and aligned with business needs.
Stoneseed PMO Platform, constructed on Microsoft Office 365 technology that you probably already have, harnesses the power of your investment to deliver collaboration, automation, integration and powerful business intelligence for your PMO.
THE TOUGH GET GLOWING
Tough times don’t mean shutting up shop and keeping your head down until things are more comfortable, what’s needed is a smarter strategy and a more proactive approach.
IT project teams and talent are in a unique position to help businesses stretch their existing technology further, improve the user experience, and eradicate any existing vulnerabilities that are leaking value, and (music to your CFO’s ears), without needing a massive budget.
In this blog, I’ve quoted Billy Ocean, a Chinese proverb, Ralph Waldo Emerson and even Martin Luther King, Jr., and I’ll close with a literary giant … remember what Christopher Robin said to Pooh:
“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” (A.A.Milne)
So, when your C-suite says, “Let’s make do with what we have” … that’s the cue for your IT project team to shout, “Let’s make it better.”
More about Project Management as a Service from Stoneseed
https://www.stoneseed.co.uk/project-management-as-a-service/
https://www.stoneseed.co.uk/pmo-services/