What it takes any organization to win?

                                          

Today’s world, organizations put more emphasis on people orientation rather than process orientation. It just because the culture change adapted by the organization which will deliver a competitive advantage. Organization has changed their thinking towards the organization not just mere a traditional organization but people oriented organization.

I have listed out my thoughts over “What the effort should be made by any organization” - which has been catered by my experience in the industry:

•      Organization who is investing heavily in executive education and leadership training, strategic skills for top people.

•      Organization who is committed not just to being a great place to work but a great place to invest for an employee’s career.

•      If any organization wants to get profit to a great extent, they should keep in mind that there is a correlation between associates and the organizations profitability.

•      Organization who thinks that their associates are the first customer they sell. A Customer-focused culture can only be build by making their associates profitable in terms of their experience,  by achieving their ambitious objectives, satisfaction of work, ownership of their work(here I would not say authority but ownership because there is a vast difference between this two), flexibility in timings, leaves, compensation, etc.

Century of culture	New culture
1   1.  Formal and Rigid	1. Informal and Flexible
2   2. Employees need to dress formally. They were dissuaded from customizing or decorating their cubicles.	2. Relaxation in dress code, and can also decorate their cubicles at times of any events.
3.  3. They desist from decorating their cubicles.	3. They are insisted for decorating their office premises on some events.
4.  4. A band of “office police” reporting to the HR department to ensured that the employees complied with the rigid rules.	4. Disbanding of “office police”.
5   5. Organization was not giving their attention to employees in coaching at all levels in the hierarchy.	5. Organization has now started making investment in training, coaching of employees.
6   6. Employees call their superior  and co-worker by prefix like Sir, Madam etc.	6. This type of organization encourages their employees to call their superior and co-workers by their First name.
7   7. Rigid culture were intimidating new recruits which in turn results in a high turnover and acting as a hindrance in attracting talent.	7. Modern Organization has started recruiting new blood instead of recruiting from within.

Steps taken to improve by the old culture organization

•      Symbolic Changes :  
  
  
  •      Old cultured organization has taken place symbolic changes which includes dress codes, cubicle decor and disbanding of the “office police”.

•      Revolutionary change in  the Environment/Culture :         o  Culture plays a vital role in the performance of the company & it would result in a competitive advantage also. So, modern organization has provided a democratic and flexible environment to their employees.

•      Training & Development of Employees : 
•      Organization should kick-start a process to groom leaders and provide ongoing in-house training to all the employees. So, at the same time organization would not have to spend on outsource training.

Multiplier Effects with coaching

• Modern organization has committed to provide training and coaching to their employees at all level. 
• Employees are being trained at variety of level like leadership issues, professionalism, etiquette etc.

•      Winning Together Principle : 
•      Organization has now understood that if they plays the games in the business together with employees mutually, they both will be benefited.

•      Change in Compensation Program :
•      In any organization, HR department plays a very crucial and invaluable role
•      Organization should come up with new revised compensation program and implement the strategies like pay hikes which are linked up with the performance. 
•      Company should also consider outsiders for higher positions instead of following the past practice of promoting from within, irrespective of whether the person fitted the position or not. 
•      HR should start monthly newsletter for the management to communicate any changes in the respective department.

•     Hierarchical Structure : 
•      In old-cultured organization, employees could not think of reaching a senior management position without working as a lower level position.

•      Participation in employees objective : 
•      Old cultured organizations has now realized that they will not be able to achieve their Vision, Mission until they achieve the objective of their employees. 
•      So, modern organization should seat with employees and should understand their objective for career.

In nutshell, to win competitive situation, organization had to shed certain aspects of its ongoing century-old culture.

Organization should always remember following principles:

PERFORMANCE ASSOCIATES INTEGRITY RECOGNITION TEAMWORK INNOVATION COMMUNITY CUSTOMERS SHAREHOLDERS

                                                                                                        

My Role

Following are my Key Result Area(KRA)

·        Getting the projects in the company

   These can be done in many ways.

o       Maturing the Lead :

§         Building relationship & trust with the prospects

o       Growing the Needs of the client

§         Make the customer talk about his dreams, vision, problems, issues such that his needs are said explicitly

§         I need to pose “Problem Questions” about the customer’s difficulties of dissatisfactions and “Implications Questions” about the consequences or effects of  customers problems, “Need Payoff Questions” (which focus attention on solutions, not problems. And they make customers tell you the benefits.) about the value, usefulness, or utility that the customer  perceives in a solution and also document the same.

o       NDA (Non- Disclosure Aggrement)

§         In particularly iPhone Application Development, some client have such an idea that nobody has developed that kind of application on the appstore. So they are really very sensitive towards disclosing their idea infront of us. So, my company provides a solution where both the parties(My company and Client) will mutually sign it and thus they both get into the Agreement of not to disclose the idea of one client to the other.

§         Some client are also asking for this fear to me, so I

o       Project Requirement Understanding (Business Analysis)

§         Understanding the Features/Functionality : I understand the features & functionality of the project which will fulfill the desired needs of the client.

§         Giving Consultancy to clients : Many a times, while working/talking with clients I have observed that though they want to develop an excellent iPhone/Web application they are really not clear. At times, one of the responsibility is to provide them consultancy. They are really not pretty sure about what they really want.  In such situation I will do following steps to make them speak about what they want !

·        First of all, I will ask client about their Business, Strategy of Business, Revenue Model, Objective of the application & business, their Business Model, Why they want this application to be developed? Are there any competitors available into their domain market? If yes, how they are targeting the come over them and get the dominant position in the market? I will also ask them “Do you feel any lacking points in your business? Do you feel any “Gap” in the existing business?

·        After asking above question I get a holistic idea of the whole scenario. So, after posing up “Situational Question” like this, I will assist them what kind of application they should target to get maximum revenue out of it. I also provide them consultancy by guiding them to add this features & functionality to make their application better than their competitors.

·        Other thing which I have faced many a times, while I am on the call with client  they are not aware about what exactly they want to develop. So, I always  try to make them speak about what they really want. While having conversation like this, client actually come to know about what he really want. So while talking and explaining his/her needs I make them clear. And then I give them suggestions/guidance that they should go for this and not to go for the solution they are asking for.

·        Believe me, client will be very happy and they just love this kind of consultancy which will make their way clear !  

§         Business Requirement Document : Making the Business Requirement Document(BRD)  with all the requirements understood from the client.

§         Time Estimation/Project Time : Based on the understanding the project’s complexity and the criticality  I have to put the required effort estimation of the project. Firstly I will provide a ballpark time & estimation and once he approves it I will give them an exact time and quote.

§         Quote/Project Cost : Giving the project cost is really very crucial as all clients becomes very sensitive at this place. Making client convince for the quote I am offering is exactly inline with the effort which we are going to put in the project. Project Cost should always at par with the man effort taken/resource used and the time taken for the development  of the project.

·        Constant Follow up :

o       I have to do follow up with clients regularly.

·        Making Proposals :

o        Once client is confirmed to award a project, I will make WBS(Work Breakdown Structure) / Feature List/Risk Estimation (FE/RI) sheet as to be on the same page for client and me.

o       They will also get clear as to what they will get from us and what we will provide them. Once this becomes inline with each other, no problem will occur after the project went into the development phase.

Project Handover :

•        Once all the document is viewed and agreed by the client, I make a handover sheet to send to all the relevant Project Managers and Project co-ordinators.

Project Management System :

•              Basecamp provides a very good platform for Project Management where clients and developers can interact with each other with the ease of use. I upload all the documents and give access to the Project stakeholders and client.

My Career Experience

 

I have been working as a Business Analyst for iPhone. Well, i have started from as an Analyst for web. But since my Reporting Manager has provided me an opportunity to work with iPhone Team. I have been shifted to Mobile Division. Till now my experience has been in following different areas.

• Pre sales analysis, 
• Requirement Gathering,
• Client Orientation,
• Use Case preparation, BRD(Business Requirement Document), Proposals,
• Drafting execution plan to clients
• Project Assessment,
• Scoping, Documentation,
• Budgeting,
• Resource Allocation,
• Project Kickoff,
• Coordination with Design, Development And Accounts Department
• Implementation Training,
• Launch ,
• Post-Launch Reviews

Domains worked

• Real Estate
• Medical
• Travel
• Ecommerce

Still this is a very shallow knowledge i have gained in my career  till now ! I wanted to gather it as much as i can by working in different domains in Analysis. I wanted to dig deeply in the Area of Analysis to gain the core knowledge of Analysis.

Yeah, i know that my dream point is still very far away from me from Analyst to Project Management. Well, i am very much interested in the following Areas of Project Management. I need to step to the ladder from Analyst –> Project Managers. :)

 

Stay tuned !

The Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager

 

 

I was reading a very good article related to Project Managers and Business Analyst. And then thought to share it with you…I have put it inline.

 

The Project Manager is often considered to be the first point of contact for the project and is solely responsible for the project’s success or failure.

Please note that this is an important distinction between the project manager and business analyst’s duties, roles or responsibilities.

This distinction means that you have to be wired a certain way or learn to take full responsibility for the outcome of your projects without making any excuses!

• This also means that as the project manager, you will be responsible for overseeing all the phases of a software development or information technology project unlike a business analyst who is tasked with gathering requirements at the inception or beginning phases of a project.

• Another important distinction is that, as the project manager you will also be responsible for establishing time-lines or ensuring that your projects are completed on time and under budget.

• Finally, the Project Manager allocates resources to a project, monitors significant milestones as the project progresses and manages risks and costs to ensure that there are no budget overruns.

To achieve these goals, the Project Manager works with a correct or comprehensive set of customer requirements provided by the business analyst.

This last statement means that the Project Manager has to collaborate or depend on the Business Analyst’s requirements elicitation and management skills.

If this collaboration works out well, then the correct and complete set of project requirements are provided to the software development or information technology project team … if not, then the project is doomed from inception!

 

The Roles and Responsibilities of a Business Analyst

1. Like the Project Manager, the Business Analyst also spends most of the time working with end users, stakeholders or management.

2. Unlike the Project Manager, whose attention is all over the phases and tasks of the Project, the business analyst focuses mainly on the requirements for the project.

3. Because the business analyst is tasked with gathering requirements, he or she ends up focusing on the minute details of what the end user wants, documenting requirements with very detailed reports that measure goals and outcomes, validating requirements or communicating requirements in precise ways to developers using tools like User stories, Use Cases and UML

In essence, the Business Analyst ends up bridging the technical or business communication gap between the software development or project implementation teams and the management, executive or business teams.

What are the similarities and differences between a Project Manager and a Business Analyst’s Job?

There is a good deal of speculation and confusion on the 2 roles leading to the assumption in some circles that project managers can gather requirements or that business analysts can manage resources!

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Each of these is a rigorous, methodical discipline that may share some body of knowledge with the other, but are functionally, completely different.

1. Project Managers manage all the resources assigned to project and they carry the final authority on who does what. They usually have the ability to hire or fire resources and for delegating tasks or responsibilities.

2. Business analysts on the other hand, manage the business, end-user, customers or stakeholder requirements and in reality, they report to the project manager, just like the software developers, testers or any other resource assigned to the project.

3. Both business analysts and project managers understand the software development life cycle, both of them serve as points of contact for the project and both of them communicate with management or stakeholders.

4. Both of these are also responsible for accurately defining the scope of the project.

However, even here, there is still a qualitative difference … while the business analyst is concerned with the minutiae of the requirements, the project manager is focused on the big picture, and on delivering a project that fulfills the requirements under schedule and on budget.

On this last point, I would like to stress that in an ideal world, there would be no adversarial relationship between a project manager and his/her business analysts because like any successful leader knows, “war is worn by wise counsel” and the business analyst is the project manager’s wise counsel.

Another key difference between these 2 roles is that at the onset of a project, the business analyst implements feasibility and cost/benefit analysis studies before the project manager is even hired!

Finally, I would also like to add that, while the business analyst is concerned with the quality of the finished product … the Project Manager is concerned with managing the process of producing the product.

Stay tuned !

My last day Celebration with NicMates !!!

Hi friends, Yesterday being my last day at my company, i wrote an email to all my NicMates with heavy heart.  Just wanted to share it with you !

Hello NicMates,

A Very Good Morning to all of you !

Today is my last day after working with IndiaNIC since last 1.2 years; emotionally it is very hard to detach myself with IndiaNIC and all the members. But after all i am going to start my new life with new Vision and Mission, So at present I am going to stop providing my services for some time to IndiaNIC.

• My experience @ IndiaNIC :

• I cannot wait to share it with you all that it was a wonderful time i have spent with IndiaNIC wherein i learned and ramp up lot more things. And I deeply appreciate their cooperation towards me inside which i have grown my skills above and beyond.

• My Special & Heartily Thanks to :

• Sam, Sandeep Sir, Mahesh bhai who has always cooperated & guided me in a right way. Also they have enabled my Life's Vision and Objective more clear and motivated me to reach there. My Special Thanks to Sam who has given me an opportunity to work with iPhone team. And i would really appreciate that i can continue working with them again so that i can share their Vision of making IndiaNIC a world wide company and at the same time i can also get a change to continue to expand & nurture my skills of umbrella. I would also like to thanks to Sharadbhai and Mihir bhai for their kind cooperation.

• Special Thanks to HR , Finance Team Admin Team, Network Team :
  • Special thanks to Pradeep Sir, Ashish bhai, Rakesh Panchal, Ali, Aarti mam, Ajay bhai, Himadri, Dinesh, Satish  for their ever support.
    

• Special Thanks to all My colleagues :
  • Zalak, Meghna, Komal Mistry, Dhara, Bijal, Jhanvi, Shraddha, Komal Modi, Mou, Minal, Pooja, Nirali, Zinal,  Kalpesh bhai, Karan, Shoaib bhai, Joy, Nimesh bhai, Sagar, Ankur, Zahid bhai, Krish, Rox, Jitendra, Dhara, Upendra, Piyush, Sandeep(DM), Jitu, Jitendra bhai, Krushna bhai, Ilesh, Pragnesh, Jaydev, Umang for making my tenure memorable @ IndiaNIC.

I would remember all the memorable events like Manali Trip, Cricket Match, IndiaNIC's 10th anniversary and many more organized by IndiaNIC.
Last but not least, I would say that it's my burning desire to work with IndiaNIC again in near future !
Well, my friends had really made my last day a memorable one. I have also post replies when i have send this email across.

My Reporting Manager wrote to me : Hello Sejal, Assets: To me you as a colleagues  working with me have been very big Assets, it will make myself very Cheap If i start quantifying in numbers as what contribution an Asset brings to organisation.  I personally see a powerful lady in you and I am sure you will create big impacts in society and people around you.   Indeed, Life is dynamic and it has to find its own path and means like river and keep moving.  For me its just first day and now you have a background and logics to move forward in your life.  I wish you all the best for your future/career and I look forward meeting you once I am back in India. Our department feels proud of you.

Department Head wrote to me : Dear Sejal, It was great working with for all these time together and now today its a day to depart. Wishing you all the very best for your future in all the areas. I will cherish all the good moments we shared together.

We had a very good celebration. Here are some of snaps with my mates !!!

All my lunch time friends !!! I miss all’s while i will take my lunch ! :(
	Me with Reporting Manager

Thanks a ton to all my colleagues ! I am very much thankful to all of you !

Alphabets of Success

 

Learn the ABCD of Success by a great person !

del.icio.us Tags: Success,Alhapbets of Success

Stay Tuned !

Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)

 

While gathering and elicitation of the requirement form the clients, many clients asks me about what is WBS. So, for them, here i have outlined it as per my view in a very simple terms about it. After reading this i am sure even a novice person will understand the excerpts out of it.

WBS typically means “Mapping the project work” , “Break the deliverable down into manageable chunks”, “Schedule of Project”

What is WBS ?

•  A Work Breakdown Structure is a elaborated/detailed list of all the features/things/tasks that are needed to be delivered and the activities that need to be carried out to successfully complete the any project.
• Basically WBs is nothing but a common understanding of the project in terms of structures and points.
• There can be multiple features/sub-tasks under one task. That means descending level of WBS which in turn elaborate the description of minute project elements which needs to be considered.
• WBS is also used as Feature list/Risk Issues (FE/RI) which list down all the feature lists along with the risk issues and the men effort which needs to put in to develop the particular feature/task.

For whom this WBS is ? This technique is often used by Project Managers during the formal project planning methodologies.

What WBS contains ?Typically WBS contains Scope, Project Deliverables, Resources, Process, Milestones, Assumptions, Time line , Total Cost, Contingency hours, Risk Issues, Comments from PM Team & Client etc.

Why to create WBS ?

• Carry transparency between Client & Project Management Team :
• While creating WBS, Project Managers and other stakeholders will be very much clear about as to what they have to provide you to their potential client.
• At the same time, client when receives it, becomes very clear as what he will receive from the PM Team.
• So, in nutshell, to be on the same page, WBS plays a vital role.
• WBS adds value while being with the Project Scope Document.
• WBS can be one part of either Project Scope Document/Business Requirement Document or can be a standalone document.
• Before the project will be started, if WBS is in place then client will feel very sure about the deliverables they will get after the completion of the project.
• In case, if PM team has not developed and deliver the project as per communicated and agreed upon, they can raise the objection while showing the WBS to PM Team.
• Even for the development team keeps WBS in front of them while developing it ensure that they will not forget any critical things.
• PM Team will be very clear that they are not going to provide any thing which are not written in the WBS.

Thus, WBS really helps !

How to make WBS :

There are various tools available to create WBS. For example, Microsoft Visio, Microsoft Excel(P.S. – its very easy to use)

Some snaps of WBS to visualize:

Hope, this much information will add on the value to understand WBS.

del.icio.us Tags: Work Breakdown Structure,Business Analysis,Feturelist,FERI

Stay tuned !