Many times clients come to us with problems that they would like technology to solve and of course we are more than eager to help. As an e-solutions provider we could easily say let’s take on the project, give the client exactly what they need and invoice (evil grin). However, at the root of many requests lies inefficient or non-existent Business Processes. The best of applications and software could never effectively solve the problems arising out of such a scenario. It is like changing the roof on a house with a bad foundation or applying a fresh coat of paint on a car with a seized engine or a nose ring on a pig or… ok you’ve got the point. The analysis phase of the software development cycle must never be underestimated. Ignoring it could already be costing you millions.
We have seen major corporations procure spanking new million dollar software only to realise during implementation that the problem was not the old software but the persons who were using it had no idea what were the business processes. Changes were made at the whim and fancy of anyone who used the system. The main reason things were done a certain way was that the Old School Boss (now retired and no where in the picture) at the time said SO! Many times major decisions are made based on a corridor conversation between two executives who then instruct the Software Admin to make changes forthwith (or else his or her renewal of contract is in jeopardy). This usually results in duplicate records, cross-matches and basically data with no integrity. The reports generated from this corrupted data are then presented at the next Annual General Meeting and used to make Business decisions that cost you further millions. The old adage holds true, “Garbage in, Garbage Out”. In other words there must be documented business processes that underlie any software solution.