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On a far too regular basis, I come across organisations and teams sometimes trapped into a troublesome relationship with a software supplier, due to going live too soon.
You might reasonably ask what I mean by ‘too soon’.
The client might be rushing to meet a deadline, some logical reason like another solution going end of life for example, or a platform they have committed to leave. Alternatively, a CEO, director or other senior manager might have ‘made a decree’ a certain date needs to be hit. I have also worked with sites who are changing location quickly and that has been the driver.
While its great to meet deadlines, they need to be set sensibly and planned in advance sufficiently to be determined to be practically achievable. Its been my job sometimes to have to stop folk in their tracks and tell my client to rethink the plan, as either supplier or client have not sufficiently estimated/assessed their limits. Indeed on occasion, I have asked suppliers 4 or 5 times, are they absolutely sure these promised milestones can be achieved, before getting dates written into contracts, with hefty penalties and service credits. Even at that late stage, its sometimes waved through, than re-thought.
The other elephant in the room is UAT - User Acceptance Testing.
If UAT is lightweight, or issues are not diligently collated and suppliers are challenged to fix before go-live, clients can be persuaded, urged or pushed to go-live prematurely. This can lead to a situation where there’s live running, issues coming out of the woodwork causing wasted effort, workarounds and duplication, that could have most likely been reasonably ironed out before go-live. In addition, useful features may be de-scoped, left for later, that may have been essential for an efficient go-live.
Another essential step I recommend is to have your managers/stakeholder leaders sign off the decision to go-live. Not just ICT or a single team close to the project. Ensure all stakeholders are represented and have a voice, in an honest Go/No-Go decision.
Is a pre-mature go-live in the suppliers interest?
Well a cynic might say yes, as there is usually a hefty payment milestone dependant on go-live (to what ever degree it was ‘successful’). Also, once you are live, you are essentially for most purposes, ‘trapped’ into that solution and supplier. Any pre-leverage is minimised and the client is at the mercy of the kindness of the software supplier.
Also, beware of what a ‘go-live’ really means. Are you truly live with everything expected, or were certain aspects/modules/features descoped because they were not ready, not written, waiting for ‘a sprint’ or just ‘difficult’. These should be warning signs in any software or transformation project. From the initial procurement, be clear what the expectations are on both sides of the relationship. Dont be fooled by talk of a so-called 'Agile Approach' will make it all right. Look how the UC rollout fared !
If you are having problems defining those initial expectations, struggling with UAT, pressure to go-live or suffering the aftereffects of a scrappy go-live, feel free to get in touch!
I will bring plenty of Ginger Nuts ☕😋
Related Post: Ever wonder if you could test less and get away with it in UAT?
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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.
Utopia- Trapped.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009
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