10% Pistol

If you do the X / Bluesky thing, follow me at @HousingITguy or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

The project last 10%. Where optimism goes to die.

If you've worked in #socialhousing #ICT for any length of time, you'll have heard those immortal words: "The project's 90% complete." Lovely. That's reassuring, isn't it? Particularly when it's been 90% complete for the last six months, the go-live date has moved three times and the Project Board is still being treated to a sea of green RAG statuses. In Manchester, we'd probably call that taking the p*ss. In project management circles, apparently it's called 'making excellent progress'. Also, I am always dubious of anything meeting round multiples of ten, not much else in life manages that.

The problem is that 90% of what, exactly? Configuration? Development? UAT? The supplier's invoice milestones? A Housing Management System (iHMS) or CRM implementation isn't finished because somebody has configured 200 screens, 250 config items (in a big crazy spreadsheet then replicated it in a live database), written a few interfaces and demonstrated a process using three carefully selected test records. It's finished when real housing staff, Neighbourhood officers and the rest of the good folk at the coalface, can do real housing jobs with real data. Unfortunately, that inconvenient little detail tends to get buried somewhere beneath an impressive PowerPoint presentation and a spreadsheet full of reassuring percentages & RAG ratings.

Then comes User Acceptance Testing (UAT), where reality has an unfortunate habit of gatecrashing the party. Suddenly the migrated tenancy data doesn't quite match, the finance interface has developed a mind of its own, repairs processes fall over when faced with anything remotely complicated, and the reports that everyone assumed were included turn out to be somebody else's responsibility. Meanwhile, the handful of business SMEs who actually understand how the organisation works are expected to test everything while carrying on with their normal jobs. But don't worry guys, we're still 90% complete. Apparently the other 10% includes most of the things essentially needed to run the business.

And let's talk about governance. Too many Project Boards are fed a sanitised diet of carefully polished optimism, where red risks become (late) amber issues, amber issues become green actions, and anything particularly embarrassing gets reclassified as a 'future enhancement' or 'technical debt'. The original go-live date quietly disappears, replaced by a 'revised delivery roadmap', which sounds much nicer than admitting we're late. Nobody wants to be the miserable ejit pointing out that the Emperor isn't wearing any clothes, particularly when there's a supplier insisting everything is under control and a senior sponsor who's already announced the launch to the organisation. Often I have worked at that Critical Friend that holds an essential mirror up to the project. Not having a dog in the fight means I work totally independently, bringing truth and potential fixes.

Here's a radical suggestion. Stop asking what percentage of the project is complete and start asking whether the bloody thing works. Can an income officer manage arrears properly? Can a repairs planner raise, schedule and complete a job without performing acts of digital gymnastics? Can customer services see an accurate picture of the tenant? Do the integrations work, has the migrated data been reconciled, and have actual users signed off the end-to-end processes? Are we genuinely ready to operate and support the system? If the answers are no, then spare us the 90% nonsense. A project is either ready for go-live or it isn't. There's no special prize for having the greenest dashboard in the room.

The uncomfortable truth is that the last 10% can easily consume more time, money and goodwill than the first 90%. That's where all the shortcuts, assumptions, optimistic estimates and decisions kicked down the road come home to roost. A successful housing IT project isn't one that's been declared almost finished for the best part of a year. It's one that delivers something useful, reliable and fit for purpose for the people who actually have to use it. So next time someone announces that their project is 90% complete, ask them what's left, who's responsible and when it'll genuinely be finished. And if the answer involves a 'short period of stabilisation', 'some minor outstanding dependencies' and 'a small number of workarounds', you might want to put the kettle on. 

Good chance, you're going to be there a while.

Are you close to going out for new housing system(s)? - We got you 

Give me a call, I will drop in for a brew & bring the Fox's extra chocolatey ☕

       Related Post: Ever felt your supplier is holding you hostage in your implementation?

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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.

Black Keys - Ten Cent Pistol

(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here , what projects do we get involved in? Access them here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.

File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveF,ActiveFinance,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Affinity,Aidenn,Agile,Agile365,AHB,AirWatch,Alscient,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,BrikHousing,Browser Applications,BC, Business Central, Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of 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from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HCL,HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management,Homeswapper,Housing jigsaw,HousingOne,Housing-One, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IPC,iProperty Cloud,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfinityGroup,InfoBoss,Infoshare+,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab,InclineIT, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,Keynamics, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz,Looking Local, M3,MadeTech,Manifest Software Solutions,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MRI,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Microsoft365,microsoft 365,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,More IQ,MoreIQ,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid,MoreIQ, MRI,MRI/Capita,MRI Housing One, NDL,NINTEX,NINTEX workflow,NPS,NPS ASSIST,NPS Housing,NPS Job Manager Mobile,NROSH,Natural,Neighbourhoods and Communities,Nintexworkflow,Northgate,Northgate Codeman,Northgate Public Services,Notice, OA,OGC Buying Solutions,OJEU Limits,ORS,Ohms,OmFax,Omni,Omniledger,One,OneAdvanced,OneServe,Open source,OpenContractor,OpenHousing,Opti-time,Options,Optitime,Oracle,Orchard,Outsource and outsourcing,OutSystems, PIMMS,PIMSS Data,PM,PRINCE2,Paloma,Pamwin,PanConnect,People Value,Peoplevalue,PfH,Pick,PlanForm,Planned maintenance,Plentific,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propeller,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QLX, QLF, QL Yuneo,QuantSpark,Qube,QLX,Qlikview,QueryView,Queryview reporting,Quiss, RM865,ROCC,ROCC Orchestrator , ROCC Tracker, RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,ROCC Attend,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rubix,ROCC, Rocket,Rubixx, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,Sava,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions, Solvares, Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys,Streetwise, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System 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. . . . . . . . . . . . ES | FR | DE | IT | UK

 

Pioneer To The Falls

If you do the X / Bluesky thing, follow me at @HousingITguy or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

Only the other week I was reminded there is a useful little trick when watching a housing software demonstration, particularly from those bigger suppliers out there hoovering up applications like there is no tomorrow. 

While everyone else is admiring the shiny dashboards, brightly coloured tiles and suspiciously flawless customer journey, have a quick glance at the browser’s URL bar. It can tell you rather more than the suppliers death by PowerPoint does.

What is being presented as one seamless, fully integrated supplier platform may actually be several separately acquired products, still running on different domains, different technology stacks and, occasionally, entirely different login arrangements. The supplier may have applied the same colour palette, added its logo in the top corner and carefully rehearsed the demonstration so nobody notices the joins, that's the smoke & mirrors. 

It is the software equivalent of badge engineering. New grille, fresh paintwork and a familiar badge on the bonnet, but quite a lot underneath has come from somewhere else entirely. Like the 1980s Triumph Acclaim, that was really just a (very reliable) Honda Ballade underneath. Probably one of the best cars British Leyland never built actually! 

There is nothing inherently wrong with acquired products. Buying a decent application can add useful functionality to a wider product suite much faster than attempting to build the whole thing from scratch. The problem starts when the demonstration implies a level of integration, maturity and live customer use that has not yet been achieved. Its not just housing systems either, HR/Payroll, Asset Management & others all can suffer from this phenomenon. 

The demonstrator moves confidently from CRM into housing management, repairs, scheduling, mobile working/field service, payments and reporting. Screens open, data appears and nobody has to type the same tenant reference into four different systems. It all looks sexy & marvellous, and the natural assumption is that several other landlords must already be running this exact combination successfully.

Sometimes they clearly are not.

One customer may use the CRM. Another may use the repairs module. Somebody else may have implemented the mobile application. There may even be a landlord trialing the scheduler. But the complete collection of products being demonstrated may never have operated together in a live housing environment.

That is a rather different proposition. A landlord can believe it is buying a proven integrated platform, only to discover halfway through implementation that it is actually the first organisation attempting to deploy that exact mixture of products, interfaces, data flows and business processes. At that point, the word “customer” quietly becomes “pioneer”. We have all seen them in the Hollywood cowboy films, generally the ones with the arrows in their backs!

Suppliers generally prefer more uplifting terminology. Strategic partner. Early adopter. Design partner. Lighthouse customer. All lovely phrases. They can also mean you are helping them finish the product (or maybe start it!).

Being first is not automatically a disaster. It can bring greater influence over the roadmap, more attention from senior supplier staff and an opportunity to shape how the solution develops. It can also bring considerably more testing, integration risk, consultancy days, workarounds and meetings involving sentences such as, “That might be available in the next sprint/release.”

You may also discover that things you reasonably regarded as defects are being logged as enhancement requests. Apparently, expecting two products sold as an integrated suite to exchange information correctly can sometimes be quite an ambitious customer requirement.

The key question during any demonstration is therefore not simply, “Can the system do this?” Most suppliers can make something appear to work for 12 minutes in a controlled demonstration using carefully prepared data.

The better question is, “Which live customer is using this exact combination, in this exact way, today?”

Not a customer using one of the modules. Not a customer planning to implement it next year. Not a customer who has signed a contract but has yet to go live. Not somebody who attended a webinar and said it looked promising.

A real, live customer using the same products, the same integrations and broadly the same processes, at a comparable scale. Then ask to speak to them.

If nobody can be named, the demonstration has not necessarily shown you a proven integrated solution. It may simply have shown you a rather attractive experiment.

….and you may be about to pioneer it all the way to the falls.

Are you lumbered with legacy solutions & unsure whats out there ? 

Give me a call, I will drop in for a brew & bring the chocolate gingers ☕

       Related Post: Make the most of demos, ask the right questions and understand the answers

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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.

Interpol - Pioneer To The Falls

(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here , what projects do we get involved in? Access them here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.

File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveF,ActiveFinance,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Affinity,Aidenn,Agile,Agile365,AHB,AirWatch,Alscient,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,BrikHousing,Browser Applications,BC, Business Central, Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica Saffron,Clearview,Clik,Cx Assets, Cloud Dialogs,CloudDialogs,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Commontime,Community Reward Services,Company,Competitive Dialogue process,Component Accounting,Consilium,Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Consultants,Contact Manager,Context,Contractor Systems,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,Crystal Reports,Customer Relationship Management,Cx,CxFeedback, DRS,Deeplake,Datatank,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Docuware,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365,D365,Dynamics365,Dynaway ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Esuasive,Esynergy,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, F&O, Facebook,Factorwise,Fast Lean Smart, Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,FLS,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Fuzzlab Gas Tag,G-Cloud,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HCL,HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management,Homeswapper,Housing jigsaw,HousingOne,Housing-One, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IPC,iProperty Cloud,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfinityGroup,InfoBoss,Infoshare+,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab,InclineIT, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,Keynamics, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz,Looking Local, M3,MadeTech,Manifest Software Solutions,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MRI,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Microsoft365,microsoft 365,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,More IQ,MoreIQ,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid,MoreIQ, MRI,MRI/Capita,MRI Housing One, NDL,NINTEX,NINTEX workflow,NPS,NPS ASSIST,NPS Housing,NPS Job Manager Mobile,NROSH,Natural,Neighbourhoods and Communities,Nintexworkflow,Northgate,Northgate Codeman,Northgate Public Services,Notice, OA,OGC Buying Solutions,OJEU Limits,ORS,Ohms,OmFax,Omni,Omniledger,One,OneAdvanced,OneServe,Open source,OpenContractor,OpenHousing,Opti-time,Options,Optitime,Oracle,Orchard,Outsource and outsourcing,OutSystems, PIMMS,PIMSS Data,PM,PRINCE2,Paloma,Pamwin,PanConnect,People Value,Peoplevalue,PfH,Pick,PlanForm,Planned maintenance,Plentific,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propeller,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QLX, QLF, QL Yuneo,QuantSpark,Qube,QLX,Qlikview,QueryView,Queryview reporting,Quiss, RM865,ROCC,ROCC Orchestrator , ROCC Tracker, RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,ROCC Attend,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rubix,ROCC, Rocket,Rubixx, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,Sava,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions, Solvares, Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys,Streetwise, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,TAIM,Techlabs,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Tilt,TiltAffinity,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visitour,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voicescape,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, Yuneo,TS Acutance Consulting, ...

. . . . . . . . . . . . ES | FR | DE | IT | UK

Barfly

If you do the X / Bluesky thing, follow me at @HousingITguy or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

There is something properly refreshing about seeing a software company do something a bit different and actually mean it. 

Far too much of the social housing (or maybe ‘Real Estate’ 🤔) systems world still feels like it is run from the same old script. Same polite corporate waffle. Same safe office parks. Same legacy thinking with a bit of new AI branding chucked on top and called transformation. So when the Rubixx folks, a UK software house decides that the right next step is not some identikit glass box, but an ex-country club in Staffordshire, and the FT writes about it    that gets my attention straight away.

And honestly, good on them.

There is a confidence in that sort of move. It says we are not trying to cosplay Silicon Valley from a business park off M6 junction 15. Doing our own thing, in our own way, on our own patch. In proper potbank oatcake land too, which only adds to the charm. Stoke-on-Trent City Council apparently seem to like the mood music as well, and fair enough. If you are trying to bring jobs, energy, innovation and a bit of life into an area, you could do a lot worse than backing a growing UK software business that is clearly not short of ambition and attitude.

What I particularly like is that this is not style over substance. It would be easy enough for some firms to get attention with a quirky office and then have nothing behind the curtain except a beanbag, company strapline on the backwall, a neon sign and a waterfall product roadmap held together with hope. But that is not the story here. In about three and a half years they have produced three genuinely modern SaaS browser-based products across Housing, Finance and Support Planning. Full cloud. Proper Responsive Browser. Modern delivery. Over 30 live customers. And, from what I keep seeing & hearing, a very decent number of them are not just live, but actually happy. In housing software, that is not a small thing. That is the bit worth pausing on.

Because as we know, anybody can sell the dream in a demo. Plenty do. The trick is in migration, delivery, cutover, support, stabilisation and whether the customer still sounds cheerful once the consultants have gone home and the final invoices have landed. That is where things get real.

Over Easter I was involved in helping a good-sized and complex provider in Scotland get live with Rubixx housing and finance. That sort of go-live does not happen by accident. It takes nerve, hard graft, responsiveness, teamwork, supplier effort, customer effort, and a willingness to deal with the awkward realities rather than just admire the PowerPoint. So when I see a supplier building momentum and getting complex organisations live successfully, I take that seriously. It matters more than polished sales patter ever will.

And perhaps that is the bigger point. The housing sector does not need more fake modernity. It does not need another tired old platform with a thin browser wrapper and a fresh logo pretending to be born in the cloud. It needs suppliers who can think differently, build properly, implement competently and support customers like they matter. It needs suppliers that feel like they are moving forwards, not just charging annual maintenance on yesterday’s architecture while telling everyone “to be patient”.

So yes, the country club thing made me smile.

In truth it gave me a slight flashback to the 1980s, when work culture in some places still involved the odd liquid lunch and a level of informality that would send today’s HR departments into cardiac arrest. I am not necessarily recommending a full return to three pints and a prawn cocktail before a finance workshop, but there is something appealing about a software business whose workplace has a bar on site. It beats the usual modern corporate bribe of a sad fruit bowl, a branded hoodie and the once-a-month Friday pizza session that everyone is expected to be wildly grateful for. If they are really serious, they will make sure the bar includes some proper real ale and not just the usual fashionable fizzy nonsense. As a CAMRA member, I feel duty bound to mention that. Of course if getting Cask Marque certified might be one step beyond, maybe just some interesting bottles & cans might suffice. As Frank Cartwright told Brian Potter in Phoenix Nights, “they are the future” !

But beyond the humour, there is a serious point here too. Culture matters. Environment matters, standing by your promises matters. The physical place a company chooses says something about how it sees itself. A former country club is not just a gimmick if it helps attract staff, gives customers a memorable experience, creates a bit of buzz and reflects a business that is prepared to be bold. In a sector where too many suppliers still feel like they were assembled by committee, a bit of personality goes a long way.

And I suspect customers notice that difference.

Housing providers have spent years being told to make do with legacy platforms, sluggish development, shrinking dev teams, expensive change requests still on hold and the general sense that they should be grateful for whatever turns up in the next release cycle. So when they encounter a supplier that feels more modern, more human and more switched on, it stands out. When they then go live and start seeing benefits, the contrast with older, almost Mesozoic Era supplier experiences becomes even sharper.

That is why this matters beyond one interesting office move. It is a sign, perhaps, that some parts of the housing software market are growing up a bit. Becoming bolder. More confident. More willing to challenge the old order. Not by shouting loudly, but by building, delivering and steadily winning contracts and trust.

There is room for that in this sector. More than room, actually. There is a need for it.

So yes, fair play. A growing UK software house, no offshoring, modern cloud products, strong customer momentum, and an HQ that sounds more like somewhere you might actually want to visit than a beige office cube with bad coffee and worse acoustics. That is different thinking. And in a housing systems world that can still be painfully conservative, different thinking done well is something to celebrate.

Now then, if the next customer briefing starts with a decent pint of real ale in the clubhouse bar, or a bottled Impy Stout rather than a curled-up sandwich and a stale biscuit, I may start insisting all software procurement's are run that way. Some old traditions are worth keeping.

Are you lumbered with legacy solutions & unsure whats out there ? 

Give me a call, I will drop in for a brew & bring the Tunnocks Teacakes ☕

       Related Post: Remember that soft-market exploration is a great way to see whats out there.

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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.

Ray LaMontagne - Barfly

(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here , what projects do we get involved in? Access them here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.

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Sorted

If you do the X / Bluesky thing, follow me at @HousingITguy or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

There is a special kind of optimism found only in software supplier helpdesks. Not that anyone often has a good word for internal or external ones these days. It is the optimism that says a problem affecting real users, doing real jobs, on a wet Tuesday afternoon, can be marked as “resolved” because a future software release might, possibly, allegedly, include something that sounds a bit like a fix. Not fixed now, OBVs. Not fixed in the version the customer is actually using. Not fixed in any way that stops Doris in rents, Ahmed in repairs, or Lisa in the contact centre from having to invent a daily workaround involving three browser tabs, a spreadsheet, and a quiet swear. But fixed in spirit. Fixed on the roadmap. Fixed in that wonderful fantasy kingdom where version 12.4.7 is coming soon, all known issues have vanished, and everyone lives happily ever after in a clean release note.

I do have some sympathy, because many years ago when on the supplier darkside I did a week each month on a software helpdesk myself, so I know the pressure to keep queues moving, manage expectations, stop calls festering, and keep the statistics looking vaguely respectable. But there is a world of difference between managing a ticket properly and making it disappear because the words “future release” have appeared in the supplier crystal ball. The customer logs a fault. The supplier investigates. Someone says, “Yes, that is a known issue.” Then, as if by magic, the ticket is closed because “this is addressed in a future roadmap release.” Lovely. Except the user is not living in a future release. They are living in today’s release, with today’s broken process, today’s complaint from a tenant, today’s arrears letter that did not generate properly, today’s repair order that won’t behave, or today’s report that produces the sort of numbers usually seen on a fruit machine. 

Closing a ticket because a fix is promised later is a bit like a garage handing your car back with the brakes still dodgy and saying, “Don’t worry, the next model has improved braking.” That may be technically interesting, but it is not terribly helpful when you are already halfway down the hill. The future fix might arrive in three months. Or six. Or it might slip into the next release, miss ‘the sprint’ altogether. Or it might fix the problem for one customer configuration but not another. Or it might fix the obvious symptom while leaving the underlying daftness ( & data wibble ) untouched, like painting over damp/mould and calling it a housing regeneration strategy. And, of course, once the ticket is closed, the supplier’s statistics look better. Fewer open issues. Better resolution times. Tidier dashboard. A warm little glow in the service review pack. Meanwhile, back in the actual organisation, the workaround is still alive and well, staff are still wasting time, managers are still chasing, confidence in the system and supplier is still being slowly sanded down, and the customer has not received anything like a fix. They have received a promissory note with a version number on it.

There is a simple principle here. If the customer still experiences the problem, the issue is not closed. It may be linked to a future release. It may be awaiting development. It may have a target fix version. It may even have a workaround. But it is not resolved. Maybe suppliers need more honest ticket statuses, such as “awaiting customer confirmation of resolution” and “awaiting upgrade/bugfix application & customer confirmation of resolution”, so everyone can see the truth of where things actually stand. That would protect suppliers from endless duplicate tickets, but also protect customers from the nonsense of problems being quietly buried before anyone on the customer side has confirmed they have gone away. 

A future release is not a fix. It is, at best, a hopeful promise. And as anyone who has worked in software for more than ten minutes knows, promises in release notes are sometimes like supplier demo dashboards: very shiny, very confident, and occasionally from the same broad family as fiction.

Suffering a legacy supplier and a less than optimal helpdesk? 

Give me a call, I will drop in with the Hobnobs and we can share some war stories ☕

       Related Post: Ever experienced a proper 24/7 international help desk?

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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.

Pulp – Sorted for E’s and Whiz

(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here , what projects do we get involved in? Access them here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.

File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveF,ActiveFinance,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Affinity,Aidenn,Agile,Agile365,AHB,AirWatch,Alscient,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,BrikHousing,Browser Applications,BC, Business Central, Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica Saffron,Clearview,Clik,Cx Assets, Cloud Dialogs,CloudDialogs,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Commontime,Community Reward Services,Company,Competitive Dialogue process,Component Accounting,Consilium,Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Consultants,Contact Manager,Context,Contractor Systems,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,Crystal Reports,Customer Relationship Management,Cx,CxFeedback, DRS,Deeplake,Datatank,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Docuware,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365,D365,Dynamics365,Dynaway ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Esuasive,Esynergy,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, F&O, Facebook,Factorwise,Fast Lean Smart, Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,FLS,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Fuzzlab Gas Tag,G-Cloud,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HCL,HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management,Homeswapper,Housing jigsaw,HousingOne,Housing-One, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IPC,iProperty Cloud,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfinityGroup,InfoBoss,Infoshare+,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab,InclineIT, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,Keynamics, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz,Looking Local, M3,MadeTech,Manifest Software Solutions,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MRI,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Microsoft365,microsoft 365,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,More IQ,MoreIQ,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid,MoreIQ, MRI,MRI/Capita,MRI Housing One, NDL,NINTEX,NINTEX workflow,NPS,NPS ASSIST,NPS Housing,NPS Job Manager Mobile,NROSH,Natural,Neighbourhoods and Communities,Nintexworkflow,Northgate,Northgate Codeman,Northgate Public Services,Notice, OA,OGC Buying Solutions,OJEU Limits,ORS,Ohms,OmFax,Omni,Omniledger,One,OneAdvanced,OneServe,Open source,OpenContractor,OpenHousing,Opti-time,Options,Optitime,Oracle,Orchard,Outsource and outsourcing,OutSystems, PIMMS,PIMSS Data,PM,PRINCE2,Paloma,Pamwin,PanConnect,People Value,Peoplevalue,PfH,Pick,PlanForm,Planned maintenance,Plentific,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propeller,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QLX, QLF, QL Yuneo,QuantSpark,Qube,QLX,Qlikview,QueryView,Queryview reporting,Quiss, RM865,ROCC,ROCC Orchestrator,RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,ROCC Attend,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rubix,ROCC, Rocket,Rubixx, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,Sava,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions, Solvares, Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys,Streetwise, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,TAIM,Techlabs,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Tilt,TiltAffinity,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visitour,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voicescape,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, Yuneo,TS Acutance Consulting, ...

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