Buying In – BzzAgents and Volunteer Marketers

Posted on by
Reply

Just finished the book, “Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are” by Rob Walker who writes a column for the New York Times Magazine: “Consumed“.  Being a cheap consumer, I purchased the book second hand from the excellent local used book store (SHAVA) that we have here in St. Albert.  As a result, the book is a bit stale published in 2008; well before the financial melt down and the resulting impact on consumption.

Nevertheless, Walker is an engaging writer who walks the reader through the world of consumption, brands and fashion.  For example, who knew that the Hello Kitty mouth was too hard to express in a cute way – so it was cut from the final design in 1974 (pp. 15-16).

Hello Kitty - sans cute mouth

Hello Kitty – sans cute mouth

Or that the Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) beer was purchased in 1985 by a Texas ‘beer-baron’ whose business plan was to slash costs and let the brand “decline profitably”. PBR used to be the blue-collar beer of the working man.  Now it is the markedted blue-collar beer made en masse.

While Hello Kitty and PBR are cute and taste okay (in that order), the interesting section in his book is on volunteer product evangelists or word of mouth marketers (p. 166).  These are volunteers who work for companies like BzzAgent who employ ‘volunteers’ to talk up products.  The volunteers button-hole friends, neighbours and unsuspecting would-be consumers with encouragements to buy sausages, perfume or read particular books.  They are encouraged to post positive reviews and write glowing praise of the particular product that is being promoted.

Some of the volunteers spend as much as 10 hours a week doing the promotion, writing reports and networking with other volunteers.  This is a part-time job working for a marketing company, promoting products – all done pro bono.  Walker provides an example of one word of mouth marketer:

Gabriella and the rest of the [BzzAgent] sausage agents are not paid flunkies trying to maniplate Main Street Americans; they are Main Street Americans…. … and she gets no remuneration.  She and her many fellow agents had essentially volunteered to create “buzz” about …. dozens of … products, from books to shoes to beer to perfume.  By 2006, BzzAgent claimed to have more than 125,000 volunteer agents in its network.” (p. 168)

While these volunteers earn points for prizes – many do not cash in the points.  So what motivates them?  One BzzAgent agent Ginger explained her willingness to volunteer for the following reasons:

  • It was a chance to get products before their release (and be an insider)
  • BzzAgent gives her something to talk and opinion about with other people
  • She believes she is helping people – by promoting a specific product.

To be fair BzzAgent’s code of conduct includes an expectation that:

BzzAgents always tell others they are part of a word-of-mouth program.  Be proud to be a BzzAgent. When Bzzing others, you must let them know that you’re involved with BzzAgent and tell them what you received as part of the campaign. If you genuinely like something (or even if you don’t), it’s your open, honest opinion that counts.

Code of conduct notwithstanding, somehow it feels like BzzAgents are on the wrong side of an invisible line.  Certainly they are not boiler-room fraudsters trying to hustle little old ladies out of their life savings – but still there is a part of me that is a bit queasy about the whole word-of-mouth marketing model.

Perhaps it is because I am a ‘free-lance’ word of mouth marketer.  I promote businesses that have given me good services or products and I do so because I believe that I am being helpful.   However, I do so on products and services of my own choosing and without having to report back to the business (or an intermediary such as BzzAgent) of my efforts to date.  As well, when in the course of a normal conversation, how exactly do you interject that you are now been sponsored by the ACME corporation?  I envision a conversation like:

  • Frank’s Friend: Boy it sure hot today!
  • Frank: Sure is… oh, by the way, this part of conversation is brought to you byBzzAgent and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer or PBR.
    • Boy this PBR is sure refreshing, goes down smooth and is cheap too.  The beer of hipsters and rappers, PBR is the only beer for me. 
  • Frank: We now return to our regular conversation already in progress.
  • Frank’s Friend: Huh?  Are you okay?  I think you need to get out of the sun and stop drinking so much of the PBR swill.

Myself, I am happy to stay on this side of that invisible line and continue to promote/malign in an objective manner good/bad products and services.  Nevertheless, I would love to hear your comments – perhaps over an ice-cold and refreshing PBR, the official beer of word of mouth marketers….

Where Public Health Stops and the Nanny State Begins

Posted on by
Reply

Last week I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Talbot speak.  If you don’t know who he is but you have heard of the current measles outbreak or past-pandemics, then you know of his and his office’s work. In addition, if you get a chance to hear him speak (and hopefully not telling you that there is a quarantine on your house), be sure that you hear what he has to say.

Firstly he is an engaging and down to earth speaker who has a knack of being able to explain the complex via the simple metaphor.  Secondly he has excellent perspectives on how public health can be cheap yet effective.  Finally he has an excellent sense of the history of public health and a sense of humor.  He can tell you about the cholera outbreaks of yester-year to the current measles blip with a wry context.

So while I would encourage you to hear Dr. Talbot speak, listen as a private-citizen looking to protect your own right of choice in a free society.  Hear what he has to say on public health but ask where the public good stops and the Nanny State begins.  Here are some examples, one past and some future.  The past example is the public health battle against public smoking.  I will admit that I have had the very occasional good cigar but otherwise have never caught the smoking bug.  Thus, over the past ten years, I was ambivalent and ultimately thankful when smoking was banned in places like bars and restaurants.  In my view,assuming you have read the warnings on a cigarette package, and you are not polluting my space or kids – it was your choice to start, continue or stop smoking.  In other words, banning smoking in public places is a reasonable public health compromise of personal choice versus public good.

Fast forward now into a time when sugary drinks are perhaps the new smoking campaign.  Not only will we not be able to super-size our mega-drinks while ordering a big Muck, they pop is banned outright as a public health measure.  Because I am not a big pop drinker, perhaps I will continue to watch this change with more ambivalence.

But what about the next step beyond smokes and a glass of pop.  What happens when public health measures become so intrusive that there is a backlash against them – and good is thrown out with the bad.  Perhaps we are seeing this already with the local measles outbreak.  A virtually preventable disease making  a come back because some parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children.

In other words, public health measures which effectively reduce our choice or make decisions for us (smoking, sugary drinks) may lead to public health challenges because people are tired of having choice taken away from them.

This situation can be described in the question of where exactly does public health stop and an intrusive nanny state in the guise of public health kick in?  I don’t have an answer but it is an excellent question that I will ask Dr. Talbot the next time I hear him speak.

PP+E, Its Life, Its Verification, Its Article

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Victoria Day (the first long weekend of the traditional Canadian Summer, e.g. no snow – maybe).  In addition to celebrating a long dead monarch of the British Empire, I am also celebrating the publication of my 6th published article (an even half-dozen!).  Entitled, the IAEA Property, Plant and Equipment Lifecycle Framework (whew!), I am pleased at how it turned out.  If you want to read it right now, visit the Spring 2014 FMI-Website.

If you want some more details on the framework, be sure to check out my Director’s Cut of the Framework.  Included in the Director’s cut is a bit more detail on the Verification Framework and Attractive Assets.

Once again, thank you to my ‘friendly peer-reviewers‘ who assisted me in developing this article and to the IAEA for giving me a chance to solidify this set of ideas (and an incredible one year!).

So, enjoy the long weekend (fellow Canadians) and if you have trouble sleeping, take a read at article number 6… and now to start writing article number 7… after the long weekend!

DIY Sleep – Luddite’s Style

Posted on by
Reply

I have two shocking confessions.  The first is that my first and only smart phone to date is an employee issued Blackberry Bold.  The second is that I appear to snore – a lot.  To the second confession, I have an apology to make.  To all of those friends and family members I have shaed a room with, I am sorry about the snoring thing.  (Errr, a small explanation, room sharing means the same sleeping areas, for example a dorm in a hostel…).

The two confessions are related in the following way.  To start, I thought I had a health problem (snoring) and being a Do It Yourself (DIY) kinda guy, I went out and bought a digital voice recorder and software for analyzing sound.  Over the past few nights, I have been recording the ambient room noise and then analyzing them with the software.  I have done this to confirm that yep, I sure as heck snore.

Sound Sample from May 9th.

Sound Sample from May 9th.

The above graphic I plan to give to my family doctor physician when I see him next week.  Not sure what happens next but I do I hope to start sharing rooms with friends and family once again (in a platonic hostel-dorm sort of way).

The smart phone confession comes in when I thought, “This is brilliant, why hasn’t someone built an app for this (recording and analyzing snoring)”.  Well lo and behold, about 100 different apps available on the market (google ‘app snore sound record’ for about 700,000 hits).  Had I been more smartphone savvy and less of a Luddite, I would have realized that instead of a DIY solution, my Blackberry could have done this with an app that is either free or at most a few bucks.

Looking a head 10 years, perhaps it might be strange to your family physician if you did not show up with a record of your sleep – whether you suffered from snoring or not.  Of course the smart phone 10 years hence may also tell your doctor your average blood sugar, physical activity, pulse rate, blood pressure and karma/fung shi levels as well.  In other words, the smart phone may become our most powerful tool to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

There is an Orwellian double-edge sword here.  What happens if that information is not freely given but instead is demanded by insurance companies, employers, health authorities or governments.  This is not as much of a stretch as you think.  The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that there are 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 injuries as a result of driving drowsy.  People who do not drink or smoke get insurance breaks – why not people who sleep well?  Employers can test for drugs, why not how well you have slept over the last month?

George Orwell aside, I hope my Luddite-DIY-Snore information can help me get a better night’s sleep in the coming months.  Wish me luck!

The Origin of the Origin – Charles Darwin

Posted on by
Reply

Evolutionary theory is a key underpinning of our understanding of our natural world.  It, and its sister theories (e.g. the theory of gravity, germ theory, planetary motion, thermodynamics… well you get the idea) have given us a profound understanding of our planet and the universe.

I suspect that I am like most people in that had a fuzzy notion of who Charles Darwin was.  He took a trip on the Beagle, visit eco-tourist spots (Galapagos) and wrote a book, On the Origin of Species.  Oh, and he had a cool beard (as it turns out primarily because he had trouble shaving himself).

Charles Darwin - in old age

Charles Darwin – in old age

It turns out that Darwin was a well-respected Zoologist in his own right long before his evolutionary explosion.  Detailed in a very accessible book, Charles Darwin, Cyril Aydon, follows his life from his wealthy beginnings to, well, his wealthy end.

A key theme of Aydon’s was that Darwin was very privileged and fortunate.  He was born into a solid upper-middle class family and he had a (for the time) relatively supportive and indulgent father.  On the latter point, Darwin’s success on the Beagle was due in part to his father’s willingness to fund expeditions and the trip itself.

Upon his return, his family wealth and his need to organize the fruits of the expedition allowed him time and resources to become a well-respected zoologist and authority in his own right.  Thus his fear of being a dilettante was allayed by the quality of his earlier works.  This also gave him the necessary credibility for his work on evolution.

Two other things that I had not appreciated about Darwin were his family focus and his very poor health.  He married well into both a good dowry but also an understanding and loving companion in Emma.  They dotted on their children and it sounds like the Darwin’s was the place to go for lunch and sleep-overs if you were friends with their kids.  Darwin was a homebody partly because of very poor health (and was exacerbated by stress).

Aydon does not shy away from Darwin’s warts.  The author paints Darwin for what he was, an eccentric scientist boiling pots of animal remains to examine the creature’s skeletal structure.  His marriage to Emma was fortunate because she was self-effacing, put her husband’s needs ahead of her own and was not an intellectual force in her own right.  Also Darwin was fortunate to have boosters who promoted and defended his ideas (e.g. Thomas Huxley) when his poor health would have prevented him from doing so.

In the end, Darwin lived a good life and was productive well into his later years.  He was survived by his beloved Emma and most of his children.  Darwin contributed scientific understanding that would have made him a well-respected zoologist – and of course he started us down a path that forms much of our modern-biological understanding.

Aydon’s book, Charles Darwin, is a good and very accessible read and biography for those who want to understand the origin of the origin.

The Art of Riding Bikes

Posted on by
5

Full Disclaimer: I am not an expert on cycling.  I have never raced, mountain biking seems like too much bother and I don’t ride in -40C.  Nevertheless, I am passionate about cycling because it has allowed me to see things and meet people in contexts that generally promote conversations, beer drinking and long-term memories (okay, the last two sometimes clash).  Before reading on, insert the standard caveats about checking with a physician before starting a physical exercise program.  This blog is not intended to replace medical advice.  Use at your discretion and always employ common sense.

Cyclist descending a metal bridge that crosses two different elevations of the Wienfluss.
Maneuvering a bike over an unusual bridge crossing the Wienfluss (river) just outside of Vienna Austria.

I like to share this passion and I have run ride programs. One individual from a program asked the question about whether she bought the right bike and why she seems to be so slow.  I responded in email but to help to thwart the eventual hardening of the brain cells (too much cycling and eventual beer drinking), I thought I would throw the advice out here to for public consumption.  Feel free to weigh in (but please correct me gentle).

The Three Things to Keeping Up with the Group

Riding with a club gives you a chance to see the super-duper triathlon types and the newbies who simply want to keep up.  This advice is more for the newbie in which 40km seems daunting and 80km or more seems impossible. So, to keep up with the group you need to focus on three things: physical conditioning, equipment and technique.

Physical Conditioning

Guess what triathletes, you have this one nailed!  In the other corner are folks like me who discovered a winter bulge where one did not exist last fall (or at least I was better at ignoring it).  To ride with a group, the better fitness level the better but most people who can walk for a few hours, climb moderate hills, etc. can do well on short to moderate (40-80km’ish) rides.  So even if you have mystery winter bulges, carry on to the next two things.

Well Maintained Equipment

To bicycle you need, well, a bicycle.  Myself I tend toward the touring hybrid variety as I like to carry stuff in panniers (saddle bags), water bottles accessible while riding and fenders for my commuting bikes.  Like anything in life, the more you spend, the better quality you get and the less you will experience in break downs, etc. A reasonable starting price for a new hybrid is about $500 and a good one can be had for the $750-1,000 mark. If you are now experiencing sticker shock, remember how much a golfer pays for a good set of clubs. As for where to buy, MEC is a good starting point or any local bike shops (a plug for my local shop, Crankys in St. Albert). My experience is avoid department stores, chains or anywhere where the mechanic looks like a high school student working part-time.

Alternatively buy a very good used bike.  Pay a bit of premium by buying it through a reputable bike shop or a club sponsored bike swap, such as this one – bike swaps.

A word of caution though, bikes are like mushrooms, before you know it your one bike will soon be 2, 3 or more!

Buying the bike is only the beginning, maintaining it is even more important. Bikes are remarkable bits of machinery, they can be forgiving but when the fail – they generally do so as far from home as possible.  As a result having some basic knowledge is critical. In particular you should know how to: change both tires (front and back), wash your bike, clean and lubricate a chain and do basic lubrication of the bike. Adjustments, bearings, etc. I leave to my friendly bike shop.  If you are like my wife, you can also leave everything to your husband.

Where do you learn these skills, back to joining a club, taking part in a cycling 101 such as the one offered by the Edmonton Bicycle and Touring Club, Westend Wriders and talking to people who pretend they know things about cycling (like me!).

Six Central Techniques

Okay, you are at least minimally fit and you spent your kids college funds on a new bike – now you can keep up, right?  Maybe but probably not.  Cyclists are generally a lazy lot who like to get places while spending as little energy of their own energy as possible (and looking dazzling in spandex).  As a result, the following six techniques are critical.

Technique number one, cycling is about RPMS, not torque.  You may have seen the big guy grinding his way up a hill while a petite young lady zips past him.  If you have, you have seen the difference between revolutions per minute and torque.  When riding, you want to ideally be spinning the pedals at the same cadence (revolutions per minute) and with the same effort (light, think of gently kicking a soccer ball to a 3-year old) whether you are on the flat, the up or the down hill.  To do this, you must know how to use your gears so that your cadence and torque can remain consistent.

Technique number two – be kind to your delicate bits.  Get a comfortable saddle, riding shorts and then take the time to let your more delicate parts get used to it.  ‘Time in saddle’ is something you have to do each and every cycling season.

Technique number three – Learn to post.  Post means getting up on the pedals and riding for a distance with your delicates hovering over the instrument of torture.  Posting a few times an hour (or thereabouts) allows the blood to flow back to the pelvic floor and other nether-regions (not to be confused with the Netherlands).

Technique number four – pedal baskets or shoes.  There is only one point of energy transfer between you and the bike – the pedal.  The conventional pedal is a mediocre connection device as most of the force is only spent in the 1 to 5 o’clock position of the down stroke.  With baskets, shoes, etc, the energy transfer is possible through the entire rotation.  As a bonus, posting is alot easier with your feet attached to the pedals.

Technique number five – jettison weight.  I have to admit, I have a hard time with this one as I like to carry tools, extra water, a snack, a second camera, clothing (well you get the idea).  Unfortunately every gram of weight has to be paid for by your effort.  If you can leave stuff (and winter-bulges) behind.

Technique number six – Hydration and Nutrition.  Thanks to Joe who provided the advise below.  My own rule of thumb is to only snack on rides (e.g. no big lunches) and lots of fluids.  Joe’s advice is even more targeted:

Proper hydration and nutrition come into play long before you get thirsty or hungry. Start when you leave the parking lot and take a sip every 15 minutes, consider a quality sports drink or easily digestible carbs to conserve your glycogen. Do not eat at least 2 hours before the ride starts, since it takes that long to stabilize your blood sugar, otherwise the insulin will rob you of energy at the start.

Ride, Ride and Ride

Finally, like anything else, get out there and ride.  Not only will it reduce your winter surprises, give you time in saddle – you will also get to meet interesting people, go places – and hopefully drink some beer.

Thanks to Other Contributors

Garet H, reminding me about the benefits of posting and Greg P. reminding me about my weight (errr, carrying weight) and Joe M. about hydration and nutrition.

IM/IT Lifecycle – Co-opting COBIT

Posted on by
Reply

In early March, I introduced the Information Management/Technology (IM/IT) Lifecycle Model. Since then I have had a few comments including the question, but isn’t this simply COBIT (or ITIL or other frameworks)? In short, mostly but not entirely.

Before getting to the comparison, for those not familiar with COBIT, the following is the summary definition from the COBIT 5 Executive Summary:

Simply stated, COBIT 5 helps enterprises create optimal value from IT by maintaining a balance between realising benefits and optimising risk levels and resource use.

COBIT 5 enables information and related technology to be governed and managed in a holistic manner for the entire enterprise, taking in the full end-to-end business and functional areas of responsibility, considering the IT-related interests of internal and external stakeholders.

The COBIT 5 principles and enablers are generic and useful for enterprises of all sizes, whether commercial, not-for-profit or in the public sector.

Huh? Actually the definition is not too bad but it is also probably clearer if one goes back to COBIT 4.1. That version had a process model subdividing IT into four domains: 1. Plan and Organize, 2. Acquire and Implement, 3. Deliver and Support, and 4. Monitor and Evaluate. These four domains roughly map to:

IM/IT Lifecycle Steps COBIT 4.1 – Domain
 00.Governance  IT Governance Focus Areas
01. Business Need
02. Budget Review & Approval		  1. Plan and Organize
03. Project Management 2. Acquire and Implement 
10. System Business Operation
13. IM/IT Fleet and Resource Management		 3. Deliver and Support
15. Business Need and Salvage
16. End of Life, Version Update, Change in Standards		  4. Monitor and Evaluate 
06. Invoice
09. Project Costs
07. Supplier Inventory, Construction, etc.
11. Recognized & Cost adjustments
12. Depreciation
14. De-Recognition		  Not directly included

The IM/IT Lifecycle Model includes COBIT but is more comprehensive. I believe that the model presents a more logical progression for the business manager to see the flow of events and their roles within. Finally, COBIT infers the accounting functions but does not draw them out specifically. By contrast, the IM/IT Lifecycle Model encourages the business manager, CFO or IT Manager can see the inter-relationships between the operations of IT and the corporate ERP systems that support its operations. 

Finally, this is not an either or discussion either.  I hope to be drawing on COBIT (and other frameworks) as the basis for my deep dives into some of the Steps of the model.  In the meantime, hopefully it is a means by which organizations can see at a glance how their IM/IT investments are fairing. 

Information Management/ Techology Lifecycle Model (revised March 1 2014)

Information Management/ Techology Lifecycle Model (revised March 1 2014)

Inventorying IM/IT in the Grey Zone

Posted on by
2

The blog post discusses Question #2 of the SWOT+4 IM/IT Planning Model, which focuses on assessing an organization’s Information Management/Technology resources. It emphasizes the importance of inventorying existing IM/IT assets before acquiring new ones, and explores the complexities of determining what qualifies as a valuable resource, introducing the concept of a “grey zone.”

Continue reading →

IM/IT Lifecycle – Re-Do

Posted on by
2

Thank you to those who provided comments on my previous IM/IT Lifecycle Model.  Your collective whacks on the side of my digital head identified a number of areas of improvement.  Thus, this is a Re-Do blog with what I think is a much better model.  Thanks again for your comments!

The previous blog introduced the SWOT+4 Planning Model. The value of the model is the ability to focus on specific elements of IM/IT planning. Once an organization is successful with one part of the model, it can move on to other areas needing improvement. This blog will introduce a tool to evaluate the robustness of an organization’s IM/IT lifecycle. Intended to be an introduction, future blogs will drill down further.

The Role the IM/IT Lifecycle Model plays in the SWOT+4 Model
The Role the IM/IT Lifecycle Model plays in the SWOT+4 Model

One of the first areas of model to evaluate is internally focused on the IM/IT needs and capabilities of the organization. In the SWOT+4 model these are represented by the organization’s IM/IT strengths and weaknesses and specifically questions 2 and 3:

  • Q2. ORGANIZATIONAL IM/IT: How can/does/should IM/IT support or impede what is important to the organization; does the organization have the right IM/IT and if not, when will it get it? (Answered by IM/IT Lifecycle Steps 01 through 16)
  • Q3. IM/IT CAPACITY: How well does the organization DO IM/IT, is it getting better, worse or about the same? (Answered by IM/IT Lifecycle Step 00)

Context for the IM/IT Lifecycle Model

The IM/IT Lifecycle Model is an adaptation of the Asset Lifecycle Model. While the Asset Lifecycle Model focuses on the management of tangible assets, the IM/IT variation is concerned with the acquisition of things like computers and technology systems. The governance, system and audit functions at the bottom of the model answer questions #3, what is an organization’s IM/IT capacity? All the other steps answer question #2, what are the organization’s IM/IT needs and are (or when/how will) these needs to be fulfilled or they support the accounting and reporting functions.

Information Management/ Techology Lifecycle Model (revised March 1 2014)

Information Management/ Techology Lifecycle Model (revised March 1 2014)

IM/IT resources move through the model from left to right and may use more or less of each step depending upon the nature of the IM/IT system. In theory the model applies equally well to both technology (infrastructure, applications) as to information itself (data, reporting, data standards, etc.).

Two steps of note are Step 03 and 13. Step 03, the Project Management Office (PMO) replaces the requirements specification in the Asset Lifecycle Model but is broader and ideally encompasses other steps. For example, a good PMO methodology incorporates procurement processes such as issuing requests for proposals (Step 04), managing resulting vendor contracts (Step 05) and managing the vendor provision of assets, software, licenses or consulting services (Step 07).

Step 13 replaces the asset management function in the Asset Lifecycle Model. It includes in or outsourced functions such as application maintenance or technology production management. In an ideal world, these processes and systems drive the accounting of IM/IT. For example, an application built, capitalized but then abandoned is identified in this Step and communicated to the accounting system for de-recognition or conversely adjustments to the amortization schedule. Step 13 also straddles the central corporate IT and business area functions as it should be a partnership between the two.

Direct Attribute Costs (Step 09) and System Business Operations (Step 10) are purposely overlapped. Direct Attribute costs are the resources the organization brings to bear to implement a system. Examples can include the dedicated project staffing or costs to retrofit a data centre to accommodate new servers supporting an application. System Business Operations by contrast are the costs and effort to commission the system and bring it online. From an organizational perspective, Step 10 asks (and answers) the question, does the IM/IT resource meet the business needs identified for the asset?

Enterprise Resource Planning and the IM/IT Lifecycle

Included in each step are possible metrics as well as the information system such as the organization’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool or Information Technology System that may support the step. For brevity, the following ERP components are used:

  • (1. Budgeting): the planning, monitoring and resource allocation functions.
  • (2. Procure to Pay): from requisition to payment including the treasury management functions.
  • (3. Asset management): the receipt, installation, maintenance, tracking and disposal of assets.
  • (4. Accounting to Reporting): the proper accounting, record keeping and reporting (internal and external) of assets.
  • (5. IT Infrastructure Management): the creation, maintenance of servers, networks, security systems, desktop access, operating systems and all components necessary to run one or more applications.
  • (6. Application Maintenance): the maintenance, support, bug/fix, user training, system administration and other functions necessary to maintain one or more applications that support a business process or function.

The purpose of this blog was to introduce the IM/IT Lifecycle Framework and place it in context to the SWOT+4 Model. In future blogs, I plan to drill down on each of the Steps and provide examples of systems, standards and best practices across organizations.

What do you think? Does your organization use a systematic method such as the IM/IT Lifecycle to plan, implement and manage your IM/IT investments? Where do your systems potentially lie within the model? For example, does your organization have a systematic PMO function or do you even know what is in your application fleet? Drop me a note and send me a comment with your perspectives.