May,2010 ClosingtheGapBetweenBusinessandIT 1

ClosingtheGapBetweenBusinessandIT
byIvarJacobsonandKurtBittner
Fromthetimethatcomputerswerefirstappliedtosolvingabusinessproblemmore
than50yearsago,therehasbeenacommunicationgapbetweenBusinessandIT.
Foralmostaslongwehavesoughtsolutions,butthegapgrowsonlywider,untilit
nowisachasmthatneedsafairlysubstantialbridge.
FromtheBusinessyoumayhearthatwehavenoconfidenceinITsabilitytodeliver
usefulsolutions,orwehavelimitedvisibilityofprogress,risksandproblems,and
wedontknowhowweshouldmeasurethevalueofourinvestmentsinIT.FromIT
youmayhearthatthey(theBusiness)dontfundtheprojectsadequately,orthey
dontknowwhattheyneed,ortheydontknowwhatispossibletodevelop.Each
sidefeelstheotherisresponsiblefortheproblem.And,youknow,bothareright.
Overtheyearsmanythingshavebeentriedtoclosethegap,fromtheoneextreme
toanother.Somehaveviewedthegapasasoftproblem:ifonlyBusinessandIT
couldcollaboratebetterandlearnfromoneanothertheproblemwouldbesolved.
Improvementsincommunicationandsensitivitytrainingweretried,butstillthegap
grew.
Attheotherextremepeoplehavetriedtoapplyengineeringapproachestothe
problem,assumingthatrigorwouldsucceedwhereinformalcommunicationhas
failed.Theresultwasusuallyaformalbusinessprocessmodel,understandableonly
byitscreatorswhoweretypicallyITpeople.Thisusuallymadethebusinesspeople
feelignorantandannoyed,andthegapgrewwider.
Soweknowwhatdoesntworkletstrysomethingdifferent!Ourviewisthatthe
solutionliessomewhereinthemiddle.Startingwiththeendinmind,whateveryone
wantsisanexecutablesolutionthatsupportsandimprovestheabilityofthebusiness
tosucceed.Thatendisoftforgotten,butnoonewinsifitisnotachieved.Allofthe
documentsignoffsandhandoffsandothertechniquestoensureaccountabilityand
transferresponsibilitymeannothingifbusinessresultsdonotimprove.
Ithasbeensaidthatasignofinsanityisdoingthesamethingtimeandagainand
expectingdifferentresults.Wehaveampleproofthattraditionalapproacheslike
writingandapprovingacomprehensiverequirementsdocumentandthenthrowingit
overthewalltobeimplementeddoesnotproducegoodresults.Itisbeyondhuman
abilitytospecifyallrequirementsupfront.Butletsgobeyondthattotherealheartof
themattertheverynatureoftheBusinessITrelationship.
TheBrokenBusinessModelforIT
ThedominantmodelinITtodatehasbeentothinkofITasaninternalsupplierto
thebusiness,withthebusinessasthecustomerofIT.Thismodelisattheheartof
theproblem.
TherealityisthatITisnotasupplier.Ifitwereasupplier,itwouldbefreetopursue
May,2010 ClosingtheGapBetweenBusinessandIT 2
otherbusinessifitdidnotfindthetermsthebusinessofferedattractiveandinmost
cases,thetermsthebusinessoffersareunattractive:thebusinesstypicallydictates
costandscheduleandfeatures.Orratherittriestoitusuallydictatesthecostand
theschedulebutletsthefeaturespileonsothattheinitialcost,usuallyunachievable,
becomesburdenedwithextrafeatures(usuallyirrelevant)sothattheoriginalcost
andscheduleareguaranteedtobeunachievable.
IfITisnotasupplier,thenneitheristhebusinessthecustomer.Ifitwerea
customeritwouldbefreetosourceservicesfromanysupplier,anditoftentriestodo
so.Therealityisthatmostsupplierswouldnotacceptthetermsthatthebusiness
imposesonitsownITorganization:fixedcostandscheduleandthoroughlyvariable
scope.TheBusinesswants,andhasbeenallowedtobelieveitisreasonableto
demand,theabilitytoendlesslychangeitsmind,oratleasttobeimpreciseabout
whatitreallyneedswithoutbearingthecost.
Itshouldbeobvioustoanyonefamiliarwiththesituationthatthecurrentmodeldoes
notwork,andhasneverworked.Weneedtoapproachtheprobleminadifferent
way!
LetBusinessandITplayonthesameteam,together,towin
Letsconsideraprovenmodelforworkingtogetherasateamtowin.Asoccerteam
hasspecificpositionswithspecializedskills:goalkeeper,defender,forward.Despite
thespecialization,anyonecankicktheball,includingthegoalkeeper.Ifwelookat
BusinessandITasasingleteam(letscallthistheSolutionTeam)wealsohave
manykindsofspecialists:peoplewithknowledgeofbusinessprocessesand
resourcesofvariouskinds(human,machines,etc.),peoplewithknowledgeofhowto
writecode,howtotestsoftware,andhowtounderstandneedsanddevisesolutions.
Allofthesespecialtiesareessentialtodeliverthebestsolution,buteveryonemust
collaborateandworkasoneteamforeveryonetobesuccessful.
Onasoccerteameveryonemustalsounderstandthebasicrulesofthegamein
ordertocontributetowinning.OntheSolutionTeameveryonemustknowhowto
playthegameofsoftwaredevelopmentfortheteamtowin.Thismeans
understandinghowsoftwarecanandshouldbebuilt:inmanysmallstepsbasedona
longtermroadmap.Businesspeopleespeciallyneedtounderstandhowto
participateinthedevelopmenteffortbycommunicatingtheessenceofbusiness
processesandtheoutcomesthebusinessneedstoachieve.Workingtogether,then,
theSolutionTeam(whichincludesthebusiness)exploresdifferentwaysthe
outcomescanbeachievedandtogetheragreesonhowtomoveahead.
OneofthereasonsfortheBusinessITgapisthattypicallythebusinessisexpected
todefinedetailedrequirements(whicharereallyspecificationsforasolution)when
theyarepoorlyequippedtounderstandhowtechnologycanbecreativelyappliedto
delivertheendresultthatneedstobeachieved.Thiscauseseveryonetolosefocus
ontherealproblemstobesolved.Bybeingclearerabouttheoutcomesthatthe
businesswantstoachieveitispossibleforthewholeteamtohaveaclearerfocuson
whatmustbedone.Thisdoesnotmeanthatthereisnotaroleforrequirementsand
otherspecificationsthereis,butasarecordoftheagreementsmadewithinthe
May,2010 ClosingtheGapBetweenBusinessandIT 3
team.Theseagreementscanbeasformalorasinformalastheteamcollectively
agrees,astheyservemainlyasaconvenientwaytodocumentdiscussions,notasa
comprehensivecommunicationmechanism.
Thismeansthateveryone,includingandespeciallytheITteammembers,needsto
understandbusinessgoals,strategiesandbusinessprocesses.Softwarehasthe
abilitytochangeandimprovebusinessprocesses,butnotifitstartsfromaflawedor
incompleteunderstandingofhowthebusinessworksandwhatitneedstoachieve.
BusinessandITneedtobothchangeandlearnnewskillssothattheycan,despite
theirdifferentbackgroundsandperspectives,jointogetherasoneteamworking
towardasinglegoal:todelivercreativesolutionsthatcreatebusinessvalue.This
meansthatbusinesspeopleneedtograduallycometobetterunderstandwhat
technologycandoforthem,andtechnologypeopleneedtograduallycometo
understandhowthebusinessworkssothattheycandevisecreativesolutions.
Inordertoreachthisgoaltheteamneedstoagreeonawayofworkingandonthe
practicestheythinktheyneedtosolvetheproblemathand.Thesepracticesmay
involveproventechniquessuchasdevelopingiteratively,formulatingrequirements
andtestsasusecasesandtestcases,planningproductreleasesbasedon
scenarios,measuringprogressthroughsuccessfullypassedtests,andsoon.These
practiceswillinvolvebothsidesinmeaningfulcollaborativeworkthat,ifcorrectly
performed,leadstoanexcellentresult.Byworkingtogetherasoneteam,Business
andITwillwintogether.
ChallengesingettingBusinessandITtoplayonthesameteam
ItsnicetotalkaboutBusinessandITplayingononeteam,buttherealitytodayis
thatiftheywereasoccerteamtheywouldprobablynotwinmany,ifany,games.
Extendingthesocceranalogy,theBusinessoftenactsliketheabsenteeownerwho
wantstheteamtowinbutdoesnotreallywanttotakethetimetobedirectly
involved.Insteadtheytrytomicromanagefromadistance,demandingadetailed
playbyplayplanforwhoisgoingtoscoreandwhen,andtheyberatetheteamfor
notadheringtotheplan.Theywillsaythattheywillprovideplayers(business
representativesandproductowners)buttheplayerstheyassignareusuallyabsent
becausetheyaretoobusydoingotherthings. Astheteamowner,theyalsodont
wanttospendtoomuchtohirethebestplayersandcoaches,buttheystillwantto
winagainstteamsthatarewillingtospendmore.
ButITisoftennotanybetter.Insteadofprovidingconvincingproofthattheteamis
makingprogress,theyhidebehinddetailedplaybooksandtechnicaljargon.They
claimtheycannotwinunlesstheygetthebestuniforms,andanicepracticefield,
andthebestshoes,andanewstadium.Theyspendlotsoftimecomingupwithnew
strategiesandplaybooksandlittletimeonthefieldactuallypracticing.Theyrequire
theownerstoreviewandsignoffonallplays,andifaplaydoesnotworktheyblame
theownerfornotprovidinggoodfeedback.
Areyoubeginningtoseetheconnections?Maybesoccerandsoftwarearenotso
differentafterall!
May,2010 ClosingtheGapBetweenBusinessandIT 4
Tobemoredirect,hereiswhatoftenhappens:
1. TheBusinessoftenwantstodictate,oratleastlockin,thecostandschedule
evenbeforetheyreallyunderstandwhattheyreallyneedorwhatproblemthey
aresolving.
2. TheBusinessisrarelyaccountableforthebusinessbenefitsclaimedinthe
businesscase.Businesscasesareoftenriggedtojustifyaprojectthatthe
Businesswantstodobuttheprojectteamisheldaccountableforcostand
scheduleestimatesbasedonanoftenpoorlyconceivedwishlistoffeatures,
andontheoverlyoptimisticbusinesscase.
3. TheBusinessoftenfeelsthatanythinglessthanmeetingalltheirinitial
expectations,nomatterhowpoorlyunderstoodorunrealistic,isafailure.
4. TheBusinessoftenisunclearaboutitsrealneeds,andtendstodemandalot
ofthingsthatitdoesnotreallyneedandthatnevergetused.
5. Whentheydochangetheirmindaboutwhattheywantorneed,theyrarely
adjusttheoriginalcostandschedule.
6. TheBusinessisoftennotwillingtoinvesttimeinbetterunderstandingtheir
needsbecausethatwilltaketoomuchtime,andyetfailuretodeliverwillbe
consideredITsfailure.
7. TheBusinessisoftennotwillingtoprovideaccesstothemostknowledgeable
peoplebecausetheyareconsideredtoovaluabletotakeawayfromtheir
regularjobs,eventhoughtheprojectcostisgreatandtheneedforsuccess
evengreater.
8. TheBusinessoftenregardssoftwaredevelopmentasacommodityskillthat
theycanoutsourcetothelowestcostprovider. Theydonotvaluesoftware
developmentprofessionalswhoactuallyunderstandtheirbusinessandthey
areoftennotwillingtoinvestindevelopingtheITorganizationasastrategic
resource.
ButITisnotablamelessvictiminthisgame:
1. ITusuallyacceptsthesituation,feelingthattheyarepowerlesstodoanything
aboutit.Evenwhentheyknowtheycannotprovideestimatesofcostand
schedulewithonlyavagueunderstandingoftheneeds,theyprovideone
anyway,andthisvagueestimatebecomesthemeasureagainstwhichthe
projectisheldaccountable,evenwhenitisapoorlyinformedguess.
2. ITmanagersoftendonotreallyunderstandsoftwaredevelopment,andthey
donttendtotakeaninterestinbecomingbetterinformed.Asaresultthey
thinkthatpeopleareinterchangeable,thatagoodprocesscancompensate
forlackofskillsandexperience,thatteamsandteamworkarenotimportant,
andthatsuccessmeansdeliveringwhattheBusinessasksforasopposedto
whattheyreallyneed.
3. Theyoftenmeasurethewrongthingslikeproductionofartifactsratherthan
whetherthesoftwarehasbecomebetter,whetheritisdevelopedfaster,
whetherthedevelopmenthasbecomecheaperandwhetherthecustomeris
happier.
4. IT'sengagementoftentendstobelowlevel,notstrategic,focusingoncool
technologythatispoorlyconnectedtobusinessbenefits.Theyarenottrusted
bytheBusinesstocontributeasstrategicproblemsolvers,mainlybecause
theyhavenotdemonstratedthattheyreallyunderstandthebusinessandhow
toapplytechnologytocreatingbusinessvalue.TheywaitfortheBusinessto
May,2010 ClosingtheGapBetweenBusinessandIT 5
tellthemwhattodo,ratherthanproposingsolutions.
5. Thetechnologyitselfisimmatureandnotwellunderstood,anddecisionsare
oftendrivenbyfadsandthedesiretoplaywiththelatesttechnology.This
resultsinsystemsthatagebadlyandoftenneedreplacementonlyadecade
aftertheiroriginaldeployment.
6. Andfinally,theITteammembersoftendonotrespecteachothers
contributions.Developerslookdowntheirnosesattestersandbusiness
analysts.Businessanalyststendtobeunconcernedaboutwhether
somethingtheyspecifycanactuallybedeveloped(thatisameredetail),and
testersoftenlacktheskillstodomorethanmanualtesting,sincethattendsto
requirerealdevelopmentskills.
Giventhesechallenges,itwouldseemimpossibletogetBusinessandITtowork
together.Istherereallyasimplewaytobreakdownthesebarrierstoreallyworking
asoneteam?Yes,andno.Someofthechangesaresimpleinconceptbuthardto
putintopractice.Otherchangesrequireafundamentalrethinkingoftherelationship
betweentheBusinessandITandwilltakechangesintheculturesofboth
organizations.
TenFundamentalStepsYouNeedtoTaketoGetStarted
Asnotedabove,thefirststepistofundamentallyrethinktherelationshipbetween
BusinessandIT,andtochangetherelationshipfrombeingbasedonacustomer
suppliermodeltooneinwhichBusinessandITareoneteamworkingtowardone
goal.Thejourneywillbeneithereasynorshort,buttherearesomethingsyoucan
dotogetstarted.
Mostfundamentally,youneedtorecognizethattheproblemsaredeeplyrootedin,
andprotectedby,anITmanagementapproachthathascometobeacceptedas
simplythewayitis.InordertochangetheITasSuppliermodel,youwillneedto
createcrosscuttingsolutionteamswithmembersfromboththebusinessunitsand
IT.Eachcontributesessentialanduniqueskillsandperspectiveswithoutwhich
successisimpossible.Unfortunatelywehavecreatedamodelthattriestominimize
collaboration,andacultureinwhichbusinesspeopleseektominimizeinteraction
withITinsteadoflookingforopportunitiestocreatevaluethroughcreative
applicationoftechnologytobusinessproblems.
Thereareanumberofthingsyoucandotostartthenecessarytransformation:
1. ChooseatechnicallycompetentCIOwhounderstandsandisrespectedby
thebusinessleaders,aCIOwhocaninstillinthesebusinessleadersan
appreciationofthevalueofmoderntechnology,aCIOwhocanleadwith
enthusiasm,inspirationandpassion.Givingsuchaleaderasignificant
seatattheexecutivemanagementtablewillhelptoestablishan
organizationalappreciationofthepotentialfortechnologytoenhancethe
creationofbusinessvalue.
2. FundITrelatedprojectsdirectlyfromthebusinessbudget,ratherthan
fromacentralizedpoolforallITprojects.Doingsohasanimmediate
tendencytoincreasetheattentionpaidtoITprojectsbythebusinessitis
May,2010 ClosingtheGapBetweenBusinessandIT 6
nowtheirmoneythatisbeingspent,notITsmoneyandthiscreatesa
directconnectionbetweencostandwhattheBusinessasksfor.
3. Chargethebusinessforthefullyallocatedcostofoperatingtheir
applications,includingmaintenance.Todaythesecoststendtobeburied
inIToverhead,renderingithardtoseewhenanapplicationisagingbadly
andcostingmoretosupport.OftentheBusinessonlyseesthecostofnew
development,whichisusuallylessthanaquarterofallITcosts.The
resultofthisisthatthetruecostofownership,andthereforethecostofnot
modernizing,ishidden,oftenleadingtopoorinvestmentdecisions.
4. Prioritizetheprojectsbasedonthebusinessvaluethattheywilldeliver
overtheirplannedlifetime,consideringthefulllifecyclecostsandbenefits
notsimplytheinitialcostsandbenefits.Mostprojectfundingrequestsfail
toconsiderthelongtermcostsandbenefitsofapplications,resultingin
unfundedlongtermsupportcosts.
5. LetITandBusinesscollaborateduringthecharteringofprojectstodefine
theproblemstosolve,orthegoalsthataretobereached,andtowork
togethertofindcreativetechnicalsolutionstotheseproblems,stimulating
innovation.Today,toooften,theBusinessrequestsordemandsasolution
basedonalimitedunderstandingofwhatcouldbedone,andoftenbased
onanincompleteorflawedunderstandingoftheproblemsthatneedtobe
solvedandthegoalstobemet.Workingtogether,withafocusonreally
understandingwhatisneededandwhatcanbedonetomeetthoseneeds,
bettersolutionscanbedevised.Onlythenshouldprojectsbefundedand
chartered.
6. Onceaprojectischartered,selectaprojectleadfromtheBusiness
someonewhoreallyunderstandstheBusinessanditsneeds,whocan
assembletherightteammemberstodelivertherightsolution.Someof
thesewillcomefromtheBusiness(suchasmarketing,productdesign,
softwaredevelopment,financial,businessprocessexperts,andsoforth)
andothersfromIT(suchasanalysts,developers,testers,andsoon).
Resourcesshouldbebroughttogetherfromdifferentorganizationsintoa
singlecrossfunctionalteam,focusedondeliveringbusinessvalueand
measuredagainsttheirsuccessindeliveringthatbusinessvalue.Oncethe
projectisunderway,ensurethatbothBusinessandITparticipateinthe
developmentprojectasiftheBusinessdependedonitwhichitshouldif
theprojectisworthdoing.Thisdoesnotmeanthatprojectteammembers
cannothaveothercommitments(everyonedoes),butthatcommitmentsto
theprojectneedtobenegotiatedandhonored,orsomeoneelseshouldbe
assigned.
7. Measuretheperformanceoftheprojectagainstthegoalsestablishedin
thebusinesscase,andholdtheteam,withrepresentativesfromboth
BusinessandIT,accountablefortheseresults.Evenbeforetheproject
delivers,measureresultsinbusinesstermssuchasthenumberof
businessscenariosthathavebeenimplementedandtesteddont
measureprogressintermsofcompletionofdocuments.Whenyoupublish
internalprogressmeasures,alwayspresenttheminbusinessterms.
8. RecruitandpromoteITleaderswhohavebusinesssense,thatis,who
understandtheBusinessandhaveaproventrackrecordfordelivering
innovativesolutions.Inthebusinessunits,recruitandpromotepeople
May,2010 ClosingtheGapBetweenBusinessandIT 7
whocancreatevaluebysolvingproblemsusinginnovativeapplicationsof
technology.
9. PromoteITdiscussionsthatvaluecommunicationinbusinesstermsand
notintechnologytermsbycontinuallyfocusingthediscussiononhow
technicalsolutionswillcreatebusinessvalue.Stimulatecooperationand
collaborationbetweenITandBusinessbyensuringthatrepresentativesof
bothspeakwithonevoiceandavoidoneway'monologues'.Apply
practicesthatgetBusinessandITtocollaborateandwhich,ifcorrectly
performed,resultinmeasurablesuccess.
10. Derivesoftwarearchitecturefromthebusinessmodelstartingfromthe
businessusecasesandbusinessprocessmodels,derivingaroadmap
representingthesystem'smajorcomponentsandtheircollaborations.
Thisroadmapwillthenbefulfilledoverthecourseofmanyprojects,with
theroadmapprovidingorganizationandconsistencyofinvestmentand
effort.
Thisisnotallthatneedstobedone,butitisastart.Thebrokenrelationship
betweenBusinessandIThasbeenyears,evendecades,inthemaking,anditwill
takealongtimeandfocusedefforttofixtheproblem.
Inourdiscussionwehaveconsciouslychosenthewordclosinginsteadofbridging
whenwespeakofthegapbetweenbusinessandIT.Abridgeacknowledgesthe
gap,evenacceptsthegap,andtriestomakeasmallconnectingpathacrossthe
gap.Wethinkthatthegapneedstobeeliminated.Business,andthereforeIT,
cannotaffordfortheretobeagapthetwoneedtoworkasoneinordertodeliver
betterbusinesssolutions.Thebenefitscanbesubstantialnotmerelyautomated
afterthoughtstoimproveexistingbusinessprocesses,butwholenewwaysof
deliveringvalueandfulfillingtheneedsofrealcustomers.
IvarJacobson
Dr.IvarJacobsonisafatherofcomponentsandcomponentarchitecture,usecases,aspectoriented
softwaredevelopment,modernbusinessengineering,theUnifiedModelingLanguageandthe
RationalUnifiedProcess.Hislatestcontributiontothesoftwareindustryisaformalpracticeconcept
thatpromotespracticesasthefirstclasscitizensofsoftwaredevelopmentandviewsprocesssimply
asacompositionofpractices.Heistheprincipalauthorofsixinfluentialandbestsellingbooks.Heis
akeynotespeakeratmanylargeconferencesaroundtheworld.
KurtBittner
KurtisChiefTechnologyOfficerofIvarJacobsonInternational,Americas.Hehasworkedinthe
softwareindustryformorethan25yearsinavarietyofrolesincludingdeveloper,teamleader,
architect,projectmanagerandbusinessleader.Hehasledagileprojects,runalargedivisionofa
softwaredevelopmentcompany,survivedandthrivedinseveralstartups,runanacquisition,and
workedwithclientsinavarietyofindustriesincludingaerospace,finance,energyandelectronics.He
wasakeycontributortotheearlydevelopmentoftheRationalUnifiedProcessaswellas,more
recently,IBM'sJazzproject.Hisexperienceincludessignificantworkinbankingandfinance,relational
databasesystemdesignandarchitecting,andconsultingandmentoringawidevarietyofclientson
softwaredevelopmentimprovementstrategiesandapproaches.Heisthecoauthorof"UseCase
Modeling","ManagingIterativeSoftwareDevelopmentProjects"and"TheEconomicsofIterative
SoftwareDevelopment".