IT Training Cincinnati

One of the strategic roles that the Business Analyst (BA); Enterprise Analyst (EA) or Enterprise Architect (EA), can perform for the organization is the maintenance of an internal knowledge base, often called an internal Business Analysis Body of Knowledge.  This would be a centralized, electronic repository of artifacts concerning the organization and the environment in which it operates.  This is not a task defined in the IIBA® BABOK®, however would fall under the knowledge area of Enterprise Analysis.

This repository should describe not only the organization but the environment in which it operates. It should include an Enterprise Architecture; divided into Business Architecture, Information Architecture, Application Architecture, Technology Architecture and Security Architecture.  Along with that it should include BA training and information material to quickly ramp up newly hired Business Analysts.  Also, some type of mechanism to ensure you are capturing the business knowledge of Business Analysts who are leaving the organization, so that valuable business knowledge does not walk out the door.

When a Cincinnati, Dayton or other community business has a BA community that is actively maintaining a centralized, electronic internal body of knowledge; that organization is well on a maturity path from a BA Practice to a Business Analysis Center of Excellence (BACoE).

By maintaining this body of knowledge within the organization, the Cincinnati, Dayton or organizations across the country and globe can help deliver business analysis services across the organization at the same level of service, move its business analysts among the business lines and business units within the organization with ease and little ramp-up time, make better business decisions based on an enterprise-wide knowledge base, enable business management consulting within the organization.  These business decisions can have significant impact on the company’s bottom line.

Does your organization have an internal business analysis body of knowledge?

Last week I began to demonstrate the value a Business Analyst (BA) brings to the table in the area of Solution Validation by talking about how they bring value by ensuring the thorough testing of the solution prior to implementation.  Let’s continue in this area with an often overlooked and underutilized task of the BA “Assessing Organizational Readiness”.

It would be unfruitful for an enterprise application development team to take a project through the project life cycle (PLC) and implement the solution if nobody in the organization is going to use it.  I have witnessed many times a solution gets implemented and the business users don’t like the new process and often times find ways around it.  Business users try to continue on a path of “doing it the way we have been doing it for years”; which makes the job of the BA more difficult as he/she is the Agent of Change within the organization.  To get the business users out of that mindset and accept new, more efficient, ways of doing things is one of the goals of assessing organizational readiness.  This task is centered on identifying whether the organization, and the people in it, is ready to effectively use a solution ready for implementation.  The Business Analyst should identify the forces that support and oppose the proposed change to the organization.  In this way the BA can work to mitigate the opposition of the change, by identifying any training needs or other techniques that will make implementation of the solution go more smoothly and be effectively used for its intended purpose.

Some of the techniques that a BA may use to assess the organizational readiness are Data Flow diagrams and Process Models, to show the change the proposed solution will have on the organization and business users; Organizational Models to help identify stakeholders or groups of stakeholders that will be affected by the proposed IT business solution; Focus Group, Interviews and Surveys can help identify business users’ concerns about the proposed application solution; Risk Analysis helps identify all potential risks to the organization for implementing the proposed solution and develop a mitigation strategy for each risk; Force Field Analysis to identify the forces for and against the IT business solution; and SWOT Analysis to identify the organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in preparing for the proposed change.

When doing these techniques to identify the organization’s readiness to accept the change required, the BA needs to be aware of the Culture of the organization and the impact the proposed solution will have on it; Operations and how the IT business solution will change how the organization accomplishes its processes; Security, physical and electronic, how the changes the solution will bring about affects the security of the organization; and Stakeholders, stakeholder groups, locations, functions, processes and concerns in relation to the enterprise application being affected.

An organization of Cincinnati, Dayton or other business community can benefit by effectively utilizing a BA for assessing the readiness of the organization to accept and effectively use an IT business solution by enabling necessary change management practices, decreasing solution implementation timelines, freeing up other project resources to move on to other responsibilities, identifying training needs and assists in identifying transition requirements necessary for solution implementation.

Do you do any type of Organizational Readiness Assessment prior to IT business solution implementation?

There is no doubt that a considerable amount of resources of an organization is spent on requirement definition and documentation no matter where the maturity of the Business Analysis practice within the organization.  The business has a considerable interest in requirements that lead to IT business solutions and it can define the direction and prosperity of the entire organization.

By maintaining requirements for re-use the Business Analyst (BA) can considerably reduce the resources spent on requirements definition and documentation.  In this way the BA identifies long-termed used requirements of the organization that may be used by multiple systems, or continually come up for solutions on multiple projects.  These may include requirements that the organization must meet on an ongoing basis, as well as requirements that are implemented as part of an IT business solution.

Whether these requirements are maintained in a repository or not; they must be identified, clearly defined and available to all BAs within the organization.  When a requirement must be changed, the change must be communicated to the BA community and understood by the business community concerned.

Maintenance of requirements for re-use can facilitate impact analysis of new, proposed changes to the business, reduce analysis time and effort, assist in the maintenance of previously implemented IT business solutions and support other business initiatives; including training, corporate governance and standards compliance.

Cincinnati and Dayton companies; and companies across the globe need to mature their BA practice within the organization toward effective maintenance management of business requirements, including requirements for re-use.  This will give these organizations the benefits stated above and continue the BA practice on the path toward a Business Analysis Center of Excellence (BACoE).

Do you have an effective requirements management process?  Do you use a software requirements repository tool to accomplish this?

In a previous article, at beginning of the year, I discussed the “Top 10 Business Analysis Trends for 2011” as described by ESI International, a business analysis education provider and an IIBA® Endorsed Education Provider (EEP). Looking back upon the year, I see how very close they were on the emergence of these trends. One in particular, number 7, “Resurgence of Centers of Excellence” strikes me.  It hits home because this also seems to be on the  rise in the Cincinnati and Dayton markets.
 

Kupe also wrote on this subject this week at BA Times. He describes it as a topic of a discussion panel at the Building Business Capabilities conference earlier this month. The eight comments posted to Kupe’s article show a few people that have been involved in implementing Business Analysis Centers of Excellence (BACoE).  

So now you ask yourself “Should we setup a BACoE for our company?” You can answer that question by rephrasing it “Will our company benefit from a BACoE?” Setting up a BACoE for the purpose of saying that you have one, is not good enough. How will the organization benefit from having a BACoE? What is the purpose of the BACoE? So find the value add to the organization that a BACoE can provide and you will find the purpose and benefit of having a BACoE and that will make it worth implementing.

One thing to realize when implementing a BACoE is that it is a process that takes time. It isn’t a something that you setup and it is done. It will take continual improvement of your documentation4, processes, tools and training material keeps your BACoE delivering the best possible value to the organization. I have described this process of continual improvement before. So don’t implement the BACoE and never revisit it, not only continually use the material of the BACoE, but continually improve that material. Keep your BACoE as innovative and up-to-date as possible. That is how you will best serve your organization.

Would your organization benefit from a BACoE?  Your friends at STAR BASE Inc. would love to explore that possibility with you.

I am often asked for advice on BA Career paths, Certifications, What technique to use, templates, tools, and so on.. It seems to me that everyone is looking for that “One size fits all” solution on how to perform the role of the BA. The one path up the BA Career Ladder, the one way to go about getting your certification, should I learn DOORS, RequisitePro or Composer?

One thing that I have learned in my many years of doing BA work is that there is no “One size fits all” way of delivering the BA role. Your BA approach will be different depending on the type of project you are involved in. It will differ for a COTS project vs. Capability Gap Analysis. Your approach and tasks that you perform will be different if you are doing enhancements to an ERP system vs. a Vendor Assessment. The techniques you use would be different as well as the templates you may use.

Robin Grace handled the template issue in her article on BA Times entitled “It’s Time for Template Zombies to Die”. Often BAs looking for a template to use will get one from a friend that works for a much larger firm, or a new hire BA brings one with them from a larger firm. The smaller firm uses the template as is, even though there are sections that do not pertain to the type of BA work that the firm does. It may be at times Management will ask “It took you three days to write a two-page document?” Sometimes the response is to make the document 10 pages, and all you have done is added a lot of fluff with no meat. Often, that fluff ends up in the template for the document. Instead of adding fluff, remind Management, “it is more than just writing a document; there is quite a bit of analysis done to make that document right”.  Often people go by what they see and forget about the work done behind the scenes to get to the deliverable. When you do come across a template to use remember this is just a guideline, it can be changed to fit your current situation. Feel free to remove, add or reword sections of the template to make it usable for your task.

I have written many times about the BA Career path. In my last article, I surmised that there are as many paths up the BA Career Ladder as there are people willing to forge them. Getting career advice from those that have gone before you is great and can help you forge ahead, but it does not mean there is one and only one way to climb the career ladder. Advice is helpful, but you are still in charge of your career.  

So in any given situation, instead of looking for the “correct” way to handle the situation, do what any good BA would do. Identify and consider all possible solutions, expand your knowledge so you can assess all possible solutions, identify the risks of each solution and select the best possible solution given the knowledge you have at the time. Remember, the “One size fits all” solution does not exist.

• the job titles on your work history do not reflect your experience in business analysis (they include other titles such as programmer, software developer, financial analyst, etc.) and/or;
• you spent many years doing business analysis work for one company (perhaps even with the title of BA), but never obtained post secondary education, and is finding it difficult to get your resume noticed by other companies.

You have probably heard your parents or grand-parents talk about when they were younger and how they had to walk to school, up hill both ways.  When they shared this story with you it was to prepare you for times when things weren’t so easy and to provide you with their knowledge and advice from their hard earned experience. I wish that someone would have shared the list below with me earlier in my career.  It might have saved me a few grey hairs and sleepless nights.  I have to admit, I have been guilty of a couple of these in the past, but that’s why it’s called experience.

1. Bill for time not worked.  This will be the quickest way to end up out of a consulting gig. Make sure you bill the client only for the time you actually work. This can be tricky if your clients are friends. When you go to a job like this, you know there will be a period of time spent socializing, especially when you first arrive. Don't bill for this time. Start the billing period when you start working.  Sometimes clients will have celebrations during the day.  If you don’t want to appear anti-social, by not going, just don’t bill.  If there are any questions, ask the account manager to find out. If you are the account manager, ask your client manager at one of your one to one meetings if it’s ok to bill.  Some client’s have a culture where that is part of the expectation.

2. Negotiate rates and make deals with the client.  If you work for a consulting firm, you know there are channels for clients to go though to make requests..  Most firms have some sort of account manager to handle those issues.  Direct the client to the account manager.  I had one consultant that actually went so far as to look in the client’s AP system to see how much we were getting paid and then wanted to negotiate a higher rate with the client.  This particular action did not end well for the consultant and he has not been able to be considered for other assignments in this client even when his skill set was ideal.  Never, ever work out a side deal or moonlight with a client this can comprise your integrity and jeopardize the trust between  you, the consulting company and inevitably the client.

3. Act like a prima donna.  Yes, you’re good, that’s why you have been hired. I actually heard a consultant tell the client that their employees were stupid.  Hello? You are there to serve those employees.  You don’t know what kind of constraints they have had to work with.  Hind sight is always 20-20.  Its always far better to politely make suggestions. You may find out your brilliant idea was considered previously and there was a very valid reason for it not being implemented.  It’s much better to NOT have egg on your face or your foot in your mouth.

4. Miscommunicate or undercommunicate when engaged at a client I believe that the client should know what is going on with their project.  Many times I have had to be the bearer of bad news.  I also like weekly status reports to let the client know what I have worked on and what I’m planning on doing.  If at all possible I like to let them know a percent complete.  Years ago, I heard another consultant tell the client he was “unit testing”.  The client assumed that meant he had all the functionality done and was testing.  The reality was he had about 10% of the functionality done and was testing just that one small piece.  When the truth came out, it was not pretty.

Tomorrow I will finish off the last 3 sins.
To be continued……

Its good to see Cincinnati and Dayton area companies starting to embrace open source as an alternative to custom application development.  As an IT Strategy consultant, I can say there is a place for both.

STAR BASE, Inc. just landed another Magento project.  I have written about Magento before and this post has links to several others.   These are not your father’s shareware packages. The packages we are working with are what I’m calling Commercial Open Source. 

I’m curious, why have you or your company not implemented an open source option?  Is it because the light at the end of the tunnel looks more like a train?  Maybe we’re just ahead of the curve again and I need a little bit of Patience.

 

I attended the first meeting of the season for the Cincinnati IIBA^® Chapter. They are doing a series entitled CIO Speaker Series, where they have the CIO from prominent companies in the Cincinnati area who have demonstrated a solid commitment to promoting the effective practice of Business Analysis in their organizations come and speak on how that commitment is put into practice within their organization.

Now I really thought this was going to be boring but the speaker; Jeff Wolverton, Senior VP and CIO of Great American Financial Resources, Inc. (GAFRI), captured my attention when he spoke about how he used the area of Business Analysis to turn his IT organization around and assist them in providing better IT business solutions.

Jeff has been with GAFRI for 11 years and has held the position of CIO for the past 8 years, but they have really put an emphasis on the area of Business Analysis and have begun to reap the benefits thereof here in the last year and a half.

He demonstrated how putting Business Analysis first changed the reputation of his IT staff within the organization from an IT production support group that is slow in delivering business applications that are often bug ridden, to an IT staff that develops great business application solutions that work for the business. GAFRI IT staff went from delivering solutions and telling the business to report any bugs found and they will fix them to delivering business solutions where they had found 85% of all bugs prior to user acceptance testing.

Jeff also spoke about how in last year’s economy where IT budgets in most organizations were being slashed, he received a double-digit increase; the largest increase in his 8 years as CIO. So how do you get that kind of budget increase and turn around the reputation of your IT staff and the business application solutions that they deliver? GAFRI did it by getting to the business requirements behind the business requests and implementing a systematic, repeatable project delivery process.

Jeff and his team put into place a new IT business solutions delivery process from the requirements gathering phase to project delivery (implementation). This new process was going to take much longer than the old process. What use to take a week will now take two to four weeks.  How do you get business buy-in to wait for their business applications? When you deliver a business application solution in which the business usually reports several bugs during testing to delivering a solution in which the business reports almost no bugs, they see value in the new process.

GAFRI’s new IT business solution delivery process put emphasis on two areas: requirements gathering and application testing. They created new roles within their IT staff and put people in place with very specific duties to gain measurable increased value in these areas. They not only put IT staff through training, but they put the business through training on the new delivery process and the business role on working with the IT staff to drive better IT business solutions.

The first new IT role is the Requirements Analyst. This person works with the business in the beginning of the project to elicit and form clear and concise business requirements for the IT business solution. So many times when IT delivers a project they get the punch line to that Dr. Seuss rhyme about the Super Programmer, where the requester says ‘You gave me just what I asked for but not what I need!’. The Requirements Analyst works throughout the project, in a diminishing role, to ensure that the IT solution will meet the needs of the business.

The second new IT role created is the Test Analyst. Typically, testing is thought of after development is complete or nearing completion. In GAFRI’s model test plans are created before or as development starts and are based on the business requirements of the project. The Test Analyst either performs or supports IT Quality Assurance testing and supports User Acceptance Testing.

GAFRI is a shining example of how commitment to the area of Business Analysis can reap many benefits for the organization, both for IT and the business. The end result is better IT business solutions.

             PGM        PARM(&DBF &ZIPFILE &FORMAT)


             DCL        VAR(&DBF) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(32)
             DCL        VAR(&ZIPFILE) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(255)
             DCL        VAR(&FORMAT) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(6)
             DCL        VAR(&FILE) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(10)
             DCL        VAR(&LIB) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(10)
             DCL        VAR(&MBR) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(10)
             DCL        VAR(&CMD) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(255)
             DCL        VAR(&TEXTFILE) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(15)
             DCL        VAR(&TEMPFILE) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(40)
             DCL        VAR(&ERRLOOP) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(1) VALUE(N)
             DCL        VAR(&INTER) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(1)

             MONMSG     MSGID(CPF0000 QSH0000) EXEC(GOTO CMDLBL(ERROR))

             RTVJOBA    TYPE(&INTER)

             CHGVAR     VAR(&FILE) VALUE(%SST(&DBF 3 10))
             CHGVAR     VAR(&LIB) VALUE(%SST(&DBF 13 10))
             CHGVAR     VAR(&MBR) VALUE(%SST(&DBF 23 10))

             /* Ensure ZIP directory exists for error logging */
             MKDIR      DIR('/zip')
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPFA0A0)

             /* Delete &zipfile if it exists */
             RMVLNK     OBJLNK(&ZIPFILE)
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPFA0A9)

             /* build text file name */
             IF         COND(&FORMAT *EQ *DLM) THEN(DO)
                CHGVAR     VAR(&TEXTFILE) VALUE(&FILE *TCAT '.csv')
             ENDDO
             ELSE       CMD(DO)
                CHGVAR     VAR(&TEXTFILE) VALUE(&FILE *TCAT '.txt')
             ENDDO

             /* generate temporary file name */
             RTVTMPIFSN NAME(&TEMPFILE)
             IF         COND(&TEMPFILE *EQ ' ') THEN(CHGVAR VAR(&TEMPFILE) +
                          VALUE('/tmp/$$__tempfile'))

             /* export DBF to temporary file */
             CPYTOIMPF  FROMFILE(&LIB/&FILE &MBR) TOSTMF(&TEMPFILE) +
                          MBROPT(*REPLACE) STMFCODPAG(*STDASCII) +
                          RCDDLM(*CRLF) DTAFMT(&FORMAT) RMVBLANK(*TRAILING)
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPF2817) EXEC(DO)
                SNDPGMMSG  MSGID(CPF9898) MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA('Error +
                             converting Database File to Interface File') +
                             MSGTYPE(*DIAG)
                GOTO       CMDLBL(ERROR)
             ENDDO

             /* Send 'compressing' status message */
             IF         COND(&INTER *EQ '1') THEN(SNDPGMMSG MSGID(CPF9897) +
                          MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA('Compressing file ' *CAT +
                          &FILE) TOPGMQ(*EXT) MSGTYPE(*STATUS))

             /*---------------------------------------------------------------*/
             /* This command is using the unix environment to zip up the file */
             /* extracted above.  All errors are logged to a text file        */
             /* named error.txt.  The 2>> operator redirects stderr to the    */
             /* file following it, and adds any messages to the end of the    */
             /* file.                                                         */
             /*                                                               */
             /* The following unix utilities are used here:                   */
             /*  ajar - create an archive                                     */
             /*                                                               */
             /* The following environment variables are used here:            */
             /*  QIBM_QSH_CMD_ESCAPE_MSG - Sends QSH0005 as an escape message */
             /*        if the exit status is not 0 (Qshell error condition)   */
             /*---------------------------------------------------------------*/
             /* Send an escape message if the command fails */
             ADDENVVAR  ENVVAR(QIBM_QSH_CMD_ESCAPE_MSG) VALUE(Y) +
                          REPLACE(*YES)

             /* Create &zipfile from temporary file */
             CHGVAR     VAR(&CMD) VALUE('ajar -c -M' *BCAT &ZIPFILE *BCAT +
                          '''' *CAT &TEMPFILE *TCAT ''' :' *BCAT &TEXTFILE +
                          *BCAT '2>>' *BCAT '/zip/error.txt')
             QSH        CMD(&CMD)
             MONMSG     MSGID(QSH0005) EXEC(DO)
                SNDPGMMSG  MSGID(CPF9898) MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA('Error +
                             creating ZIP file') MSGTYPE(*DIAG)
                GOTO       CMDLBL(ERROR)
             ENDDO

             /* Delete temporaty file */
             RMVLNK     OBJLNK(&TEMPFILE)
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPFA0A9)

             /* Exit Normally */
             GOTO       CMDLBL(OUT)


             /* Process Errors */
 ERROR:      IF         COND(&ERRLOOP *EQ Y) THEN(GOTO CMDLBL(OUT))
             CHGVAR     VAR(&ERRLOOP) VALUE(Y)

             /* Delete temporaty file */
             RMVLNK     OBJLNK(&TEMPFILE)
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPFA0A9)

             /* Send Escape message */
             SNDPGMMSG  MSGID(CPF9898) MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA('Error +
                          Processing File') MSGTYPE(*ESCAPE)

 OUT:        ENDPGM

1. Document more than the minimum 7,500 hours of business analysis work.  This ensures that if your hours are reduced in the review process that you will still have enough hours to qualify to sit for the exam.  This goes for total hours as well as hours in each of the knowledge areas.  I personally documented 9,000 hours on my application.
2. Put the language on your application in the wording of the BABOK®.  By putting your work tasks and deliverables in the language of the profession it is less likely that the hours will be discounted in review.
    

Microsoft has announced that support for Office 2000 ends on July 14th, with Office Update closing on August 1st. In case management and application development members think "well that’s an old version, nobody hacking it anymore", 15 bugs were fixed this year, 12 critical. If you are thinking of upgrading, Office 2007 uses a new format. I would suggest using Open Office unless you using a lot of macros in your Office. Open Office can read your Word documents, but uses an open, readable format. My kids use Open Office for their school work, even though the school requires Word. The best part is that Open Office is free. Try it out in a test environment, and let some of your users try it out for a while. People are change adverse, but there can be valid concerns. Document the issues and create a transition document if you decide to use it in your business.

Organizations that build strong value-driven cultures frequently achieve high performance.  The values that are developed must touch every department in the organization or the overall operation will fall short of its targeted goals.

As an IT consulting firm in Cincinnati, we see many different approaches from many different companies and it is the “out-of-the-box thinkers that seem to continually apply lateral thought process on a continual basis and always stay a few steps ahead of their competition.

One would think that IT departments would observe and learn from this but way too often they do not pay attention to the business drivers of the organization and continue to stay with the same IT infrastructure year in and year out and resist change on any level.

There are those that would argue that “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” and I agree to a point but I believe that if IT professionals are going to contribute to building a strong value-driven culture that works to achieve the business goals of the organization they are going to have to look at new approaches that may enhance the very work they are held accountable for.

Being responsible for business development for our Cincinnati IT consulting firm, over the past couple of weeks I have approached several clients and potential clients with some new value propositions.  Many do not want to talk about them, nor are some even curious on what they are.  Everyone has a full plate and little capacity for a new application development services, IT training or IT consulting project.

However, here is a question that I have for these individuals.  If it is true that information technology changes every fifteen to eighteen months, how can the IT systems and enterprise IT applications that you have had in place for the last three to five years continue to be relevant or simply as efficient as they could be?  Do you not owe it to yourself to at least listen to what an IT consulting firm here in Cincinnati has to offer?  Perhaps that IT consultant has significant experience with a solution that can make a difference but you are unaware of it because you are resistant to change and everything is running 'smoothly'.  I can understand your hesitation but what if the new solution could greatly improve your IT infrastructure, decrease costs, fuel improved productivity or more effectively balance your IT staffing needs?   Wouldn’t it behoove you to at least listen?
 

You guys have nothing to worry about, we're professionals…Professional what?  I think that is a great line from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  I thought of it when I was looking at this post.   In it the author makes the point that is better to hire a IT professional sometimes rather than doing it yourself.    His rationale is that most companies are not in the application development business, so why try and internally do something that is outside your core competency.

Here are some reasons that you might want to bring in an IT Consultant.

1. Knowledge and Experience - The key advantage that an IT Consultant brings to the table is that they have a diverse amount of training and education that is expensive to hire in-house. They may also bring certifications to the table that gives them more credibility and knowledge about ways to improve your company’s use of technology.

2. Strategic Involvement - An IT Consultant could begin as a consultant for you and will investigate your current use of technology and will present you with a wide variety of options for improving your use of technology. Often, they will know more about what kind of options are out there and will have the ability to quickly identify with your business and help you choose the right solution.  Wellness Check anyone?

3. Custom Software Solutions - The ideal solution for your company will be something that is unique and works better for you than anyone else. A good IT Consultant will have the ability to either combine different software packages to best meet your needs or design and write a custom piece of software that is best for your company. In either case, they will have the ability to expertly match your processes with the software’s functionality, giving you the results that you’ve been striving for.  Open Source Solutions could work well.

4. Implementation - Unfortunately, selecting the right software is only half the battle. You must be able to implement the software and train your staff on the proper way to use the software. At STAR BASE we call this mentoring.

5. System Analysis - If you’ve already got a software package that meets your needs and are just looking for a couple of ways to manipulate your current software to improve effectiveness, an IT Consultant can help. They have a diverse knowledge and understanding of software and have the ability to work with a variety of packages, find ways to improve them, and find solutions for your company.  
 

There is trouble in the near future for talent needs and it is coming in various flavors:
 

• According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, in 2010 over 10M jobs in the United States will go unfilled – in 2022 it will be 30M jobs

• College graduation rates are down to 54% and 75% of new jobs will require a college degree

• Making the wild assumption that Baby Boomers (44 – 62 years old) will leave the workforce when they are retirement eligible (is that at 55 or 65?) – there isn’t enough Gen X (28 – 43 years old) to replace them (78M Boomers versus 40M Gen Xers). Gen Y (7 – 27 years old) is big (70M), but still lacks the experience (hello…most haven’t even graduated) to make an immediate impact

• The average time in a company for Gen X is four years; for Gen Y it’s more like two and while the Boomers have been pretty loyal in the past, but the technology market hasn’t exactly rewarded them for that loyalty.

• According to an AARP survey of Boomers - 31% of mature workers became responsible for a dependent parent; 23% had an adult child move back home; and 16% were providing child care or day care for grandchild.  50 to 80 hour work weeks, while tolerated by Boomers and some Gen Xers, won’t be tolerated by Gen Y and won’t be of interest to Boomers as they ‘mature’ in their careers and many take on the care of family members. So, since everyone knows that a 40 hour work week for technology professionals is a joke – who’s going to be doing all the work?

Well, I was thinking there are a couple of answers here but those answers will involve a major paradigm shift in the way we think about our workforce today. 

Baby Boomers are learning very quickly that retirement will have to be postponed because of our current economic conditions.  This wealth of knowledge can be instrumental in assisting those organizations that are struggling with Information Technology Staffing because these folks are going to be around a little longer than they planned!
 
Information technology departments will have to create a hybrid workforce model that will be made up of Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Gen Yers.  Still another approach is to work closer with IT outsourcing partners to ensure you have the talent that you need.  My organization, STAR BASE, Inc. makes finding superior IT talent for IT jobs a fulltime pursuit.

Finally, another emerging model that will be downsized IT department with only mission critical personnel and several part-timers that will be used from time-to-time.  This model will be subsidized from time-to-time by outsourced to information technology staffing partners that can assist in bridging the gap.