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What is DevOps?

This entry is part 11 of 31 in the series Defining words

One area of business strategy growing in importance is strategy around the business of IT.  I think of “the business of IT” as how IT delivers services internally vs. IT Strategy which is (how I use the term) how IT directly supports business capabilities.

A über topic in the business of IT is DevOps.  It is on my radar because it supports key business capabilities such as ability to bring new product features to market quickly and the ability to experiment with customers through continuous innovation. I will leave finding how I just contradicted myself as an exercise for the reader.

I am creating dozens of hooks for future blog posts here!

Wikipedia says: DevOps (a portmanteau of development and operations) is a software development method that stresses communication, collaboration and integration between software developers and information technology (IT) professionals.[1] DevOps is a response to the interdependence of software development and IT operations. It aims to help an organization rapidly produce software products and services”

I really enjoy hearing about how leading practices are used in real life by small cutting-edge enterprises, but these disclosures are rare.  I stumbled upon a great write-up on how iProperty has implemented DevOps on Andy Kelk’s blog.  Andy says: “DevOps is to operations what Agile is to software development. It’s about increasing communication, collaboration and achieving results as a team and not in silos.”  He also recommends a few books which will no-doubt end up on my reading list in the future.

What is Cloud Computing?

This entry is part 12 of 31 in the series Defining words

 

Even if you already know about cloud you should watch this video by Stephen Fry!

StephenFryOnCloudComputing

 

 

 

 

Cloud is a broad topic about new ways to gain significant business advantage by reorganizing computing infrastructure, tools, applications and processes in a way to increase business agility and lower costs.  Traditional IT infrastructure and software services are formalized and provided in a more mechanized and efficient manner.  Cloud Computing is also an important trend.

The primary sub-topics are:

  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – Hardware such as raw compute power and storage, virtual machines, operating systems, execution platforms such as Java application servers, database management systems, etc.  Read more about IBM IaaS here.
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) – Primarily a service for IT and especially for software developers.  Provides the ability to quickly build and compose software components.  This is where DevOps sits.  Read more about IBM BlueMix and Cloud MarketPlace.
  • Software as a Service (SaaS) – Applications in the cloud such as CRM, email, games,
  • Process as a Service (PBaaS) – Ranges from providing Business Process Manager (BPM) software as a service to end-to-end enablement of a business process such as account opening.

IBM cloud computing reference architecture (simplified)

Cloud service may be provided internally, externally or both (hybrid).  A large organization such as a bank might want to manage its own cloud if it believes that it can better provide for security and disaster recovery.

IBM’s view on cloud computing is captured in its Cloud Computing Reference Architecture (CCRA).

Another important area of cloud computing is cloud standards.

 

What is a Banking Multi-Channel Architecture?

This entry is part 13 of 31 in the series Defining words

 

I was referred by a client to a good article by a fellow IBMer on the subject of multi-channel architectures in banking so I though I would pass it along.

Finding the balance between reusing components and maintaining flexibility and agility on each channel is a subject that I spend a lot of time on myself and find quite interesting.  This article covers the fundamentals you need to understand before tackling more complex topics.

If you are here then you must be interested in the topic. I encourage you to give it a read.

A MULTI-CHANNEL SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR BANKING by Chris Pavlovski

 

What is Gamification?

This entry is part 14 of 31 in the series Defining words

Gamification is another one of those words that I have been scolded for using in meetings.  Folks, this is one worth looking up, understanding, and shoehorning into your vocab.

Gamification is the use of game mechanics to influence people.  Game mechanics are becoming one of the most important means of influencing people with technology.  Hmm, now that sounds important!

Click on the picture below to get started.  This TED talk is a bit dated but it still a good place to start.

See SCVNGR’s Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck.

You can also Google “Game Dynamics” and “Game Mechanics”.

Also refer to Gartner’s “Gamification Is Not Just for Fun; It Can Personalize Customer Engagement With Bank Products and Services Published: 3 December 2012“.

 

 

According to Digital Bank, Poland’s mBank revamped its mobile banking services to, among other things, leverage gamification to encourage sensible spending and saving.

What is Crowdsourcing?

This entry is part 15 of 31 in the series Defining words

I have kept crowdsourcing on the shelf over the years as a “plan B” should I ever need an alternative way to make a living.

I explored it further when brainstorming ways to gather information about authenticated digital services in various countries.  I was considering whether to engage a private crowd within IBM using a micro-task marketplace such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turks.

Crowdsourcing is huge and diverse and includes micro-tasking, macro-tasking, crowd contests, crowd funding and self-organizing crowds.  In my usual fashion I will refer you to a book that explains it all better than I can here:  Crowdsourcing for Dummies.

9781119940401I decided to use an IBM social media tool for my study instead of a market place because I wanted to keep my work in a private crowd.  The “crowd” is a large part of the value of a market place and I doubt I can reach my intended crowd that way.  I am going to need to need to find my contributors manually.  I still found the book helpful in understanding how to organize the micro-tasks, provide instructions, and use gamification techniques to motivate participation.

The reason why I talk about it here is because I think that crowdsourcing is going to become more important in the future and should be one of the key technology trends impacting business strategies and digital services.

What is a Segment Strategy?

This entry is part 16 of 31 in the series Defining words

In my previous posts on business strategy I talked some about business-unit strategy.  Sometimes a business unit is focused on a particular market.  If an organization wants to create a strategy for a market segment, but for whatever reason doesn’t want to create a business unit around it, then what do you call it?

I call it a “segment strategy”.   The customer segment being important enough to warrant executive leadership (and a strategy) but not important enough to warrant a business unit.  In banking, a “Retail” business unit is typically broken down into broad customer segments such as Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW), High Net Worth (HNW), Affluent and Mass.  These, being broken down further into micro-segments on the way to nirvana where every customer is “a segment of one”.

The segment strategy inherits all of the business-unit strategy content that is general across all customer segments.

A segment strategy provides all the product-market strategies for a broad customer segment, including the 4 P’s.  then it amends the business-unit strategy as needed for the customer segment.  For a retail banking business unit this would include things like how to attract, organize, use and retain key skills such as local/regional private banking and SME expertise.

What is a Business Model?

This entry is part 17 of 31 in the series Defining words

The standard definition for “business model” is an articulation of how an organization creates, delivers and captures value.

Business Model Generation breaks a business model down into 9 building blocks:

  1. Customer Segments
  2. Value Propositions
  3. Channels
  4. Customer Relationships
  5. Revenue Streams
  6. Key Resources
  7. Key Activities
  8. Key Partnerships
  9. Cost Structure.

They organize it all into a “business model canvas” and provide useful and entertaining artwork (see below).

agr003_0

 

What is an Operating Model?

This entry is part 18 of 31 in the series Defining words

We spend a lot of time creating target operating models (TOMs)–sometimes prematurely in my view.  A telling fact is that businesses create TOMs without anything in writing about the existing operating model or business strategy.

When I learned about target operating models I, thankfully, first grounded myself in what an operating model is, why it is important and how it is used.  Some published material that I have enjoyed reading is in the reading room at OperatingModels.com.

In particular, I like the following documents:

The Intro to TOMs provides a simple diagram about operating models that I think explains the purpose and use of operating models nicely.

operating modelThey also have a book on operating models but the essential content has been replicated into the TOM document.  I suspect that is because no one downloads the operating models book.  Why bother with an operating model when you can create a target operating model!

My advice is to read the book on TOMs but focus on the part about operating models.

Another book worth sharing is “Defining your Operating Model: Designing a Foundation for Execution“.  The key points are:

  • The operating model is a key enabler and constraint on the business model
  • Two key dimensions of operating models are process standardization andStandardizationIntegration integration.

They provide a 2×2 grid that breaks down into 4 operating models:

  • Diversification (processes are neither standardized nor integrated)
  • Coordination (processes are integrated but not standardized)
  • Replication (processes are standardized but not integrated)
  • Unification (processes are both standardized and integrated).

 

 

What is a Target Operating Model (TOM)

This entry is part 19 of 31 in the series Defining words

I started my journey to understand target operating models (TOMs).  It didn’t occur to me to first understand what is an operating model until I tried to understand the big picture and how everything fits together.  Note to self:  Before writing a TOM go back and review operating models.target operating model

A target operating model (TOM) envisions how the business will operate in the future.  Creating a TOM requires two primary prerequisites:

  1. An operating model for which a detailed and shared understanding exists, and hopefully documentation
  2. A business strategy for which a detailed and shared understanding exists, and hopefully documentation.

The TOM envisions how a new (transformed) organization will operate that is substantially different from the way the organization operates today.

Some published material that I have enjoyed reading is in the reading room at OperatingModels.com.

In particular, I like the following documents:

 

What are Strategic Guiding Principles?

This entry is part 20 of 31 in the series Defining words

Principles are general rules or maxims that have repeatedly proven successful when followed.

There are guiding principles for just about everything.  I know of the following kinds of guiding principles for strategy:

  1. Guiding principles to guide the formulation of strategy
  2. Guiding principles to guide the implementation of strategy
  3. Guiding principles for business strategy
  4. Guiding principles for IT strategy.

Note that in the above the first two overlap with the second two.  They are not all mutually exclusive.

Strategic guiding principles are both a key input and key output of business and IT strategy processes.  Guiding principles that the organization has accumulated over time are reassessed in light of a modified mission and changing environment.  New strategy is restated in the form of guiding principles to constrain the operations of business and IT.  Strategic principles provide guidance when designing the operating model and allow the operating model to be assessed to determine alignment to the business and IT strategies.

Principles meant to guide the formulation of business strategy are frequently taken from military strategy.  They are general in nature (as opposed to being specific to the organization’s strategy).  Bernard Boar lists the following such principles in The Art of Strategic Planning for Information Technology:

  • Adjust your ends to your means
  • Keep your object in mind (focus)
  • Choose the line of least expectation (surprise)
  • Choose the line of least resistance–it is better to win through indirection than by direct confrontation
  • Choose a line of operation that offers alternative objectives (adaptability)
  • Ensure that both dispositions are flexible and adaptable to circumstances (maneuverability)
  • Do not throw your weight into a stroke while your opponent is on guard
  • Do not renew an attack along the same line or in the same form after it has once failed.

Principles meant to guide the implementation of a business strategy are typically very specific to the strategy itself.  These are generally called principles but stretch the definition given in the first line of this post.  I give examples if this kind of principles here.