IT Governance - Make IT a success factor!

IT Governance - Make IT a success factor!

By Gerhard FriedrichBusinessMarketing
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IT Governance - Make IT a success factor! episodes

  • How Contracts determine the Success of IT Projects
    It's all about mindset - how to design contracts that support project success
    This podcast is an excerpt from a book about IT law and mindset in project management. It deals with the importance of contracts for the success of IT projects. It shows how contracts shape project work and that contracts that do not fit agile projects endanger their success. It is shown why fixed-price contracts are dangerous and how contracts should be designed to promote project success.
    27 min
  • Bottleneck management in IT projects - Case Studies
    How to find the bottleneck and how to overcome blocks

    This podcast summarizes the key points and topics from three case studies on the topic of bottleneck-oriented project management. The examples come from Gerhard Friedrich's IT-governance.blog and describe specific challenges and solutions that he faced as a project manager.

    The case studies show that identifying and systematically eliminating bottlenecks is a key factor for successful project management. The important thing is to
    Questioning problems and identifying the real bottleneck.
    Developing pragmatic and creative solutions.
    Acting proactively and anticipating future bottlenecks.
    Bottleneck-oriented project management makes it possible to manage projects more efficiently and ensure their long-term success.

    31 min
  • Bottleneck orientation in project management
    What can we learn from TOC and EKS

    This podcast describes different approaches to bottleneck orientation in project management. Central to this is identifying and eliminating bottlenecks – both external (customer needs) and internal (resources, processes) – in order to maximize project success. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) with its cyclic approach and the Bottleneck-Concentrated Strategy (EKS) are presented, whereby the EKS offers a broader strategic framework while the TOC provides concrete tools for increasing productivity. The author, Gerhard Friedrich, emphasizes the importance of stakeholder management and prioritizing measures to achieve the greatest benefit in each case. Finally, TOC and EKS are not presented as opposing approaches, but as complementary ones, with EKS serving as an overarching guide

    20 min
  • Process Analysis: Do not go into details too early
    How process optimization should be done
    This podcast discusses the challenges of process analysis in the context of IT projects. Effective process optimization requires close collaboration between business and IT, where premature detailing of target processes is often inefficient. Instead, Gerhard Friedrich advocates an iterative spiral model that enables flexible adjustments and keeps the dialog between users and the IT department permanently in focus. Standard software is favored over custom development, and agile methods should include appropriate preparation phases. Finally, the importance of open exchange and joint solution finding is emphasized.
    Here is the original blog post (in German): https://it-governance.blog/prozessanalysen-helfen-nuetzen-aber-nichts/
    10 min
  • Test, test, test - from the very beginning to the end
    Why and how testing is crucial for success
    This podcast emphasizes the importance of Test Driven Development (TDD), in particular the early formulation of test cases, in order to avoid misunderstandings and mistakes in software development. It argues that tests should not only be applied to finished software, but to all intermediate results, such as project plans or requirements descriptions. An example from the insurance industry illustrates how user stories can be specified with test cases to describe requirements in detail and validate them early. Identifying errors early saves time and effort.
    18 min
  • IT is a bottleneck? Do it yourself!
    How citizen development can solve the capacity bottleneck in IT
    This podcast discusses the global shortage of software developers and presents Citizen Development as a possible solution. Citizen development, the development of applications by business users using low-code/no-code platforms, is presented as a paradigm shift that can improve collaboration between business and IT. Gerhard Friedrich emphasizes the importance of governance and an agile corporate culture for the success of citizen development and warns of the risks of "shadow IT". Success factors lie in the cooperation between business users and IT as well as the right choice of implementation model. Gerhard Friedrich illustrates this using a case study with a business rule engine.
    7 min
  • Simplicity beats complexity!
    Why Ashby's law should not be misunderstood
    This podcast discusses Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety and argues that it is misinterpreted in practice, especially in project management. Gerhard Friedrich points out that the law only applies within a common set of rules. It is a mistake to conclude from this that complex projects must be managed with complex organizational forms. Instead, he argues for the use of agile methods, which are characterized by simplicity and efficiency, to manage complexity. Gerhard Friedrich illustrates his point using examples from project management and game theory.
    18 min
  • IT is not just a service provider
    The role of IT has to change signifcantly to master today's challenges

    This podcast deals with the changing role of IT in the age of digitalization. It criticizes the traditional view that regards IT as a pure service provider that carries out instructions from specialist departments. Instead, it argues that IT must be an equal partner in the development of business models and processes. The text calls for close cooperation and dialogue between IT and specialist departments in order to successfully meet the challenges of digitalization.

    14 min
  • Who is to Blame for the Failure of a Project?
    Against bullshit bingo and newspeak
    This podcast deals with the question of how to deal with mistakes and problems in projects. Gerhard Friedrich criticizes the widespread practice of obscuring mistakes or referring to them as “challenges” and argues that mistakes should be addressed openly and learned from. He argues that in projects there is very often a clear “right” and “wrong”. While avoiding blame is important, mistakes must be recognized as such and analyzed. It is important to learn from mistakes and improve processes instead of glossing over them just to avoid hurting anyone's feelings.
    22 min
  • User stories are only a first step
    Simplicity is not enough, if the task is complex
    This podcast discusses the use of user stories in agile project management and analyzes their strengths and weaknesses. Gerhard Friedrich argues that user stories are a good starting point for requirements definition, but should not serve as the sole form of requirements definition. He advocates taking into account various perspectives (user, business, task, implementation, environment) when analyzing requirements and points out the limitations of INVEST criteria.
    25 min

About IT Governance - Make IT a success factor!

From the publisher's feed

Gerhard Friedrich gives advice based on more than 30 years of experience in IT management.