Mzn 004 The JAR&A Pulse Measurement – what it means to your business Created by James on 6/14/2013 2:07:06 PM
As previously discussed, the Pulse Measurement is a short, sharp diagnostic intervention by Dr James Robertson in person.
The Pulse Measurement is interview based and involves Dr Robertson asking a limited number of well tested strategic questions directed at gaining insight into your business and your system problems in the shortest possible time.
Dr Robertson works on the basis of one hour one on one interviews starting with the CEO then the rest of the Executive team followed by managers responsible for the systems and then staff operating the systems and technical staff, consultants, implementers, etc. The system is concurrently inspected and data, source code, manuals and other operational elements are inspected and interrogated as necessary.
Only those whose input is directly relevant to the stated problem are interviewed, others will be drawn in as required.
During the interviews Dr Robertson is constantly weighing up the information provided against his diverse experience of conducting Pulse Measurements for over twenty years and involvement in the commercial application of computers for over thirty years. With this context and the catalogue of factors causing failure and factors required for successful outcomes Dr Robertson is able to very rapidly arrive at a diagnosis of the cause or causes of the problem or problems.
This provides a basis for further questions during the high level interviews and defines the line of inquiry as his investigation drills down to the operational side of system operation.
"Using this technique I frequently have a good idea of the cause of the problem by the time I leave the CEO's office and in most cases I know pretty nearly exactly what to look for in the technical evaluation by halfway through the first day", James says.
Why would you commission a Pulse Measurement?
Most clients approach Dr Robertson to undertake a Pulse Measurement because excecutive management are frustrated with their ERP or other IT investment.
Typical drivers for an investigation include:
n We have had this system for ten years, should we be changing to something newer?;
n We have spent millions on this system and I still cannot get the information I want – what is wrong? – did we buy the wrong system?
n I keep being told that we should have another brand of ERP, how do I know if this is correct?
n The cost of running this system keeps climbing, what do I do?
n I am just #@*&^%$#@ frustrated with this thing, I am just about ready to go back to a manual system!
n etc
The Pulse Measurement is geared to answering all these questions and any other of similar ilk within a period of one to ten days depending on the size of the organization and the complexity and severity of the problem.
A diagnosis of the headline causes and recommended treatment actions is frequently made in as little as one to two days.
A comprehensive high level analysis of the extent of the problem and outline of the proposed solution can follow in a comparably short time.
All findings are explained in language that makes sense to executives using easy to understand metaphors to drive home the point.
A presentation to EXCO is an optional add-on drawing on a portfolio of slides built up over twenty plus years.
The Pulse Measurement is geared to give Excecutives sufficient insight into the issues that they can take charge of and start taking informed BUSINESS decisions about.
What does this mean to you?
The basic implication of this approach is that you can expect to have an absolutely impartial objective, expert opinion on the health of your ERP within a few days at a very affordable cost.
Dr Robertson is independent of all software vendors and implementers and will "tell it like it is" as required.
"My default position is to retain and leverage the existing investment in software and service provider relationships but there are times when radical change IS justified" says James.
Outcomes can range from some simple organizational actions to a recommendation to trash the system as a matter of urgency -- in one case where a disastrous implementation was in the process of trashing the company because of failure to meet customer service level promises they rolled back to the previous system in five weeks! Countering this, another client was able to get another eight years life out of a system that they were on the point of trashing before the Pulse Measurement.
For a modest investment you can obtain clarity on the REAL ISSUES with regard to your ERP operation, a clear understanding of what is required to remediate the situation, the reasurance that things are not as bad as they seem to be and, potentially, savings of millions of Rands.
"Pulse Measurements" regularly save clients millions", says Dr Robertson.
"In some cases a Pulse Measurement is all that is required for management to take appropriate decisions and bring things under control", James adds.
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