Articles by Dr James Robertson

The real issues in IT Audit, cutting through mythology and mystique to examine the factors that should really be examined in IT Audits, ranging from strategic alignment and governance through to effective IT staff alignment with the business through boots in the mud socialization

Prd 001 What is different about the ERP Doctor approach?

Std 018 Procurement: 09 Table of Contents of Submission

The Table of Contents of the Tender Submission is prescribed in detail in order to ensure that different bids can be lined up against one another and accurately compared

SNw 022 Your ERP is a precision instrument - are you using it that way?

Std 002 Standards for Custom Software Specification

A set of outline standards for the specification of custom software

Cnf 011 The Benefits of Management Information Systems to the Professional Practice -- V3 Consulting Engineers Case Study

Case study with regard to a fully integrated business information system (ERP) with Cubic Business Model in the financial suite which delivered exceptional benefits in terms of management information and management effectiveness as well as substantial efficiencies including head count reduction and drastically reduced audit time and cost

Civ 004 ERP implementation is fundamentally an engineering endeavour

Dr James A Robertson PrEng The Business Information Systems Doctor

Business Systems NOT delivering?

Call the Business Systems Specialist

Dr. James Robinson

Dr James A Robertson -- has been involved in the effective application of Business Information Systems, including but NOT limited to ERP, since 1987 and in the profitable and effective use of computers in Business since 1981.

Drawing on a diversity of experience, including formal military training in Quick Attack techniques at the Regimental Commander level, Dr Robertson has developed highly effective methods of investigating any sub-optimal Business Information Systems situation -- be it an established system or a stalled project or any other source of Executive frustration -- quickly and concisely diagnosing the root cause of the problem and prescribing concise practical actions that Business Executives can effectively act on see the Pulse Measurement page and also the Sample Reports page for redacted real reports.

He has also developed highly effective methods of strategically enriching systems to unlock the full potential of existing investments, see the Precision Configuration page and couples this to architecting small pieces of clever software that harness the full potential of your investment, see the Software page.

If you are having problems with your systems, your project or your IT Department, call The Business Systems Specialist
James@James-A-Robertson-and-Associates.com

Business System Failure is RIFE -- we offer insight into why this happens AND WHAT is required to prevent it.

Failure is at epidemic levels with massive damage done to client companies -- if you are NOT aware of the extent of the problem please visit the About Failure page for a catalog of major failures running to billions of Pounds and Dollars.

All evidence indicates that the established players do NOT know how to deliver stable, reliable high value solutions that WORK.

There HAS to be a better way!

This website provides information relating to that way with a large collection of white papers, presentations, standards documents, etc that you can use to start bringing the situation under control

We also offer high level advisory services with regard to the application of the principles advocated on this website

We offer an ENGINEERING APPROACH to addressing these issues

By Engineering I mean the formal, structured, highly disciplined, highly systematic, highly practical approach that consistently delivers results in ALL areas of human endeavor where formally trained and certified engineers are the ONLY practitioners permitted to operate -- think large buildings, factories, motor vehicles, aircraft -- highly complex systems that work at a level that we take it for granted that they WILL work and where failure is all but unthinkable and, when it happens, attracts immediate public attention and rigorous investigation directed at ensuring that such failures are prevented in the future -- in fact, everything that the management consulting industry that implements complex software systems is NOT

This approach is discussed further on the Engineering Approach page.

Book -- The Critical Factors for Information Technology Investment Success

In 2003 I undertook an in-depth analysis of all the information and experience that I had gathered with regard to the factors giving rise to Business Information System failure including ERP and general IT and classified this information into a number of categories including "The Factors Causing Failure" and "The Critical Factors for Success" based on this I developed a two day Course "The Critical Factors for Information Technology Investment Success" which is still offered today.

Based on this I wrote the book of the same name, which is available in electronic form here for download:

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Random Selection of Articles by Dr James Robertson

TxM 006 Section 1.4 What is a Strategic Engineered Precision Taxonomy (SEPT) to JAR&A Standards?

Mzn 002 Survival of the fittest – why it makes sense to measure the pulse of your business

SNw 016 Effective discovery is Essential

TxM 043 Section 4.8 What is an IT Pulse Measurement?

SNw 015 Content is Critical

Mzn 005 Why ERP can make the blood boil

CIO 007 I.T. - The Harshest Judge of Governance

Prd 026 Factors impacting time and budget

Std 001 Simulation Laboratory Standards

Comprehensively configure and break the configuration until it cannot be broken any more and then comprehensively prepare the system and the business for operational deployment so that an exceptionally high value outcome is achieved with comprehensively mitigated risk

Std 020 Procurement: 11 Schedule of Reference Documents

A key component of the approach is to assemble a pack of every single piece of paper, spreadsheet and screen shots and other information of every manual and computer based component of the business that the new system is to either provide or interact with

The documents handed out for general tender should be redacted and unsuccessful bidders can be required to return the file/s

A full set (NO redaction) must be issued to the successful bidder during the detailed discovery process -- redaction means to erase or otherwise blot out sensitive information

The covering schedule must indicate the level of importance of each item in the pack and whether it is a required deliverable