Agile

Sure Step or Sure Wheel?

by Vjekoslav Babic on September 22, 2010

Sure Step or Sure Wheel?Almost exactly two years ago, incited by a comment from a reader, I wrote an article in defense of Sure Step: Read My Lips: Why?. The point was: is Sure Step a new methodology, or is it just a wheel reinvented?

After having taught about a dozen of Sure Step courses all over Europe (and just preparing to take my flight to Århus, Denmark to teach the next one), I’ve decided to prepare an overview of how Sure Step aligns with other methodologies. Students often ask me about this, and often come with previous knowledge of existing methodologies. Being able to map your existing knowledge to Sure Step will be of great help to learn and understand Sure Step in the future.

So, here is a little reverse-engineering of Sure Step from methodology point of view, and an overview of how it aligns specifically with MSSP, MSF, PMBOK, Scrum and MOF.

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Sure Step 2010

by Vjekoslav Babic on December 22, 2009

One of the drawbacks of being a freelancer is a slight risk to learn a bit late about anything new. Once upon a time, when I was still blogging actively, I made sure I was the first to blog about something new, as long as it relates to Sure Step. This time, the news came to me through two channels: through Microsoft Dynamics UK Blog and through Chandru Shankar’s post in SureStep PM Methodology group on LinkedIn.

So, I’m not going to reinvent the wheel, I’m just reposting the content from these two sources, but I’ll not miss to say that I am totally thrilled with this new release, and the new stuff it brings along.

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NAV Decisions 2009 is over, but not quite

by Vjekoslav Babic on October 16, 2009

NAV Decisions 2009

Did you have a chance to attend the NAV Decisions 2009 virtual conference? If yes, how did you like the event? To me, this was a great experience. It wasn’t the first virtual conference I was a part of, but it most certainly was the best.

But if you didn’t have a chance or time to be there (virtually), you don’t have to worry. Even though the conference is over, the website and all the content will be available for three more months. So, until midnight of January 15, 2010, you can still visit the conference website, register and watch and listen to any of the presentations delivered.

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NAV Decisions – an event you should NOT miss

by Vjekoslav Babic on September 19, 2009

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On October 14th you should not miss the NAV Decisions 2009 virtual conference organized by MSDynamicsWorld.com, the independent authority for news and views on Microsoft Dynamics.

NAV Decisions 2009 is a virtual conference & tradeshow for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Professionals seeking implementation strategies, thought leadership, and best practices for maximizing the value and effectiveness of their organization’s NAV platform and initiatives.

The best news about the conference is: it’s absolutely free.

I am one of the featured speakers at the conference, and my session titled “Sure Step Methodology in Agile Environment: Delivering More ERP Value in Less Time” will focus on an ever-hot topic of generating value through ERP.

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Hollywood Secrets of Project Management SuccessTake that project you are currently running, and imagine, just for a second, that it came with only 3% budget overrun. Most of people in software industry would call it wild success.

In motion picture industry, however, trampling measly 2% or 3% over initial budget would be considered a failure.

While movie industry and software industry are seemingly light years apart, there are many things these two have in common, and there are obviously many things we can learn from them.

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March 2009: Sure Step, Agile and Dinosaurs

April 2, 2009

Another one’s down, so let me give it a quick glance over my shoulder before I move on: March 2009. This was the best month ever for this blog: it has seen most posts from me, most visits from you, most subscribers to the feed, and I’ve covered a wide range of topics which I [...]

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5th rule of agile ERP: interface where possible

March 23, 2009

One of the biggest absurdities about ERP systems springs from the very word we use so often when describing ERP: integrated. ERP is an integrated system: it integrates all data and processes into a single application. Different modules look over different aspects of data and processes, but a change in one module automatically reflects in [...]

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4th rule of agile ERP: avoid heavy customizations

March 20, 2009

You can’t avoid customizations. Vanilla ERP is a great first step, and a valuable tool for establishing common language between the customer and the consultant. But in the long run? Probably not. Pristine uncustomized ERP won’t be sufficient, because of the gaps between your way and ERP’s way. Sooner or later, gaps will have to [...]

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3rd rule of agile ERP: focus on value

March 19, 2009

- “We need a report which groups our sales by product components.” – “And we need it broken down by cost centers.” – “And it must show comparison with last month, quarter and year, and with budget and forecast, with indexes and trends. In linear regression.” – “And it must let you choose if it [...]

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2nd rule of agile ERP: deploy gradually

March 18, 2009

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Swallowing it all at once might be tempting as it has all the potential you need to get into the next edition of Guinness World Records. Likewise, trying it with an ERP implementation has all the potential you need to get into to the [...]

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1st rule of agile ERP: deploy vanilla ERP

March 17, 2009

“Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.” That’s the very first principle of the Agile Manifesto. The problem with ERP is that the first deliveries are all but early: they typically occur only after about twenty months. Twenty months is a heck of a long time. [...]

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