Methodology

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?

It’s official now, and it’s time I announce it here: after two years at Microsoft I’ve decided to take the helm of my career and venture into the realm of independent consulting. Two days into it, and all I can say about it is: what have I been waiting for this long?

Prescriptive methodologies, such as Sure Step, are double-edged swords. They are aimed at increasing repeatability, consistency, traceability, manageability and more of your projects, yet they seemingly increase overhead and contribute to an inflated project price tag.

(A short, almost pointless rant about PMBOK vs. Sure Step nonsense) Once, while preparing an important RFP response, a partner told me they don’t use Sure Step because they use PMI methodology . This made my toenails curl up—when people tell me they are using PMI methodology , they in fact tell me they are using no methodology at all.

My dear Loyal Visitor, Navigate Into Success blog has moved to the new domain: http://www.NavigateIntoSuccess.com/ I believe it deserved it. This blog has started as a hobby a year and a half ago. It took it six months before a first visitor arrived to it, and about nine months before it really kicked-off.

(A short rant about eye-contact-based specifications.) In short, there is no such things as an eye-contact-based specification. And for a reason. While kicking-off of a project, we had a discussion with the customer about the change management approach, and specification detail.

One of many improvements the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step methodology has brought along is the revised purpose of the Functional Requirements Document (FRD) . This document has long served as cornerstone of every Analysis process of every implementation project: it was the main…

Recently, a reader, commenting on my last post about Sure Step , pointed me to an article by Karl E. Wiegers “Read My Lips: No New Models!” I initially responded to the comment, but I figure the comments aren’t read as often as posts, so I decided to blog it. It’s doubly funny that the reader is using Dr.

Each phase of Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step methodology is equally important in an implementation project. You could argue that analysis is the most important, or that design is the most important, or that operation is less important. I’ll paraphrase Scott Adams here and ask: how one phase can be more important if each of them is completely necessary?

Methodology is a tough topic. There are good methodologies, there are bad methodologies, there are good methodologies gone bad. Methodology is not a silver bullet, it won’t just make any problems disappear, and is hardly ever the single source of success or failure. But a methodology can be a major contributor to success.