Cheeky Monkey Business Solutions » product lifecycle management

Make Do and Mend

Michael Ryan — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:10:14 +0000

Over the past few months, I have been compiling a mental list of all the things that I would like to receive for Christmas but now I am struggling to find anything that I really need in there.

This is nothing to do with the ‘real message of Christmas’ or anything like that. Instead, it’s down to an article by Angela Raini on the BBC last week.

She is a technology journalist who does not feel the need to be the early adopter, ahead of the pack constantly replacing and updating her gadgets. Instead, she is much happier to stick with what she has until has completely outgrown its use or it cannot be repaired any longer.

“If this sounds like wartime Britain – make do and mend and all that – that’s because, in a way it is. Fixing things and recycling in some places is a necessity, not a choice. In the developing world you can see it everywhere.”

After reading the article, I have to admit that I started to feel a little bit greedy. Much of the stuff that was on my list was there to replace something that I have already. Not even things that need much fixing, just things that I wanted a shinier version of.

When did all this happen? I’m not that old but I can remember a time when you wouldn’t lightly scrap something and replace it without seeing if it could be repaired first. Once, we waited a whole week while our VHS player was at the repair shop! Admittedly, it was hardly the blitz but still …

This desire to rip out and replace things in need of repair is not exclusive to individuals. Many organisations have their own list of things that they want and are running initiatives to replace what they already. Don’t get me wrong, looking at ways to improve is definitely a good thing but some approaches can be more drastic than they need to be.

I was speaking to somebody the other day who had been challenged with coming up with a replacement for one of their company processes. After getting everybody in her team together to start from scratch and writing up the work, she found the documentation for the original, only to find that it was virtually the same as her new version.

As austerity hits, more people are looking for ways to save money by repairing their essentials; resoling shoes, mending clothes, etc. How are you looking for ways to ‘make do and mend’ the things that are important to your business?

Sustainable PLM & the $1 project?

Nina Dar — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:24:23 +0000

For those of you that don’t know Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is the art of managing your products from idea all the way through the development process to the point of changing it or killing it with “crystal ball” ability to getting the biggest bang for your buck.

PLM may sound simple, the art is all about science and magic. Ensuring that you understand what is happening in the world, in terms of the environment (where the stuff to make everything comes from = science), knowing as much as you can about the people who could buy it and what they need and want (even if they don’t know it yet = science) and putting something together that talks to you and me in such a way that we want it (magic).

This article focus on the start of any PLM journey WHO, WHAT, WHY…How could Reebok sell trainers for $1?

So, what is this really about?

Generating employee loyalty?
Creating and innovating projects in poor and developing areas of the world?
A chance for people to feel good again?
Corporations doing good, really? Just think about what Coke did years ago. They went to the far flung places in the world and sold their product at a price point that area could afford. Where ever I went with my backpack in the world I could share a coke with a local it was awesome and created world domination because of brand loyalty, people have grown up with that brand – it’s a fundamental part of their lives and has kept Coke at number 1 – creating brand loyalty is what this is all about isn’t it?
Even if it is it’s a slap on the back all round because economically this is what developing areas need. Source the materials locally so the people involved in that get money to invest in looking for better materials, get the local workforce to make them, so they have money to buy them (and educate their families which will lead to lots of other ideas) – it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Sustainable PLM is still finding its feet in industry and I think this is a great example of just what can and needs to be done by companies who want to future proof what they do and how they do it. They say it’s a social project which is interesting and I assume a nice PR angle. Social is just one aspect of work that is being addressed adidas are creating projects that address the future needs of doing business, finding new markets and ultimately new consumers.

Interestingly the article focuses on the price point and how they are having to go back to basics to figure out how to make this work and what the price point is, it may not be a $1…this is fantastic and a exercise every business should be doing right now. Forget the term recession, our world has changed and we need to know how to work within the new rules.

How are you looking forward to see who your future customers are and how you are going to reach them no matter how unrealistic that may sound? May be everyone should start a $1 project…

Finding The Right Mix

Michael Ryan — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:43:30 +0000

Over the past couple of months, I have been working with a group of people to help them get ready for training out some PLM software. In that time we’ve spent a fair amount of time locked together in a room working what we are going to train and developing the material.

One of the trainers is a DJ so we’ve been swapping notes and I was really excited when he handed me a mix that he’d made.

Over the years, I’ve made quite a few compilations of my own; often for friends and occasionally in an attempt to impress a girl. So I know how difficult it can be to make one that really hits the mark.

It’s a very fine line between making something that somebody else would like and creating something self-indulgent that leaves the person receiving it baffled. Unless you really know somebody well, that noise that you love could be enough to send somebody hurtling towards the off button.

As I’ve been preparing the training material, I have faced the same challenge.

I’m a detail person so my natural instinct is to dive in and work out how things work and what it’s doing. This can be a great approach for some people of a similar mind set but in some cases I have been met with blanks faces from others who couldn’t care what’s going on in the background. They just want to know which buttons they needs to press and what difference it is going to make.

The truth is that you can’t just shy away from bit that will turn people off. In these cases, you just have to keep on moving with the belief that what you are doing is right.

Getting the material right means striking a balance between the two and that means thinking about your audience and how they are going to take that information.

The problem is that there are often some things that you know that your audience will not like. This is not because either of you are doing something wrong; it’s down to the inevitable fact that adding structure means that some of the ways of working have to change and some of the shortcuts that people have grown accustomed to have to go.

The truth is that you can’t just shy away from bit that will turn people off. In these cases, you just have to keep on moving with the belief that what you are doing is right. The important bit is that you keep on listening while you do it.

The Longest Night

Michael Ryan — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:08:40 +0000

This is a tweet made last week by one of a group of six volunteers who emerged from a capsule after undertaking a 520 day, “Mission to Mars.

“The longest night in the world is about to finish. Amazingly intense and VERY surreal hours: packing, sending data, stowing experiments, preparing to enter the most alien of worlds.”

In reality, their ‘voyage’ was just a simulation of some of the conditions that the crew of a spaceship would face travelling to the Red Planet, and they had not travelled beyond the Russian suburb that played host to the experiment.

While the experiment could not replicate all of the conditions, such as weightlessness or the effects of radiation; it did give the participants in insight into some of the mental effects that they would be likely to encounter.

They experienced the isolation of being trapped and the frustrations of delays or breakdown of communication with ‘ground control’. They even tried to imagine what it would be like to land on Mars, albeit in a pit of red sand.

Making a change often has dramatic impacts on people, process and technology, yet when IT is involved the focus often stays firmly placed on two points on this triangle. And unfortunately, it is only at the zero hour that the impact on people enters the spotlight.

Meanwhile, for some, the journey up to the point that they reach the new world can seem like “the longest night in the world”. This might be the people driving the change who are not fully sure what the immediate impact will be. Or, it is the recipients of the change who have heard stories about the alien world and are nervous about how it will affect their lives. Furthermore, the change may not be immediate and delays can take place as people get used to their new surroundings.

So, as you invest in the development of new technology to reach the new world, how do you make sure that your crew are ready to make the journey with you?

Back to school

Michael Ryan — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:35:37 +0000

I read this article this morning about how a school in Oxford are involving students in the selection process for new teachers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12883110 The school have created a student panel of over 13 year olds who form part of the interview process for potential new teachers. The school has taken their lead from businesses and feel that the students’ involvement is a form of market research. Their input is not taken lightly: “It’s a poor candidate who comes to this school and thinks the student panel is a push-over and whose opinions aren’t taken into consideration.”

If schools are taking their student’s opinions so seriously, how are you getting your employees involved in your organisation?

“The more input we get from students the more likely we are to make a good decision.” Traditionally, Marketing and Sales have been the key drivers for delivering what the customer wants but everybody in your organisation is a consumer and therefore has a valid opinion on what makes an attractive product. By helping everybody to understand that they all responsible for product development and have an active role to play outside of their specific role or function, you can generate feedback on your own products. This insight will help you ultimately help you to create better products. The school have also seen other benefits that last longer than the selection process itself. “Not only does it give the students a sense of leadership and responsibility … but if they can see the strengths and the qualities of the teachers they will appreciate them more.” Likewise, including everybody your new product development creates a dialogue between the senior team and the rest of the organisation. Showing people that their voice is important makes it easier to communicate your business strategy and develop widespread personal accountability for the delivery of your other company goals. Are you thinking of your employees as consumers?

1991: The Year That Punk Broke

Michael Ryan — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:36:57 +0000

It’s here. The moment I’ve been looking forward to and dreading in equal measure. The Nineties revival is coming. The recent issue of MOJO is marking 20 years since the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind; an album that made a massive impact on me when I was a teenager. Coincidentally, a podcast that I listen to also had a special 90s edition. The starting point for their discussion was the release of Nevermind.

Nevermind has had a lasting impact on my music taste, even though I haven’t really listened to it properly in over 10 years. What it really demonstrates is the way that innovation happens. Kurt Cobain was heavily influenced by the music that he listened to; The Vaselines, The Butthole Surfers, Iggy & the Stooges, Mudhoney, The Pixies. These bands were never going to really make the mainstream because their ideas were pretty far out and didn’t really appeal to the masses. Sure some of these have had some commercial success but never to the level that Nirvana went on to achieve. Kurt Cobain made all these things easy for the mainstream to digest; he made them pop. In these circles this is not a cool thing to say but it’s true. What made Nirvana special was they were fans; they knew what was happening and created it from a love of what they heard. The other key factor in the album’s success was timing. Mainstream rock music had turned into a pastiche of itself through over-produced, over-indulgent ‘hair metal’ bands. Nirvana swept through in a wave of raw noise and ripped jeans. Nirvana were exciting!! So what does this approach mean 20 years later? If anything it should be easier to create a Nevermind. The world of social networking makes the world of what new things are happening and what people want transparent. The interesting question is, “Who or what is going to be your Kurt Cobain?” Or, how are you going to make sense of all your ideas and focus them into to something that will change somebody’s life?

Talkin Bout A Revolution

Michael Ryan — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 11:06:52 +0000

As I was skimming through BBC News this morning, I found an article about “The Man Who Wrote the Revolution Rulebook”. The subject of the report is Dr Gene Clark who has written a number of different books that have gone on to influence protestors in a number of countries, most recently those at Tahrir Square in Egypt. Dr Clark has created a number of “rules” for non- violent revolution that are based around the premise that “the power of dictatorships comes from the willing obedience of the people they govern – and that if the people can develop techniques of withholding their consent, a regime will crumble.” What immediately struck me was that the same rules apply for any change. The way that things work now are held together by the will of the people who support it, making a change is about changing the way that they work. The key to that change is a change of attitude and behaviour.

Here are some of the key “rules”: Develop a strategy for winning freedom and a vision of the society you want You need a vision of the new world that you can share with your supporters and help you to determine the way there. Overcome fear by small acts of resistance Break your journey into manageable chunks that spread the benefits across the whole program of change. Use colours and symbols to demonstrate unity of resistance You need something to demonstrate that you want to share the future with others. Communication is the key to showing unity with your team. Learn from historical examples of the successes of non-violent movements Look around and understand how others have successfully made the change. Use non-violent “weapons” There are tools available to help you manage the behavioural change. Use them. Identify the dictatorship’s pillars of support and develop a strategy for undermining each What are the most common faults in the way you work? Use these as the benchmarks to measure your success. Use oppressive or brutal acts by the regime as a recruiting tool for your movement What’s in it for the people? Identify the areas of frustration that the change will address and use them as the motivation to embrace the change. Isolate or remove from the movement people who use or advocate violence Maybe not as extreme as removing people but you need to stick to your beliefs and keep the faith!

After over 30 years of the regime in Egypt they made the change in 18 days. The catalyst was the example of Tunisia’s revolution and the use of social media to communicate their message. Could you lead a revolution in your organisation? The original article is available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12522848

Radiohead – great band but even better example of a brand

Michael Ryan — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:17:30 +0000

I am so excited I can hardly concentrate. It’s not because it’s Valentine’s Day and I going out with my fiancée later. It’s this ….

This is Radiohead announcing the release of their new album, “The King of Limbs” on Saturday 19^th February. So what have they done to make me so excited? My passion for Radiohead’s music has increased with every bold and innovative move they’ve made. And let’s make this clear. I didn’t just hear Radiohead and decide they were the best band in the world immediately. They won me over. Here are three things that made me love Radiohead.

Kid A and Amnesiac

It takes a very brave band to risk the huge commercial success of albums like The Bends and OK Computer by releasing two very different sounding albums. Apparently unhappy with the sound they had created, Kid A and Amnesiac embraced the electronic music that the band had been listening to and created something that was not only different to anything they had done before but also quite different to anything that was around at the time. The guitarist Ed O’Brien said at the time “If you’re going to make a different sounding record, you have to change the methodology. And it’s scary – everyone feels insecure. I’m a guitarist and suddenly it’s like, well, there are no guitars on this track, or no drums.”

The release of In Rainbows

The album In Rainbows was released through their website with limited press and with no record company support. And, if you wanted it, all they wanted in return was a donation … and you could pay what you wanted. The average donation was £4 showing that, despite the opportunity to get the album for virtually nothing, their fan base was still prepared to pay for a reasonable price for it.

The In Rainbows tour

The band set their production team the challenge of making their world tour carbon neutral. As a result the team worked with their suppliers to create a lightshow using LEDs that used 50% of the energy of their previous tour. The light supplier i-Pix have an interesting case study available from their website about the development of the lights. The company had only 5 months to design and manufacture 206 units for the tour and they made it with 4 days to spare. They put their success down to “down to an exceptionally good team, some serious planning and pushing their subcontractors to the limits!” The case study is at http://www.i-pix.uk.com/gallery/case-studies.htm. There is also a great document available that gives other examples of the how they planned to reduce the environmental impact like using locations with good public transport and changing the way they moved the equipment. It is also available at http://www.i-pix.uk.com/downloads/RadioheadLSIJune2008.pdf. I saw them at the LCCC ground in Manchester and the effect was breath taking. I recommend that you watch it all but, if not, start at the 2m 45s mark. The lights are great and it puts pay to the myth that they are miserable sods who hide behind their guitars. There is a PLM story here. Radiohead are fearless in the products that they create and the way that they create them. They are prepared to innovate at the creative stage and they are not afraid to look sideways at other genres of music to create their unique sound. They also look forward; Kid A bemused a lot of fans when it came out but since it release it’s been hailed as one of the best albums of the Noughties by Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and The Times. They understand their fans and know that it’s not just what they sell that it is important but it is how they appeal to them. Radiohead have made a conscious effort not to follow the typical record company approach and have used technology to help them do that. But they still retain the elements that make them who they are. They do all this with a wider sense of responsibility and their approach is echoed in everything that they do and in the people that they work with. There is an argument that rock stars shouldn’t do this kind of thing but I disagree completely. Radiohead understand that people look to them as examples and the way they act is as important to their fans as their music. What these things typify to me are Radiohead’s innovative approach to artistic integrity and social conscience; an approach that in itself generates loyalty and excitement in their fans. Needless to say, my copy has been ordered and I am waiting impatiently for Saturday to come so I can download the album. I have to wait until May for the physical product to arrive. The decision to not buy it just didn’t enter my mind. So how about your brands? Are people craving your next move or just reacting to your launches?

Ready for kick off

Michael Ryan — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:28:33 +0000

This weekend is the Manchester derby

If I knew anything about football, I would write a long metaphor about a team talk in advance of the big match. The manager would walk in as the team are getting ready. He’d talk about their opponents and say something inspiring about how everything depends on this game. The team would talk about what they were going to do. The manager would draw some sweeping lines on a chalk board and everyone would show that that they understood by saying “Yes Guv”. As you can probably tell, I don’t know anything about football strategy apart from what I’ve seen in films or TV programs. I have been involved in a few project kick off meetings though. The project kick off meeting should be first team activity once your project has been approved. In yesterday’s blog, I gave you some of the questions to ask:

Do we know what we are doing this for?
Is what we are doing it for measurable?
What needs to happen for it to be success (or what would we stop the project for if it wasn’t happening)?
Which individuals are going to do deliver what and by when?

So why is this meeting so important?

It gets everybody focussed on the goal (pun?) as well as the process. It’s not just about them delivering something; it’s about them delivering something that creates a benefit.
It makes sure that everybody understands what they are doing before the game begins. The manager can still guide from the side lines but the team has a focus to carry them through.
It also helps the team understand how the game is going to be played. As well as agreeing the goal and the steps to deliver it, the kick off meeting should also help the team understand how they are going to communicate with each other or what to do if they see a risk or issue.

Here are some common reasons why they might not happen:

Who needs any more meetings?
That sounds like it would take a really long time
Not everybody involved will attend

If the excuses look familiar remember that it might take a change in behaviour but it is an important step in getting your product development process working, especially if it is new to some. Do you hold a meeting like this? If so, do you find it useful? If not, would it help?

How can you engineer success?

Michael Ryan — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:25:50 +0000

Human beings have evolved over millions of years through a process of natural selection. It’s a pretty cruel process when you think about it; those fortunate to have been born with a particular genetic makeup survive while others don’t.

Only kidding! I’m not saying we’re the next evolutionary step. I just think the monkey gets a bad deal sometimes. Now think about your product development process, are you trying to following the process of evolution or do you need something more? Evolution implies that you are constantly launching products that may or may not fail, when in fact what you need to do is to breed for success. Your process needs to help you to define and measure success as you develop your products. But how can you do that?

Hold a kick off meeting to define your project

In simple terms, get everybody together to define what success is by asking:

Do we know what we are doing this for?
Is what we are doing it for measurable?
What needs to happen for it to be success (or what would we stop the project for if it wasn’t happening)?
Which individuals are going to do deliver what and by when?

Document the answers to the above

Make sure that everybody leaves the meeting understanding the project and their actions. Here are some suggestions how:

Project definition document
Time plan
List of actions

Get agreement from the top that what you are intending to do meets their requirements.

Measure your development against the output

If you are using a stage and gate process, make sure that each stage review aligns to what you outlined originally. Your project might change but it needs to align to what you set out to achieve. Sometimes, everybody needs a reminder of what they set out to do.

Measure risks and issues against your outline

If you are not going to deliver one of those critical areas of success, you need to take action; even if it is stopping everything. It can be hard to be objective about something that you’re passionate about. You might need a reminder of why you started.

Review the final product against the initial definition

Remember, you’re only trying to play God. You still need to learn.