There is a paradox in enterprise informatization construction: before informatization construction, there will be many problems, such as how to select models, how to implement, and how to obtain benefits from the system; but without personal experience, it is difficult to have personal feelings and Ability to prevent risks.
In this situation, if the risk is not considered, nothing seems to be a problem. For some new recruits who have turned from technical veterans to project management, there are many examples of eager to start work, eager to complete tasks, and rushed to get on the horse; and if we talk about risks, there are no details, and we are fortified everywhere, trying to prevent all possible occurrences. Putting all the risks under control, ignoring the cost of risk control would be another extreme problem.
A seasoned project manager will judge which risks can be taken boldly and which risks are unaffordable according to the situation of the enterprise, the characteristics of the software, and the process of implementation. Managing the risks of informatization investment is both a technology and an art; there are both rigid methods and artificial play. Among them, understanding the main work content of enterprise informatization, mastering the basic methods of risk management, and accurately subdividing risks are the key factors of risk control.
Understanding that informatization is composed of three stages of development requirements, system construction and continuous improvement will help deepen the understanding of the scope of risk management: in the stage of development requirements, it is necessary to clarify the business value of information technology, and to obtain business leaders and senior management. The system construction stage needs to control risks and complete the project under the determined scope, cost, schedule and quality control; the continuous improvement stage consists of a large number of daily work, and realizes the value of the system in the process of promoting the deepening of the application of the system. Secondly, it is necessary to understand that enterprise informatization is a continuous process. It consists of three stages: development requirements, system construction and continuous improvement. This process is composed of many large and small projects.
The risk of informatization, in the stage of demand analysis, is manifested in insufficient development and clear requirements; in the construction process, it is manifested as covetousness and forcible promotion; after the system construction is completed, the risk is mainly manifested in the unmanned management of system applications.
First, let's talk about investment risk management in the development requirements stage.
The main purpose of the development requirements stage is to determine the clear goals and scope of the project, and to strengthen the enterprise's support for the project by raising the awareness of the senior management of the enterprise. In the process of project implementation, how to get the commitment and support of the top management of the enterprise is often a problem for the information supervisor and the project manager. The high-level understanding of the business value of the technology is one of the key foundations for the project leader's subsequent operations. If this problem cannot be solved, the project will face problems including limited enterprise's ability to bear risks, difficulties in project investment and other resource guarantees.
The key to understanding the commercial value of technology is to combine the commercial value of technology with the reality of the enterprise.
The function of the same technology product itself is the same for all customers, but the value it can bring to different customers is very different. For example, a laser printer, for a small company that prints 5 pages per month and a large company that prints 2,000 pages per month, the printer functions the same but has completely different value to the business: the former may be worth a few hundred dollars , while the latter may be worth thousands of dollars. The same reasoning can also be used to determine the commercial value of software: for example, for a software sales order management system, for an enterprise that processes 10 transactions per month, it may be more economical to record manually; For business enterprises, this sales system has a great effect. In the development requirements stage, it is very important to do a detailed analysis of the business value rather than the technical realization, and to control the project investment risk.
Of course, in many complex cases, for some projects with relatively simple needs, you can consider trying the 5W method, that is, ask five "whys" continuously until a certain demand can be linked to the profit of the enterprise. This method is not necessarily correct, but it can give us a lot of inspiration. For example, why use word for typing? Because print looks better than handwriting; why look good? Because it is good for the company's image; what does a good company's image mean to the company? Can increase the success rate of sales ... and so on.
But for more complex demand analysis, such as the overall demand analysis of enterprise informatization, it is necessary to adopt the method of IT planning. The overall planning and step-by-step implementation of the project is a more feasible method to control risks. Generally speaking, the overall IT planning can solve the following problems: what kind of system the enterprise needs to implement, what kind of plan to implement, what kind of return on investment will be obtained, what kind of IT governance structure is required to ensure the success of informatization, Change risk control strategy analysis and so on. When enterprises implement informatization construction, if there is no overall plan, do one today and one tomorrow, the waste will be very large, the cost will be very high, but the effect is not necessarily ideal. But the overall plan does not mean that you can eat a fat man in one bite, and it needs to be implemented step by step. In fact, the pace of informatization is continuous: start with ERP to open up internal operational joints; then establish e-commerce; then establish a customer relationship management system, as well as a series of content such as decision support systems, business intelligence systems, and so on. .