Here is a link to the Download:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29692

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Posted Thu, May 3 2012 12:45 by jeffl | with no comments
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Office365EPlan

Posted Thu, Apr 26 2012 11:46 by jeffl | with no comments
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In an earlier post I talked about improvements to system monitoring tools in Windows 8 projecting that we should start seeing for the first time GPU monitoring. To my knowledge this has not been included. However, system performance is much more useful presenting lots of great information. This is part of a completely overhauled Task Manager experience.

Accessing Task Manager remains the same. (CTRL+ALT+DEL). Here we take a deeper look at the Performance tab of Task Manager.

image

Note the live graphs on the left. These are Metro Style “live tiles” that provide information about the system. When you tap them with a touch interface or click them with a mouse they show an expanded view on the right as seen below.

image

The information presented does allow you to make quick decisions about what is going on in your system. However Resource Monitor does remains the in depth tool which improve your ability to surface information about your system.

Kudos to the Task Manager enhancement team on doing an excellent job with the Performance Tab. I am still waiting for GPU monitoring… tap, tap, tap.

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

With Windows 8 and IE 10, spellcheck is in the house!

Yes, I did my happy dance. For years I oscillated with changing to competitive browsers for this one feature. My Chrome buddies will be saying “so what, it has been that way for years with the Google browser”. However with so many thing IE is just better especially compatibility with Microsoft technologies. So it was a grin and bear it.

Today, I discovered while typing in a web form that the wait is over. As I tip my hat to Google for bringing the pressure to release this feature, I say thank you to the IE 10 team for making me happy on this fine spring day. Spellcheck in the browser, I should be ashamed to say, is a feature so valuable it is worth the switch to Windows 8 on its own.

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Download the Windows 8 Consumer PreviewThrowing caution to the wind, Windows 8 Community Technical Preview went on my main workstation in an in place upgrade process. The first experience is pretty good and there were no errors during the upgrade.

Out of the box, I have some funky functionality related to mouse drivers and the touch screen I use, Acer T230H. I have had troubles with this in part because of my ergonomic layout which forces me to use my touch as the second monitor resulting in the input affecting a different screen. In the end, I was able to get over these problems by switching the monitors and making my touch screen the primary.

I needed to know the shortcut for opening the System panel which allows access to device manager (Windows Key and Pause Break). From there I had to use Tab Navigation to remove the mouse from from installed devices and have it reload. After that the mouse worked fine. Likely I could have just unplugged the mouse and had it redetect that way. In any event the mouse pointer did come back. The touch input required a similar approach and is now working well. The whole process took about 2 hours which with the massive amount of applications on this desktop I feel the process and length of time is pretty good.

Having looked around the user interface, it is not evident how to get to your applications. A generation of using the Windows Start Button is now gone. The Windows Key exposes the new metro display and if you simply start typing it sorts the applications and files automagically.

For people upgrading from Windows 7 there will be a learning curve. From past experience, I know these learning curves soon fade.

Back with more soon,

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

So VMM 2012 is due out sometime this year. There are some great new features. Perhaps the most interesting new feature is management of applications as a service. The whole package enables you to configure and manage your virtualization host, networking, and storage resources in order to create and deploy virtual machines and services to private clouds that you have created.

Here are the component pieces of a VMM deployment:

Resource Description For more information

Virtual machine hosts

Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, and VMware ESX hosts and host clusters on which you will deploy virtual machines and services.

You can create host groups to organize your hosts based on physical site location, resource allocation, or some other criteria.

Adding and Managing Hyper-V Hosts and Host Clusters in VMM

Managing Citrix XenServer Overview

Managing VMware ESX Hosts Overview

Creating Host Groups Overview

Networking

Networking resources, such as logical networks, IP address pools, and load balancers that are used to deploy virtual machines and services.

Configuring Networking Overview

Storage

Storage resources, such as storage classifications, logical units, and storage pools that are made available to Hyper-V hosts and host clusters.

Configuring Storage Overview

Library servers and library shares

A catalog of resources (for example, virtual hard disks, templates, and profiles) that are used to deploy virtual machines and services.

Configuring the Library Overview

Source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/library/gg671827.aspx

Over the next bit I will be taking a deeper look at SC VMM 2012. Stay tuned.

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Posted Mon, Feb 6 2012 4:55 by jeffl | with no comments
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In a recent conversation with the Dynamics CRM products team the topic of supportability recently came up between different User Rollups(UR). Sustained Engineering does some testing against both scenarios,  i.e. higher UR version on servers vs. clients and higher UR version on clients vs. servers, for both CRM 4.0 and CRM 2011.  However, the test matrix, especially for CRM 4.0, is huge, so spot checking is done; the entire matrix is not tested by any means.  Test focus is probably on v-minus 1.

Standard rules of thumb are:

· Generally the servers are upgraded first and the clients after as quickly as feasible.  Until the clients are updated, they’ll be missing any Outlook Client-specific binary fixes

· Sometimes due to lack of test resources re: server upgrades + known, impactful Outlook client issues available in the Client rollups, customers will roll out higher UR versions on their clients

· When there is a client/server mismatch,

  • Try to keep the situation temporary, getting the versions in sync ASAP
  • Try to minimize the “mismatch delta”; obviously, running (for example) RTM (UR0) clients against UR6 servers is more risky (and less likely to be tested) than running UR5 clients against UR6 servers.

Hope this is helpful,

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

A couple of my fellow CRM MVPs have created a book for CRM 2011. First I want to congratulate Darren Liu and Jim Wang on their efforts.

What I found useful about the book is the approach. They featured a solution and walk readers through the architectural steps of a real world project. Then they match those structures to the features and technologies within CRM. I found it to be a light read which helps to introduce some of the new features of Dynamics CRM 2011.

For those of you looking for a project oriented approach, this book is very illustrative of how to walk through a CRM engagement. Complete with coding samples for client and server side code this is a great reference for developers.

Good Job Jim and Darren!

http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-dynamics-crm-2011-real-world-tutorial/book

Jeff Loucks
Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Posted Mon, Jan 30 2012 12:35 by jeffl | with no comments
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The long and short of it is there are several changes in the way SQL 2012 will be offered from a licensing and product stand point.

The Three Main Versions of SQL Server

  Server + CAL Core-Based
Enterprise Broken heart Smile
Business Intelligence (NEW) Smile Smile
Standard Smile Smile
 

What you need to know about Core based Licensing

  • Microsoft is moving towards licensing by computer power for Enterprise Customers
  • Core Pack are sold in units of 2 with a minimum of 4 required per physical server.
  • With physical server licensing you must license all of the cores of the server.
  • Note for Enterprise Customers: Check out Server and Cal licensing if you are in the transition period (Before June 30th, 2012).

What you need to know about Server and CAL Licensing

The Business Intelligence and Standard Editions will be available under the Server + Client Access License (CAL) model.

  • This licensing model can be used anytime the number of users can be readily counted (e.g., internal database applications).
  • To access a licensed SQL Server in the server + CAL model, each user must have a SQL Server CAL that is the same version or newer (for example, to access a SQL Server 2008 SE server, a user would need a SQL Server 2008 or 2012 CAL).
  • Each SQL Server 2012 CAL can provide access to multiple licensed SQL Servers, including the new SQL Server 2012 Business Intelligence Server as well as prior versions of the Enterprise Servers.
  • To help with the transition to the new licensing model, the SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition will be available under the Server + CAL model through June 30, 2012.
  • All existing licenses of the Enterprise Edition in the Server + CAL licensing model with Software Assurance (SA) can be upgraded to SQL Server 2012, and SA can be maintained to provide access to future software updates. These licenses will continue under the Server + CAL licensing model.
  • Existing Enterprise Edition licenses in the Server + CAL licensing model that are upgraded to SQL Server 2012 and beyond will be limited to server deployments with 20 cores or less. This 20 core limit only applies to SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition Server licenses in the Server + CAL model and will still require the appropriate number/versions of SQL Server CALs for access.

What you need to know about Visualization and Cloud Optimized Licensing

With databases that use just a fraction of the compute power of a physical server, you can save by licensing individual database Virtual Machines (VMs).

  • To license a VM with core-based licenses, simply pay for the virtual cores allocated within the virtual machine (minimum of 4 core licenses per VM).
  • To license a VM under the Server + CAL model (for the Business Intelligence and Standard Editions of SQL Server 2012), you can buy the server license and buy associated SQL Server CALs for each user.
  • Each licensed VM that is covered with Software Assurance can be moved frequently within your server farm or to a third party hoster or cloud services provider.
  • Servers fully licensed with Enterprise Edition Core licenses with Software Assurance allow you to deploy an unlimited number of database VMs on the server (or server farm) in a heavily consolidated virtualized deployment to achieve further savings.
For more Information: Licensing Datasheet
 
Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

I am happy to announce that the efforts of the Office 365 Identity team are coming to light with the announcement of the Trust Center today.

My concerns about security of Office 365 have been met with continued focus by Microsoft to address and meet my expectations. However, I am not their only client and this approach has been consistently replicated around the globe in a manner which evolved the product offering.

Office 365 Trust Principles
Your Privacy Matters >

We respect the privacy of your data

Leadership in Transparency >

You know ‘where’ data resides, ‘who’ can access it and ‘what’ we do with it

Independently Verified >

Compliance with World Class Industry standards verified by 3rd parties

Relentless on Security >

Excellence in Cutting edge security practices

Continue to be vigilant

Despite a strong focus on security by Microsoft you will have to pay attention to your own needs and desires in a proactive manner as it relates to security. Some important questions as you study the Service Level Agreement (SLA) are:

  1. If our organization is subject to a specific attack in which we are not sure of the methods used
    1. what support is available to us in addressing this attack?
    2. what is the timeframe in which  we should expect a response from support?
  2. What information is available to us from the Office 365 firewalls and activity logs? How easy is it for us to access this information if we require it?
  3. Are there any configuration requirements in order to ensure we are logging the information required to help us resolve security threats should they occur.

It is my intention to welcome the advance of the Microsoft Office 365 Trust Center and help people explore the dedication and focus Microsoft is bringing to this important area of evaluating the service offering for your organization. I encourage you to investigate the trust center and review the important steps which have been made.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

In Exchange Server 2010, there is no more single instance storage (SIS). This was a feature which allowed multiple attachments and messages to be stored once with a reference being held in each mailbox. The concept which had been with Exchange for years, had been intended to save space.

So what happened? To hear it from the exchange team, disks are cheap and the ability to have users on separate servers and in different databases decreased the value of SIS to the point where it is no longer relevant. I would say  more complex to implement effectively too. So the decision was to invest the resources in other techniques which would have a similar impact on database size while applying to the current reality that users are not really in the same database anymore.

Underlying differences in architecture:

Prior to Exchange 2010 the database was simpler in that all messages existed in database wide tables as shown in this diagram:

In Exchange 2010, the database evolved so that the tables which existed as database wide were now contained within individual mailboxes. So, what you find now is an architecture where each mailbox is its own complete database structure as described here:

Where did they invest the resources:

  • Compression of Message Headers and Bodies using LZ77 algorithm

Here is what the exchange teams says about compression:

Is compression the answer to replacing single instancing all together? The answer to that question is that it really does depend. There are certain scenarios where SIS may be viable:

  • Environments that only send Rich-Text Format messages. The compression algorithms in Exchange 2010 do not compress RTF message blobs because they already exist in their most compressible form.
  • Sending large attachments to many users. For example, sending a large (30 MB+) attachment to 20 users. Even if there were only 5 recipients out of the 20 on the same database, in Exchange 2003 that meant the 30MB attachment was stored once instead of 5 times on that database. In Exchange 2010, that attachment is stored 5 times (150 MB for that database) and isn't compressed. But depending on your storage architecture, the capacity to handle this should be there. Also, your email retention requirements will help here, by forcing the removal of the data after a certain period of time.
  • Business or organizational archives that are used to maintain immutable copies of messaging data benefit from single instancing because the system only has to keep one copy of the data, which is useful when you need to maintain that data indefinitely for compliance purposes.

What does the community think?

Concerns about backup and restore times increasing:

  • Microsoft Answer: With a well designed VSS disk to disk backup effects should be minimal

Concerns about attachments and multiple copies:

  • My suggestion is to implement SharePoint which does a much better job of doing document management and will have the same effect. Sending links to documents is a much better method  of maintaining the current state. Although this isn’t an answer to every scenario, there are ways of managing attachments for large environments where this can be an issue.

Concerns about bucking the trend of de-duplication and going the other direction

  • MS has moved data reliability, resiliency, and integrity up from the HW (RAID) level to the application level. The app layer gives us a lot more overall protection than the HW layer where the controllers just look at the bits in on the disk and make sure they are "correct" without knowing if the data inside the bits are ok.

In summary the loss of SIS will likely lead to greater adoption of attachment handling software. I certainly would not be surprised if we see specific functionality added around this for new versions of Exchange. For those planning for today I seriously would look at leveraging document management feature of SharePoint or other third party products. In the mean time training your workforce to send links to central files share is a much better way of handling attachments within your organization.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

To configure the Report Server service account
  1. Start the Reporting Services Configuration manager and connect to the report server.

  2. On the Service Account page, select the option that describes the type of account you want to use. For recommendations about which account type to specify, see Configuring the Report Server Service Account.

  3. If you selected a Windows user account, specify the new account and password. The account cannot be more than 20 characters.

    If the report server is deployed in a network that supports Kerberos authentication, you must register the report server Service Principal Name (SPN) with the domain user account you just specified. For more information, see How to: Register a Service Principal Name (SPN) for a Report Server.

  4. Click Apply.

  5. When prompted to back up the symmetric key, type a file name and location for the symmetric key backup, type a password to lock and unlock the file, and then click OK.

  6. If the report server uses the service account to connect to the report server database, the connection information will be updated to use the new account or password. Updating the connection information requires that you connect to the database. If the SQL Server Database Connection dialog box appears, enter credentials that have permission to connect to the database, and then click OK.

  7. When prompted to restore the symmetric key, type the password you specified in step 5, and then click OK.

  8. Review the status messages in the Results pane to verify all tasks completed successfully.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Many times I run into situations where people think of software as IT and IT as technical skill. However CRM is about customers and its use is about establishing a corporate culture which embodies a system of beliefs about how these most valuable relationships are handled with care. As I have with sales, I strive to remind people of the basic concepts and principles we are trying to instill in the systems we implement.

So here are six principles of customer service to keep top of mind:

  • Be friendly and demonstrate good manners. Teach employees to smile, leading by example. Establish a culture of high quality customer service and commit to deliver superior service whether over the phone, by email or face-to-face.
  • Make customers feel comfortable, valued, and appreciated.
  • Treat customers with respect, empathy, and efficiency.
  • Listen actively to be responsive and exceed customer expectations.
  • Effectively resolve the customer's problem.
  • Say "Thank you" and "Please" graciously.

These principles may seem to be common sense however their importance to success of a technical project which instills business process to service customers can never be underestimated.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategy Officer | Winrox | 425-577-7377

In the CRM world we always have to bear in mind the system is meant to reinforce good customer relationships. I have explored in my previous posts how from time to time people miss the mark. We need to bear in mind the principles which make sales people successful and gear the system to reinforce that success.

The following are five principles of sales which create opportunities for success. We use them to review the system implementation and ensure that we are enhancing the opportunities for the principles to be applied.

  1. Listen to your customers
  2. Seek to understand your customer’s situation
  3. Identify your customer’s needs
  4. Provide proof that your product or service can resolve their needs
  5. Customer believes your solution is cost effective

For those implementing CRM, the goal is always to drive business value by reinforcing opportunities for those who use it to be successful.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategic Architect | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Many would have you believe that implementing a CRM system for Sales is about asking process questions like the ones that follow. While you read them think about what your organization is trying to accomplish and what your focus as a company is all about. Bear in mind your major strategies, product niche and the unique competitive position your are trying to build with your company. Now read these questions and ask yourself, does my process reflect my strategy? Do these questions help me implement unique value for our clients in selecting our products because they are a superior fit for our clients’ needs? Read on and expand your thinking beyond the questions.


keep the gearsHow do you get new leads? Does marketing play a part? Are there marketing campaigns?

How does a customer contact you to get information?

How do you track and record leads?

What items do you need to provide to the lead during the sales process?

What steps are taken to turn a lead into a customer? What types of activities?

Are the steps in the sales process recorded somewhere as a record for others to see?

Who talks to potential customers?

When does information get shared so that other departments know that there is a potential customer?

How long does it take before a new lead becomes a customer?

What type of data is collected about new or existing customers?

Where is data stored and who is responsible for making sure that the data is collected? Does anyone review the data? Are there specific reasons for various pieces of data that are collected?

Is there specialized information about the customer and/or the request that you need to complete the sale?

OrdersDo you provide quotes to customers? If so, is there frequently a revision process? How does a quote become an order?

Who prepares quotes?

Who prepares orders?

How do orders get from the Sales department to the fulfillment part of the business? How do orders move through to Accounting for invoicing?

Do you market to your existing customer base? Do you contact them for recurring business?

Are your customers repeat customers? Why or why not?

Is the sales process different for existing customers than for potential customers?

Do sales and marketing personnel have visibility into the process after an order is placed?

What things need to change to make sales more effective? What things need to stay the same?

Can a customer place an order without involvement with a salesperson? How does this occur?

What kinds of reports are used in relation to sales?


Once you understand that CRM is as much about strategy as it is about process, man-looking-through-a-telescope-isolated-on-a-white-backgroundyou will understand that your company needs to be visionary and vocal in the implementation. Most CRM implementations fail to create strategic change and therefore create the burden of process without the value of strategy.

Strategy is the big topic in your CRM implementation and without the strategy to be your guiding principles, process will be nothing more than burden. Invest in your strategy and use that to drive your CRM implementation.

Jeff Loucks is the Chief Strategic Officer for Winrox, a company which focuses on creating competitive advantage by guiding business process improvements with strategy.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategic Architect | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Xbox is releasing the promised voice integration with Bing Search and a host of TV and entertainment features. Now with XBox and Kinnect people will be able to search TV content, games, Netflix, the internet and more simply by using voice commands.

For those of you who have been following Microsoft’s voice enabled features and products, you know the power these have brought for years to mobile phones, phone systems, Exchange mail integration, the Windows OS and so on. However this is the first use of voice in the home entertainment room which brings together so much functionality.

My personal thought is there will be challenges using this interface with a crowd of people and a lot of background noise. However anything that means I don’t have to go looking for the remote, a device which I swear has grown legs, is a welcome addition.

Perhaps what is most interesting about Kinnect and now the voice integration is all of the unintended and much encouraged experimentation that goes on in the hacking community. We have seen everything from robots to video surgery leverage the technology in new ways. Launching the voice integrated search engine in an inexpensive console is a powerful new opportunity for innovation.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategic Architect | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Posted Mon, Dec 5 2011 7:11 by jeffl | with no comments
Filed under: , , ,

Microsoft Dynamics CRM SDK Version 5.0.8 is now live on MSDN library. Apparently the team is experiencing some technical difficulties with the download but it will be available tomorrow on MSDN downloads. The following is a summary of what you’ll find in this release:

The next SDK update is scheduled for January. Send Feedback

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategic Architect | Winrox | 425-577-7377

Posted Thu, Dec 1 2011 18:32 by jeffl | with no comments
Filed under: , ,

Reports are among the most interesting value in CRM. The following is some helpful information I dug up which I had hoarded away in the past.

CountwCountReports  can be used to group records based on a specific criteria and provide a count of records in each group using the Report Wizard. The count option in the Report Wizard groups the records by a count of matching records. For example, if you have 10 accounts created in the month of July and another 20 created in August, and you configure the Report Wizard to group accounts by month, the report will show a count of 10 accounts under July and a count of 20 contacts under August, but it will not show the total count of accounts as 30.

To obtain a count of records using reports, group items so that they are organized together in the report by some common properties:

  1. In the Navigation Pane, click Workplace, and then under My Work, click Reports.
  2. To add a new report, click New, and then click Report Wizard.
  3. Select Start a new report, and click Next.
  4. Enter the name of the report, and specify which record types (primary and related record types) the report will use. To obtain a count of accounts, use accounts as the primary record.
  5. Define which records to include by selecting a filter criteria.
  6. For each grouping level you click to select, click Click here to add a grouping.
  7. Define the grouping (Organizing the data in a report so that related data is grouped together. For example, you could group data by week the record was created or by the country.):
    • Record type. You can select records from the primary record type you selected, and from any related record types. If you selected a secondary record type, you can also select records from the secondary record type and its related record types.
    • Column. The name of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM field that contains the data to define the grouping.
    • Time interval. Specify the time interval to group the data by Month, Day, Week, or Year.

      This field is enabled only when the value specified in Column is of datetime type, for example, Records Created On, Created On, or Modified On.

    • Sort order. Sort order for displaying the groups.
    • Summary type. Select Count to group records by a count of matching records.

    For example, if you select accounts as Record type, Created On as Column, and Month as Time interval, the data in the report is grouped by Created On. The report provides a count of accounts created in any particular month.

  8. To reorder the grouping levels, use the up and down arrows in the Common Tasks section.
  9. Click OK.

This information should get you started in creating reports which count the number of records which match your filter criteria.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategic Architect | Winrox | 425-577-7377

When a user tries to configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM Client for Outlook, by using the Configuration Wizard the following error message is displayed:

There is a problem communicating with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server. The server might be unavailable. Try again later. If the problem persists, contact your administrator.

I love these messages and I only wish I had an administrator to contact besides me. However with the buck stopping here the following KB might be useful.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2502671

Essentially there is an issue with time on the CRM server which needs to be corrected. It is well documented in the KB.

  • The Operating System date is not set to the correct date.
  • The Operating System time is not set to the correct time.
  • The Operating System time zone is not set to the correct time zone.

Jeff Loucks

Ahhh, blue skies and a spring breeze. Faced with an IT project gone wrong, it is often good to stop and smell the blossoms. Changing your mindset may be the first step to a successful outcome.

It is not new that IT projects, not unlike other projects, get off track and stall or fail. It often leads to finger pointing and tensions none of which assists in bringing projects to a successful conclusion. Saving these projects and helping the parties work together to achieve the goals has been an area which I have practiced since I became certified as a mediator in the late 90’s. For the past ten years, I have been asked to help fix the projects by customers,  by implementation partners and by software vendors in situations where things have not lived up to expectations. It is an art where everyone has to be focused on the goal, they have to be honest and they have to agree to work together. Keeping them focused often requires a neutral third party with a dispute resolution background and enough industry knowledge to mediate a successful outcome.

There are multiple aspects to why projects falter and listing them and the strategies to fix them all here would be to write a book. Suffice it to say the majority fall in to six categories which affect the execution of the project and one category which helps the project maintain momentum when things have gone astray.

The execution categories which affect projects status are:

  • Negotiations and change management
  • Product short comings
  • Improper allocation of client side resources
  • Skill shortages for partners
  • Scoping issues and changing needs
  • Honesty and Misrepresentations

People and personalities are influencers on success, however professionalism is always required to see past personal differences and keep the eye on the goal. Taking a confrontational approach to communication styles or personalities is never helpful and will only persist the problems. A mediator should listen and recast salient points in conversations which allow people to focus on the issues.

Maintaining momentum depends on framing the project in terms of an overall strategy for the organization and understanding how the project reinforces the strategic position and competitive advantage of the organization.

The artful aspect is to paint a picture for success and sharing a vision in which the parties are willing to undertake their responsibilities. Some people will ask, can all projects be saved? The answer is yes, if all the conditions exists with the active cooperation of all the parties. However, sometimes when the parities are faced with the responsibilities they choose to abandon the project. So it is key to secure the cooperation of all parties and ensure they have a shared vision of success.

An important aspect of saving an IT deployment is the need for changes in budget based on the current state of the project. This is often a factor is deciding whether the project will go forward. For a mediator, the job is to help the parties secure cooperation and all parties will have to understand that the budget that once applied to the project is no longer reflective of the current circumstances.

Start early in the process of identifying that you might need help keeping your project on track. Mediators can be extremely effective dealing with issues and setting the shared vision before issues affect the overall project. In fact a significant portion of our business is now geared toward Strategy Translation consulting which helps clients focus their IT project and select their vendors with a neutral third party in the mix. This can help CXOs interface with IT and vendors in a manner which drives competitive positions by enhancing the companies core activity systems. When CXOs engage in strategy translation to IT plans and implementation, our clients experience is that the entire execution of projects and results they deliver sets a new standard for overall satisfaction and return on investment.

In conclusion, your project is not the first to face challenges. Reflect on your ability to understand your projects goals and your ability to secure cooperation of your collaborators to work towards a shared vision. Act early to get help of a neutral third party to assist in bringing the parties together. Look for someone with significant industry experience and dispute resolution training that will help you identify and work through the issues. Remember that everyone wants the project to succeed and don’t be afraid to take another look at the budget in order make it successful based on the current circumstances.

Jeff Loucks

Chief Strategic Architect | Winrox | 425-577-7377

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