U.S. authorities have indicted several Lebanese nationals and others on charges of plotting to smuggle weapons and funds to the Iranian-backed organisation in Lebanon, amid persistent allegations that it has links with Latin American drugs cartels that bankroll its operations.
Hezbollah, founded in 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon, has been branded a terrorist organisation by the United States but it is also a powerful welfare and political organisation that now has ministers in the new Lebanese government.
There has been speculation Hezbollah has stepped up its fundraising activity because Tehran has had to reduce its annual funding of the regime's main surrogate in the Middle East, estimated at $100 million a year.
Tehran needs Hezbollah, because Iran seeks to expand its influence across the region and to bombard Israel if it ever launched an attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
Hezbollah has repeatedly denied it gets any funds from abroad, except donations from Tehran but over the years, there has been ample evidence that Hezbollah has a global reach and uses its connections to raise funds and to provide smuggled military equipment to supplement what it gets from Iran and Syria.
In October 2008, U.S. and Colombian law enforcement authorities broke up what they said was a Hezbollah cocaine-smuggling ring funding the group's armed wing through banks from Panama to Hong Kong to Beirut.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the ring was headed by Shukri Mahmoud Harb, a money launderer, who was arrested with 130 associates.
In June 2008 the Treasury Department froze the U.S. assets of two Venezuelans with strong family ties to Lebanon who officials said were Hezbollah activists.
Officials said Ghazi Nasr al Din, a Venezuelan diplomat who had been charge d'affaires in Damascus, was president of a Caracas-based Shiite Islamic center that funneled financial support to Hezbollah.
The Treasury said Lebanese-born Fawzi Kenaan used two travel agencies he owned in Caracas, Biblos and Hilal, to channel funds to Lebanon, where he met senior Hezbollah figures "to discuss operational issues."
Given the hostility of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the United States and his mushrooming relations with Iran, Washington suspects Hezbollah is putting down roots in that country.
In December 2006, nine Hezbollah activists were rounded up for operating a financial network in the so-called triborder zone, a semi-lawless region where the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet.
Thousands of Lebanese live there and the region is considered a haven for Hezbollah and other organisations that run money-laundering and arms smuggling rings there.
In June 2005, security authorities in Ecuador broke up a drug-trafficking network that officials said had a "direct relationship with Hezbollah."
The operation, codenamed "Damascus," also involved Colombian, Brazilian and U.S. law enforcement agencies. The gang's alleged leader, identified as Lebanese-born Radi Zaiter, was arrested in Bogota. Several other Lebanese suspects were also rounded up.
In June 2002, Lebanese-born brothers Mohammad and Shawki Hammoud were convicted by a U.S. court of providing material support for a "terrorist group" after federal investigators broke up their fundraising cell.
According to prosecutors, their group based in Charlotte, N.C., was part of a network responsible for raising money for Hezbollah and procuring dual-use technology for its armed wing.
The Hammouds ran a multimillion-dollar-a-year interstate contraband cigarette operation, as have other Hezbollah support groups in the United States. One such group operating out of Dearborn, Mich., and one in Canada was broken up in 2006.
In July 2007, the U.S. Treasury Department said it cut off a Hezbollah financing operation by banning all transactions with the Tehran-based Martyrs Foundation and the al-Qard al-Hassan finance company of Beirut.
That included a Dearborn fundraising office set up by the Martyrs Foundation under the name of the Goodwill Charitable Organization.
The Treasury Department said Goodwill "is a front organisation that reports directly to the leadership of the Martyrs Foundation in Lebanon."
Hezbollah is also believed to profit considerably from funds provided by Lebanese Shiite immigrants who have dominated the blood diamond business in West Africa since the precious stones were discovered in Sierra Leone in 1930.
Showing posts with label global. Show all posts
Showing posts with label global. Show all posts
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Global swine flu deaths slow as WHO toll passes 6,250
More than 6,250 people have died in the swine flu pandemic, World Health Organisation data showed Friday, as the global death rate appeared to slow.The number of deaths from the A(H1N1) pandemic in the week to November 8 grew by about 179, against 224 a week earlier and a leap of about 700 in the last week of October.
The pandemic now stretches across 206 countries or territories worldwide, the WHO added in a statement.
The UN health agency said the influenza season showed signs of peaking in North America, but was intensifying across much of Europe and Central and Eastern Asia.
"Very intense and increasing influenza activity continues to be reported in Mongolia with a severe impact on the health care system," it added.
But the WHO found after investigating the sudden reported surge in flu cases in Ukraine in recent weeks that the swine flu virus had shown no signs of becoming stronger.
"The initial analysis of information indicates that the numbers of severe cases do not appear to be excessive when compared to the experience of other countries and do not represent any change in the transmission or virulence of the virus," the statement said.
More than 1.3 million Ukrainians have been taken ill with swine flu and 265 people have lost their lives to the virus since the end of October, the country's health ministry said Friday.
The Americas still account for the largest number of deaths. The WHO estimates 4,512 have died since the pandemic virus was first identified in April in Mexico and the United States, an increase of 113 in a week.
However, new data released late on Thursday, separate from the WHO figures, estimates that swine flu has killed as many as 3,900 people in the United States.
Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used a new counting method that yielded an estimate six times higher than the last.
The CDC's previous estimated death toll from H1N1 was 672.
While still imprecise, the new numbers provide "a bigger picture of what has been going on in the first six months of the pandemic," Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters.
She said previous estimates were based on "laboratory confirmed cases of hospitalisation and death, potentially giving an incomplete picture of the story of this pandemic."
The WHO said the number of deaths reported in Europe stayed stable at some 300, with signs the pandemic caseload was peaking in parts of Britain, notably Northern Ireland, as well as in Ireland and Iceland.
Meanwhile, the virus spread to the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Friday as authorities there confirmed its first swine flu death.
Neighbouring Turkey, the only country to recognise the TRNC, also announced a further 20 deaths, bringing its total to 60 fatal cases.
Elsewhere in Europe, Hungarian officials said a 55-year-old and a 73-year-old woman had died in hospital from swine. Seven people have died from the virus in Hungary since July.
In Austria, the Kleine Zeitung newspaper said a 26-year-old man became the country's third fatal case after being hospitalised five days ago with an infection.
In Germany, Cologne footballer Christopher Schorch became the first player in the country's top division to contract the virus.
The 20-year-old German is being treated at home and should return to training next Wednesday, according to his club.
Sharp increases in cases were reported in several western and southern Asian nations, including Israel and Afghanistan in recent weeks, while growing numbers were reported in China and Japan.
Pandemic flu was largely on the wane in most of south and southeast Asia and in the warming southern hemisphere.
The pandemic now stretches across 206 countries or territories worldwide, the WHO added in a statement.
The UN health agency said the influenza season showed signs of peaking in North America, but was intensifying across much of Europe and Central and Eastern Asia.
"Very intense and increasing influenza activity continues to be reported in Mongolia with a severe impact on the health care system," it added.
But the WHO found after investigating the sudden reported surge in flu cases in Ukraine in recent weeks that the swine flu virus had shown no signs of becoming stronger.
"The initial analysis of information indicates that the numbers of severe cases do not appear to be excessive when compared to the experience of other countries and do not represent any change in the transmission or virulence of the virus," the statement said.
More than 1.3 million Ukrainians have been taken ill with swine flu and 265 people have lost their lives to the virus since the end of October, the country's health ministry said Friday.
The Americas still account for the largest number of deaths. The WHO estimates 4,512 have died since the pandemic virus was first identified in April in Mexico and the United States, an increase of 113 in a week.
However, new data released late on Thursday, separate from the WHO figures, estimates that swine flu has killed as many as 3,900 people in the United States.
Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used a new counting method that yielded an estimate six times higher than the last.
The CDC's previous estimated death toll from H1N1 was 672.
While still imprecise, the new numbers provide "a bigger picture of what has been going on in the first six months of the pandemic," Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters.
She said previous estimates were based on "laboratory confirmed cases of hospitalisation and death, potentially giving an incomplete picture of the story of this pandemic."
The WHO said the number of deaths reported in Europe stayed stable at some 300, with signs the pandemic caseload was peaking in parts of Britain, notably Northern Ireland, as well as in Ireland and Iceland.
Meanwhile, the virus spread to the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Friday as authorities there confirmed its first swine flu death.
Neighbouring Turkey, the only country to recognise the TRNC, also announced a further 20 deaths, bringing its total to 60 fatal cases.
Elsewhere in Europe, Hungarian officials said a 55-year-old and a 73-year-old woman had died in hospital from swine. Seven people have died from the virus in Hungary since July.
In Austria, the Kleine Zeitung newspaper said a 26-year-old man became the country's third fatal case after being hospitalised five days ago with an infection.
In Germany, Cologne footballer Christopher Schorch became the first player in the country's top division to contract the virus.
The 20-year-old German is being treated at home and should return to training next Wednesday, according to his club.
Sharp increases in cases were reported in several western and southern Asian nations, including Israel and Afghanistan in recent weeks, while growing numbers were reported in China and Japan.
Pandemic flu was largely on the wane in most of south and southeast Asia and in the warming southern hemisphere.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Saving the World, Without U.S. Consumers - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com
Saving the World, Without U.S. Consumers - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com
If Americans don't start buying a lot of stuff again, can the world economy be saved? What's the global Plan B? What's China's role in all this?
These are fundamental questions at the summit of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations in Pittsburgh.
Shared via AddThis
If Americans don't start buying a lot of stuff again, can the world economy be saved? What's the global Plan B? What's China's role in all this?
These are fundamental questions at the summit of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations in Pittsburgh.
Shared via AddThis
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
PM for Network Professional
Good Timing is the key to Good Project success!
Professionals know what they know and network professionals are typically well-versed in the technical aspects of networking: protocols, router and switch configuration, server deployment and management, and so on.
Professionals know what they know and network professionals are typically well-versed in the technical aspects of networking: protocols, router and switch configuration, server deployment and management, and so on.Conversely, we don't always know what we don't know and our colleagues, the network pros, are rarely trained on how to manage projects. Fortunately, most of the problems that networkers face in projects can be addressed and mitigated against using standard project management methodologies and techniques.
Consider the effect of some Probability and a little influence from Evolutionary learning can have on your projects. If you are not proficient in something but do it often and long enough and are determined enough, sooner or later you will start to have a greater degree of success or a lesser degree of failure. Design and install networks long enough, and you'll be sure to have some of those projects go awry due to predictable, 'unforeseen' 'surprises'. Two words that you do not want to use in your monthly Project Progress Report. Two words that clearly depict the reasons why you should be applying Project and Risk management methodologies.
....and then they put the phone lines in!
Sometimes the infrastructure you need, such as power in a communications room, is not ready when you need to install an Ethernet switch. Other times, your network equipment vendor may seem to be perpetually on "back order" with the one module you need. Or perhaps it's the all-too-familiar "scope creep" when users decide they need greater wireless coverage than they asked for at the beginning of the project, without increasing costs of course.Managing network projects is not an exercise in fortune telling, far from it. When analysed the core components for network projects are just like any other project, IT or otherwise: There is an objective, a time line, a budget and expectations of those who will benefit from the network once it is completed.
Professional project managers command good salaries because they understand these processes. Executives know that certified project managers are less apt to have projects run away from them. Attaining project management certifications such as the Project Management Institute's Project Management Professional (PMP) could be just as valuable to you as a network professional as a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert or a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer but you don't have to earn the full PMP certification to reap some benefits.
Applying a few simple project management tips will quickly earn you a reputation for delivering network projects on time and within budget and this is the sort of reputation that opens doors.
Quick Fix is leading but .............!
One week into the project, the bank announces acceleration in plans, the office network needs to be done in three weeks instead of two months.Your staff is already fully devoted to this and other projects. You can't cut out functionality because the office still requires all of the network connectivity and e-mail functionality. What can you do?
The only way to accommodate is to add more staff, either by paying overtime to your employees or subcontracting another IT firm. Either way, the cost will go up, yet the bank will likely baulk at the new cost. At that point, armed with the understanding of the "triple constraints" principle, you as a network pro knowledgeable in project management concepts can calmly explain why the request to change time will increase the overall network project cost.
......there be monsters here!
Project charter and scope; To reduce the likelihood of the network project growing uncontrollably, make sure that everyone understands the project deliverables, what the network will provide, how long it will take and at what cost. Your key constituencies here are the project sponsor and the network administrator.By following project management methodologies, this can be accomplished by starting from the general (project charter) and migrating to specifics (project scope).
For network projects, the project charter could be simply "provide network connections for the new Shelbyville Bank and Trust building at 3 Main Street." Details including the number of connections, security protections needed and services desired are best left to the project scope. The scope simply supports the goals defined in the charter while providing more details; it is not a complete network engineering plan in itself.
You can create an initial cost estimate for the project from the scope. When the scope is broad or when there is only a charter, precise estimates are not possible.
A good option, is to take a network project of comparable scope that you worked on previously and use that as a basis for the estimate. It's also wise to not give a single figure estimate but rather a range, say maybe 50 percent on either side of the estimate derived from historical knowledge. As the scope is more clearly defined, refine the cost estimate by changing the midpoint as appropriate and reducing the range size.
Project schedule; Once scope is known, a project schedule should be determined. You'll already know the two most important project points: the beginning,following soon after the project scope is approved and the end, when the network is in place as requested by the sponsor. It's up to you to fill in the blanks.
Here's where a project management software package such as Microsoft Project really comes in handy. It can tie all aspects of the project together by providing a relatively easy way to create the plan for the network installation. Setting up the project plan can take some time at the beginning, but it will pay dividends many times over the course of the network project.
When planning network projects, break the project into the following six phases:
- Information gathering—scope, existing infrastructure
- Purchasing decisions—which switches, routers, firewalls, servers and so on are needed
- Ordering equipment
- Configuring and installing the servers and network equipment, and testing connectivity and functionality
- Customer acceptance
- Documentation
However, you decide to manage your network project, breaking it into smaller miniprojects makes the overall project more manageable. Suppose you know from experience that you generally receive network equipment from your supplier four weeks from order. Furthermore, you know that it typically takes two weeks to configure and burn in the equipment and another two weeks to install and test. So, start from the end of project date and count backward eight weeks; that then becomes your milestone date for ordering the equipment.
A common example of scope creep that every network professional I know has experienced, is when the customer decides he needs more network capacity (number of jacks) than what you planned for at the beginning of the project. I like to inform customers upfront about the magic number: 24. Many vendor enterprise workgroup switches have a minimum of 24 Ethernet ports (some allow 48). Pass the magic number, or a multiple thereof, and expect the project's cost to increase (refer back to the "triple constraints" rule).
Of course, changing the number of connections does not just affect network electronics costs. Additional cable drops and possibly patch panels for terminations may be needed. An increase in electronics (switches or servers) may require heftier uninterruptible power supplies and may increase heat generation, forcing an upgrade of the HVAC design of the communications room or data center. It's clear to see that expanding the project requirements increases its cost, which is a problem when budgets are limited and fixed.
These problems exist because all involved with the project; the sponsor, network administrators and the other stakeholders (end users, equipment vendors, cabling contractors, customers), assumed that everyone was in agreement at the beginning of the project. But this was not the case. When all parties agree on and understand the scope at the beginning of the project, it is less likely that scope creep will occur.
Finally, should the scope still need to change, simply create a new cost estimate and timeline to accommodate the scope modification. Changes are not necessarily all bad, as long as all involved understand the effects that any changes may have.
Closing out a project. Once the network infrastructure is completed, there are still three major tasks to accomplish before the project can be closed. The first is rather obvious, ensuring the network functions as the customer intended. The customer should perform as many business-related tasks as possible to test the infrastructure and formally sign off accepting the project when complete. The latter will prevent end-of-project scope creep as well as provide a milestone for you to close the chapter on this project.
The second job, too often neglected, is to fully document the network. Remember, one of the goals when the project scope was created was to ensure the manageability and supportability of the network. Network drawings, router configurations, circuit numbers, server disk partition information, IP address assignment—anything and everything that was pertinent to the successful completion of this project should be documented and stored where it can be easily retrieved.
Finally, network projects rarely go exactly to plan, and sometimes surprises occur that could really not have been foretold. A postproject review, particularly of what went wrong, will help prevent the same mistakes from happening on a future project. I recall one network installation in which a concrete slab was poured before conduits were installed, necessitating cutting the slab to install the conduits. The lesson learned was to include regular on-site network infrastructure inspection dates as tasks in the network project plan.
For more information; You don't have to be a certified project management professional to take advantage of project management techniques to aid in your network projects - but it helps!
There are numerous Internet resources related to project management, including the following:
The Project Management Institute is the source of the Project Management Professional as well as other certifications. In addition, Prince2 is the preferred project management methodology and certifications in Europe, particularly in the U.K.
Stop your IT Projects getting canned
To weather the current economic maelstrom, enterprises are not only reducing head count but also are cutting back on ambitious or long-term projects in IT. Knowing how best to keep your IT project in the pipeline could mean taking a cue from those best versed in achieving project approval: Project and risk management business consultants.
Companies are cutting back significantly this year. They're under more than usual pressure to optimize every dollar, to either stop the bleeding or start the recovery. The key to retaining business is to build /re-enforce customer loyalty. This is demonstrating that continuing with your current initiatives should not only cut their costs but also help generate additional revenue.
What's true for consultants is equally true for IT managers looking to kick-start an internal project or to keep their project funding flowing. Those who are best at proving the value of their projects will win. And when it comes to uncertain times, keeping your project off the chopping block can end up saving your future and enhancing your career. There are many ways to do this and I would like to suggest a few.
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, is reputed to have said that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and TCO/ROI calculations for IT projects.
Clearly, no professional right-minded company will pour money into IT without a strong business case. There has to be a payback and that final payback is that the business will get something beneficial in return. Before you can be a part of this, you will have to address the issue of choosing the right metrics and presenting them well.
Calculating the true return on investment goes beyond demonstrating cost reduction or bottom-line enhancement. Those days are gone. Today's executives are no longer likely to let simplistic metrics pull the wool over their eyes, after all, presenting statistics and compiling business cases is part of their job too. You have to provide something they can sell on to their people.
ROI dismissals
As we move deeper into belt-tightening, we are seeing more and more ROI calculations being dismissed. Most ROI calculations from vendors are flawed toward magical and large returns, and most calculations from users are too simplistic and unreliable. Bottom line: accountants don't believe them and cannot use them anymore.
Though numbers can't be rejected entirely, the kind of numbers you use should vary depending on the ultimate goals of the project. Despite being a great decision-making tool, ROI is often a misleading indicator for deciding whether a project should be pursued or not.
Case Studies Testimonials
Reliable case studies showing how other organisations implemented similar projects successfully and achieved positive results, may have more credibility with cynical management teams rather than simple ROI projections. All you have to do is find the appropriate cases.
Hard or Soft?
If the project aims to reduce head count, inventory, or transaction costs, so-called hard ROI numbers may be sufficient but for projects with less measurable aims, e.g. improving the business environment or coping with service provision changes in the competitive landscape, soft ROI, e.g. the increase in growth potential or business value as a result of improved relationships, comes into play.
Thus, positively demonstrating the beneficial value of your project can prove tricky, but if you focus on added and hidden value in these areas and make a strong case, you will significantly improve the likelihood that your IT project doesn't get canned.
Helicopter views
But don't focus too narrowly on your project's niche lest you lose sight of the big picture.
IT managers always need to step back and look at the impact their project could have on the entire organisation. You need to look at the cost of lost opportunities. What are we not going to be able to do, in terms of people, hardware, software, training and other monetary issues, all because we took on this project?
Will we be able to do more of what we do well or do what we do more effectively? Will this give the company, service or product a competitive edge in the marketplace? It can't just be a cool thing to do anymore.
Business needs direct IT
The true business need meets the true ROI. If the business has asked IT for a helping hand in a project, that should be enough. If you're doing an IT project that is either not driven by the business or does not have direct bottom-line financial impact to the company, you should not be doing the project in the first place. Would you have the business or IT shop do an ROI on something as basic as an e-mail server? No one would tell you that because there is no ROI, therefore we don't need it. The business need bypasses the requirement for IT to sell an ROI back to those who requested it in the first place.
Customer loyalty
Building and re-enforcing customer satisfaction and loyalty is paramount in troubled times. Despite the cost, executives will approve high risk investments because the cost of not doing the project in terms of dissatisfied and lost customers, can be far greater than the addition of new IT capabilities. Projects that reduce customer retention costs or increase the efficiency of marketing campaigns are more likely to get a green light.
Making it real
Even the most ruthless, cost-slashing IT project can die a swift death if it's pitched in language your accountant can't understand. Be aware that everybody talks and thinks about TCO and ROI just a little differently, depending on their view. It may help to manage the differences in understanding by the creation of a glossary or terms definition, distributed to the key executives.
Language
As the PM, you are the communicator and you need to have a sound understanding of whatever language your company works in. Do they use internal rate of return, payback period, time to value? Sometimes business leaders don't always sync up to the value language of the company. If capital is involved, you need to understand the process your finance department uses to approve the budget and get it into the language they speak.
Keeping it real
Business case assumptions must be thoughtful and clearly supported in terms an accountant will understand. Include metrics on power usage, maintenance contracts, and head-count savings. These often can't clearly be seen until the next fiscal year. Accountants crave short term gains and cost-control drivers that help manage long-term planning.
If you can show payback for an IT investment over 18 months or less, even better. Accountants love to recover the cost of expensive volatile technical assets before they're fully depreciated. They know the rapid rate of obsolescence in high tech toys, the lock-in tactics and the long licensing traps.
Don't stick your neck out
Embrace Optimism when you can. All projects rely on assumptions and the associated risks. The bigger the project, the bigger the risks. The key to getting your project approved is simply to do your homework. Study, analyse and assess the risks rather than assuming the best and being surprised by the worst.
Positive risk management
Planning for a positive outcome needs implementing better risk management, plus the provision of accurate financials, supported by proven program management methodologies and earned value. Also, you will gain more oversight and control with smaller and more frequent milestones.
It's better to be transparent and realistic about everything but base your budget contingencies on sound risk management analysis and assessment. You should never presume to receive 100 percent of a project's costs initially when you don't know 100 percent of the project requirements. Manage the risks and issues as you go and adjust your expenditure according to your project plan, risk management actions and develop a positive outlook in the team. Look for positive risks; opportunities and assess them as you would a negative risk, fully.
Building a project
PMs and IT managers will find it more palatable to take a staged or phased approach when pushing ambitious projects, one that relies on shorter, clearer milestones with conditional metrics tied to future funding. If you cannot get funding for the whole project because of skepticism of deliverability or payback, ask for phased funding. Each phase can have a checkpoint where progress is measured and funding for the next phase is approved or denied. If the business isn't happy with progress or results, there is much less risk.
Messy eaters
Try scaling back and down to move forward. Keeping your project off the pig swill scrap heap may mean settling for a digestible piece of the pie instead of the whole thing. That way you don't kill the chef and you can always go back for more later.
Companies are cutting back significantly this year. They're under more than usual pressure to optimize every dollar, to either stop the bleeding or start the recovery. The key to retaining business is to build /re-enforce customer loyalty. This is demonstrating that continuing with your current initiatives should not only cut their costs but also help generate additional revenue.
What's true for consultants is equally true for IT managers looking to kick-start an internal project or to keep their project funding flowing. Those who are best at proving the value of their projects will win. And when it comes to uncertain times, keeping your project off the chopping block can end up saving your future and enhancing your career. There are many ways to do this and I would like to suggest a few.
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, is reputed to have said that there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and TCO/ROI calculations for IT projects.
Clearly, no professional right-minded company will pour money into IT without a strong business case. There has to be a payback and that final payback is that the business will get something beneficial in return. Before you can be a part of this, you will have to address the issue of choosing the right metrics and presenting them well.
Calculating the true return on investment goes beyond demonstrating cost reduction or bottom-line enhancement. Those days are gone. Today's executives are no longer likely to let simplistic metrics pull the wool over their eyes, after all, presenting statistics and compiling business cases is part of their job too. You have to provide something they can sell on to their people.
ROI dismissals
As we move deeper into belt-tightening, we are seeing more and more ROI calculations being dismissed. Most ROI calculations from vendors are flawed toward magical and large returns, and most calculations from users are too simplistic and unreliable. Bottom line: accountants don't believe them and cannot use them anymore.
Though numbers can't be rejected entirely, the kind of numbers you use should vary depending on the ultimate goals of the project. Despite being a great decision-making tool, ROI is often a misleading indicator for deciding whether a project should be pursued or not.
Case Studies Testimonials
Reliable case studies showing how other organisations implemented similar projects successfully and achieved positive results, may have more credibility with cynical management teams rather than simple ROI projections. All you have to do is find the appropriate cases.
Hard or Soft?
If the project aims to reduce head count, inventory, or transaction costs, so-called hard ROI numbers may be sufficient but for projects with less measurable aims, e.g. improving the business environment or coping with service provision changes in the competitive landscape, soft ROI, e.g. the increase in growth potential or business value as a result of improved relationships, comes into play.
Thus, positively demonstrating the beneficial value of your project can prove tricky, but if you focus on added and hidden value in these areas and make a strong case, you will significantly improve the likelihood that your IT project doesn't get canned.
Helicopter views
But don't focus too narrowly on your project's niche lest you lose sight of the big picture.
IT managers always need to step back and look at the impact their project could have on the entire organisation. You need to look at the cost of lost opportunities. What are we not going to be able to do, in terms of people, hardware, software, training and other monetary issues, all because we took on this project?
Will we be able to do more of what we do well or do what we do more effectively? Will this give the company, service or product a competitive edge in the marketplace? It can't just be a cool thing to do anymore.
Business needs direct IT
The true business need meets the true ROI. If the business has asked IT for a helping hand in a project, that should be enough. If you're doing an IT project that is either not driven by the business or does not have direct bottom-line financial impact to the company, you should not be doing the project in the first place. Would you have the business or IT shop do an ROI on something as basic as an e-mail server? No one would tell you that because there is no ROI, therefore we don't need it. The business need bypasses the requirement for IT to sell an ROI back to those who requested it in the first place.
Customer loyalty
Building and re-enforcing customer satisfaction and loyalty is paramount in troubled times. Despite the cost, executives will approve high risk investments because the cost of not doing the project in terms of dissatisfied and lost customers, can be far greater than the addition of new IT capabilities. Projects that reduce customer retention costs or increase the efficiency of marketing campaigns are more likely to get a green light.
Making it real
Even the most ruthless, cost-slashing IT project can die a swift death if it's pitched in language your accountant can't understand. Be aware that everybody talks and thinks about TCO and ROI just a little differently, depending on their view. It may help to manage the differences in understanding by the creation of a glossary or terms definition, distributed to the key executives.
Language
As the PM, you are the communicator and you need to have a sound understanding of whatever language your company works in. Do they use internal rate of return, payback period, time to value? Sometimes business leaders don't always sync up to the value language of the company. If capital is involved, you need to understand the process your finance department uses to approve the budget and get it into the language they speak.
Keeping it real
Business case assumptions must be thoughtful and clearly supported in terms an accountant will understand. Include metrics on power usage, maintenance contracts, and head-count savings. These often can't clearly be seen until the next fiscal year. Accountants crave short term gains and cost-control drivers that help manage long-term planning.
If you can show payback for an IT investment over 18 months or less, even better. Accountants love to recover the cost of expensive volatile technical assets before they're fully depreciated. They know the rapid rate of obsolescence in high tech toys, the lock-in tactics and the long licensing traps.
Don't stick your neck out
Embrace Optimism when you can. All projects rely on assumptions and the associated risks. The bigger the project, the bigger the risks. The key to getting your project approved is simply to do your homework. Study, analyse and assess the risks rather than assuming the best and being surprised by the worst.
Positive risk management
Planning for a positive outcome needs implementing better risk management, plus the provision of accurate financials, supported by proven program management methodologies and earned value. Also, you will gain more oversight and control with smaller and more frequent milestones.
It's better to be transparent and realistic about everything but base your budget contingencies on sound risk management analysis and assessment. You should never presume to receive 100 percent of a project's costs initially when you don't know 100 percent of the project requirements. Manage the risks and issues as you go and adjust your expenditure according to your project plan, risk management actions and develop a positive outlook in the team. Look for positive risks; opportunities and assess them as you would a negative risk, fully.
Building a project
PMs and IT managers will find it more palatable to take a staged or phased approach when pushing ambitious projects, one that relies on shorter, clearer milestones with conditional metrics tied to future funding. If you cannot get funding for the whole project because of skepticism of deliverability or payback, ask for phased funding. Each phase can have a checkpoint where progress is measured and funding for the next phase is approved or denied. If the business isn't happy with progress or results, there is much less risk.
Messy eaters
Try scaling back and down to move forward. Keeping your project off the pig swill scrap heap may mean settling for a digestible piece of the pie instead of the whole thing. That way you don't kill the chef and you can always go back for more later.
Even a broken clock is correct twice a day!
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