Centers for IBM e-Business Innovation :: Chicago
Sample Projects
October 2007
© 2007 IBM Corporation
Centers for IBM e-Business Innovation :: Chicago
Automotive Parts Ordering Website
Smooth Sailing
Solution Overview

Custom application development
leveraging common technology

Estimation and Quality Review
performed by seasoned Associate
Partner and Enterprise Architects

Time and Material Contract*

Leveraged Global resource model
(30% US Based and 70% India)

Solution Outline, Macro Design, part
of Micro Design, UAT and deploy
primarily in the US

Lead from India was consistent
throughout the project

Lead Architect and Project Manager
consistent on remain in the US
throughout the project

Associate Partner remained involved
* Note: all customers view contracts as fixed
price regardless of contractual terms. Additional
hours need to be justifiable, defended and
approved.
 Established good Project Management process and
disciplines early
 Excellent, experienced team
 Reasonable customer but we established and
reinforced expectations and maintained communication
 Re-baseline the project during micro design and
developed a very detailed work breakdown structure
 Allowed us to confirm the estimates
 Entire team supported methodology
The Hurdles
 The BA resigned from the company 4 weeks into the
project -> The PM assumed the BA role and
completed the process flows and use cases
(Resource)
 User Experience resource expanded scope by
placing additional functionality (dashboard) in the
wireframes and obtain customer approval -> AP got
very excited and assembled team leads to review
impact (Scope Control)
 Customer changed the data retrieval architecture
after the design was approved -> executed change
control for an additional 200 hours of rework effort
(Change Management)
 India team was not on schedule…initial ‘gut’ feel they
were behind which was quickly confirmed by
reviewing WBS and status -> By refocusing the team
the time was recovered (Managing the Plan)
Results
 Project Delivered on time
and slightly under budget
 Customer was highly
satisfied and referenceable
 Project team was highly
motivated – high morale
 Profitable contract
 Established a pattern for a
successful delivery model
© 2007 IBM Corporation
Centers for IBM e-Business Innovation :: Chicago
Large Retail establishment of Web Channel –
Project was in Troubled status
Why all the trouble?
 Scope was not well established
Solution Overview



 Project Org was depicted as circles within circles
 Work effort was not understood
Business Consulting Services
to work with the customer on
Merchandising, Logistics,
Store Integration, Business
Case, Marketing, Catalog and
Branding
eBusiness development team
was responsible for the design,
build, test and deployment of
the web site
Time and Material Contract
with a strong set of
deliverables
 Processes were new and undefined
 Timelines were unrealistic
 Poor relationship with the customer
 Roles and responsibilities were not defined
 Team did not have the necessary skills to execute
 Deliverables were ambiguous
 Progress was not demonstrated
Actions
 Refine scope and teams at a high-level
Joint customer / IBM team
 Establish roles, responsibilities and leadership within
teams

72,000 hours of IBM time
 Define deliverables

3rd Party vendors responsible
for catalog creation (images,
data and romance
descriptions, etc)
 Establish open communication with customer based
on honesty, expertise and respect

 Establish a joint project plans with dependencies
 Establish risk plans and issues logs
 Held people accountable and revised staff as
required
Results
 Biggest risk and
dependency caused the
project to be 4 months late
(catalog creation)
 Established an excellent
relationship with the
customer
 IBM team was well
respected
 Site was an IBM reference
 Won additional support and
redesign workl
 Forced process and formal reviews
© 2007 IBM Corporation