Afternoon Thoughts

 

Infosec is to Fintech what HSE is to Oil and Gas.

#AfternoonThoughts 

 

Just like OIl and Gas depends on security to keep its engines running, Fintech depends on Info security. One incident, and everything comes tumbling down and grinds to a halt. Coverup is a short term solution and perhaps the instinctive reaction, but as the oil and gas industry will tell you, its a poor strategy, and what's worse, doesn't work. 

The only good thing to do is to approach infosec like the Oil and Gas Industry approaches HSE - have transparent standards, invest in a clear security policy and ensure that every member of team is educated and compliant. Report transparently and periodically. Most importantly, learn from EVERY mistake. Each one of those recovered mistakes is going to save you from a larger disaster, and make no mistake, there will be larger incidents. Oh, and don't forget the Incident Management System. 

 

How to Manage Client Scope Creep

This post is the result of a good conversation with Abhishek at a recent event. 

He asked how we managed to ensure that there was no scope creep. My projects have usually been on track and within budget, and as Abhishek mentioned, client scope creep is one of the major reasons why large IT projects go out of budget or schedule. 

So, if you are a budding project manager responsible for client management, here is the secret to building great client solution and even better client relationships. 

Most client scope creep comes from 2 areas: 

A. Complex Workflows, where more approval levels are added. 

B. Reports 

The first thing you have to remember when dealing with client scope creep is that they are not trying to trouble you. Their intention is not the squeeze the juice out of you. Their intention is to do the best that they can for their company at the least possible price. 

Surprise! That is your intention too! 

Most vendor PMs do not understand this intention and objective synergy. But when you do, you realise that you and the client PM are on the same side, trying to do the same thing. 

The only thing is, we are using two different approaches to do it. 

So, Step One:

Establish Commonality of Purpose 

Sit down with your client and establish commonality of purpose. Both of you are working towards the same thing: 

A. Create the best possible solution

B. In the least possible time 

C. At the least possible cost

Once it has been stated, it appears intuitive. Yet, until we say it out and put it on the table, it is not so apparent to the other party. In fact, if you wait at the water cooler long enough, you will definitely hear the Project Managers from both sides cribbing. The Client PM usually says one or more of the following: 

• The vendor does not want to do any work or wants to do shoddy work and get away with it. 
• They are not doing enough KT 
• Even for small change they give such a huge estimate, and change request for everything! 
• They just don't understand our business and requirements. I don't know how to explain. 

The Vendor PM will usually say one or more of the following: 

• The Client is really miserly. 
• They always underestimate the time it will take to do something. 
• They are paying us for a cow and want us to make an elephant. 
• They don't understand how the system works. 
• They have such weird requirements! Who works like this? 

So, the step of establishing commonality of purpose is the most important one. It establishes trust and ensures that you row on the same direction, not in opposite directions. 

Once commonality of purpose is established, the next thing is to understand where scope creep is coming from. 

Step Two: 

Diagnose and Guide 

Most scope creep comes from the two areas I have mentioned above. You do your own diagnosis on your projects and understand WHERE the scope creep is coming. And then ask yourself WHY. 

What problem is the client trying to solve by doing this extra work? 

Let's get straight to taming the beast. 

Step Three 

Managing Scope Creep and Making Great Friends 

Here is the most important tip anyone will ever share with you on managing scope creep. It is so important that I am going to write it in caps. 

START WITH YES. 

Whenever the client asks you whether something can be done, NEVER start the conversation with No. if you know that it can be done, start with, "Yes". If you are not sure, start with "We will try to find a way to do this." 

Managing Workflow Complications

Most clients who try to add additional approval and exception workflows are basically trying to tame one beast - Compliance. 

That is the core objective. 

Start the conversation by saying - My work ends with doing the coding. Your work starts after that and goes on forever. So, my work is the shorter one. Let's talk about how this will work after go live in your business. Let's discuss a few scenarios and understand how much additional work it will add for your users, and what you are doing about it now. 

After that, listen. Let them explain all their use cases and exceptions. Understand their compliance needs thoroughly and most importantly, understand how users manage exceptions now. A system that can be excepted by the user in an emergency will eventually be excepted as a matter of course. The user's onboarding learning curve is slow, but their bypassing learning curve for any system is amazingly steep. So, if you make it necessary for users to bypass the system for one thing, they will be bypassing it for most things sooner than you realise. 

After the client has finished putting their requirements on the table, don your product specialist hat (or get your product specialists on board) and design a solution that meets their needs without being overly complicated. I can assure you that most workflows can be simplified. 

Pro Tip: For each workflow step, ask your client: 

• How will this step increase the transaction load of the user? 

Let's understand this with a real life example: 

Let's say that the client wants all travel to go to the department head. The questions we ask then are: 

A. How many travel requests will the DH have to approve in a day? Week? Month? How much time will it take them to approve each (assume reading time). If we go with 5 a week and 5 minutes per TR, that's 25 minutes of extra work per week. For an already stretched executive. 

Next, ask them how they plan to manage situations that are definitely going to arise - the executive on leave, too busy, traveling himself, etc. 

Usually, in such cases, a thing called Delegation of Authority is used. 

Let the client think about that. And then help them understand how to balance compliance with minimum transaction load on the users. 

• What value is this step adding to your process? 

The most frequent response to this is "It gives us better control" or "Compliance." 

Do not resist. After the client says this, sit back in silence and let them think. 

If they do not appear to be making headway, ask gently, "Are you creating a better process, or are you helping someone do CYA? Think about that. If the system can be hacked, it will neither lead to better compliance nor control. Every new control element you put in there is also a hacking opportunity. Think about the real business value of every step. And its real objective." 

Always be mindful of the client's imperatives. 99% of the times, clients see the difference between business value and CYA. But some cultures are necessarily CYA cultures. In those cultures, you can only help the client by perpetuating the CYA culture. Do that. 

And most importantly, NEVER disrespect the client - neither in public with your team, nor in private in your head. A Lot of delivery managers and PMs get together to laugh at clients in private. The client does not know tech as well as you do, and you don't know business as well as they do. Further, respect cannot be faked. Come from a place of real understanding, and you will create synergy. Come from a place of negotiation, and you will create a tug of war. I am still in touch with client PMs who worked with me 15 years ago, and more. 

Managing Reports 

Report requirements are the biggest headache for most PMs. The client wants to extract every element of data being put (or not put) into the system in about 15 reports on average (that's a joke, not a statistic). 

So, how does one tame the report monster? 

There are, once again, 2 simple questions that one asks the client. 

Since I have dealt with dashboard design and report management in another post, will just quickly state the 2 questions here: 

A. Who will enter this data? 

Request the client to go through their entire data flow process (you can use a proprietary methodology I have listed elsewhere on this blog - the Data River Diagram) and have them understand how the data will flow into the system in the first place. 

Is there enough reliability of that data for us to use it in reporting? 

B. What decision will it aid / How will you use it? 

Every pixel on an executive dashboard is important. Every second of executive time is important. If a data element is making it to reporting, it must help the user do one of the following: 

A. Monitor and control 

B. Diagnose and Correct 

C. Predict and Decide 

If the report is not fulfilling one of these 3 objectives, it should not be there. 

Your clients will truly appreciate your trying to create reports and dashboards that are relevant for the long term. 

In fact, invest some time in creating a report library that you know helps other organisations create effective dashboard and reporting interfaces, then proactively share it with clients. Will significantly shorten the cycle time and will also help the client see value in your work. 

So, are there any best practices that have helped you deliver better business value to your clients? Do share! 

Us Samay ka karoonga kya? - One of the most important stories of my life

एक समय की बात है। मिस्र में एक अंग्रेज काहिरा की ओर जा रहा था। रास्ते में उसे एक अकेला बूढ़ा आदमी  चलता हुआ मिला। अंग्रेज को दया आ गई। उसने अपनी गाड़ी रोक कर उस बूढ़े आदमी से पूछा, "आप कहाँ जा रहे हैं?" 

"काहिरा जा रहा हूँ।" वृद्ध ने उत्तर दिया। 

पता नहीं वृद्ध के व्यक्तित्व में क्या आकर्षण था, अंग्रेज़ ने न्योता दिया, "आइए, मेरी गाड़ी में बैठ जाइए। मैं आपको ले चलता हूँ। आपके पूरे पाँच दिन बच जाएंगे।" 

वृद्ध पहले हतप्रभ हुआ, फिर धीरे से मुस्कुरा कर ना की मुद्रा में सर हिलाते हुए कहा - "पर पाँच दिन बचा कर मैं उस समय का करूंगा क्या?" - ऐसा कह कर, वृद्ध ने अंग्रेज़ से विदा ली और चलने लगा। 

ये मेरे जीवन की सबसे महत्वपूर्ण कथाओं में से है। समय और पैसा, किसी गेम करन्सी जैसे हैं। जब हम कोई गेम खेलते हैं, तो उसका पैसा उसी गेम में कमाते हैं, और वहीं खर्च करते हैं। उस पैसे को गेम के बाहर न तो लाया जा सकता है, न ही उसका गेम के बाहर कोई मोल है। 

हमारे जीवन में भी, पैसा और समय, ऐसे ही हैं। इस जीवन के बाहर, न तो उनका कोई मोल है, न उन्हें ले जाया जा सकता है। समय बचाना तो अच्छी बात है। पर उस समय का करोगे क्या, यह और भी महत्वपूर्ण है। 

पैसा कमाना और संजोना, दोनों अच्छी बातें हैं, पर उस पैसे का प्रयोजन क्या है, उसका उपयोग क्या है, यह और भी महत्वपूर्ण है। 

पाँच दिन बचाकर, हम करेंगे क्या? 

अमूमन गेम में हम उस XP और पैसे को खर्च कर के, कुछ सीख लेते हैं। जीवन का भी ऐसा ही है। उस पैसे और समय (XP) को तो गेम से बाहर नहीं ले जाया जा सकता, पर गेम खेलते खेलते हम जो सीखते हैं, उसे साथ ले जाया जा सकता है।   

Its not the data, sir

Today, RBI kept the interest rates the same after a 3-day deliberation. 

Finshots is a email service/app that writes short journalistic pieces on the.. well, financial sector. 

In today's story, Finshots hypothesises that : 

*************

And an oft-cited criticism of the Reserve Bank of India is that it consistently fails to forecast inflation and growth rates accurately. According to the critics, this is a rather serious transgression on the part of the bank, mainly due to the fact that these numbers are then used to justify the monetary policy calibrations [changing interest rates etc]. How could the collective wisdom of the Monetary Policy Committee, the governor, the deputy governors, the modelling experts and other technical advisors all be so woefully inadequate to deal with what seems like a rather straightforward problem?

To answer that question we must first look at the data that’s used to predict these future outcomes. As Duvvuri Subbarao, the former Governor of the RBI points out — “The Reserve Bank operates within the universe of knowledge available in real-time, and that universe is largely shaped by data. If the data are reliable and available in good time, policy response can be accurate and confident. But the Reserve Bank is oftentimes wrong-footed because of the questionable quality of data.”

**********

Let me tell you a story. 

Naresh wanted to predict the rainfall this year. So, he took data from the last 20 years' rainfall - all 20 chaumasas with their comings and goings and everything in between. 

Then, he used a predictive index to say which day of the year will see how much rain. 

The statistical model predicted a deluge. People took precautions, businesses delayed new launches until after the deluge, and so on. 

But, that quote - Man proposes, God disposes, was not created in vain. The rains were normal, or below normal. People suffered that and criticised Naresh. 

A good friend came to meet him and asked him how he had configured his predictive model. Naresh said - the highest rainfall received on that date in any year was used to create the prediction of the expected rainfall in this year.  

Obviously, Naresh had all the data. He simply did not put the right analysis to that data. 

But why would anyone make such a huge mistake? Why not use something as simple and obvious as mode, or even mean rainfall? 

Because, Naresh had taken that model from a Cherrapunji based scientist. There, they prepare for excessive rains. So, they predict based on the highest they have ever got. Because the variance is not too high, it doesn't matter. They prepare for the worst and it works best for them. 

When we see that the model was created by a scientist in Cherrapunji, what appears to be absolute lack of reason, makes complete sense. 

End of story. 

************* 

Why is that story relevant here? 

Because, the financial models we use to predict our numbers are created by economists who work in western economies. For over 200 years, everyone has been trying to fit our economy and its variables to a single universal format, guided by research in macro and behavioural economics. This research has been conducted in largely homogenous economies, with a defined set of cultural and social parameters. 

My hypothesis is, that if we want to understand the economy of India and how it interacts with macro economic policy variables, we have to understand how THIS economy functions. The government has often criticised the Indian trading community as being less than transparent. But is the government also not guilty of remaining ignorant about how the trading classes actually function, and then to create rules and laws that keep that in mind? 

The issue is not just with the data. The issue is that we have not invested in research to understand the model within which we operate. We report on numbers whose formulae are imported and have limited application in a complex economy like India. 

Examples: 

1. When the high denomination currency notes were banned overnight, no one expected the poorest of the poor to be so inconvenienced. BUT, they were. The preliminary, back of envelope calculation I did back then indicated the massive cash that flows through the bottom of pyramid. But because all this cash is completely undocumented, we cannot even include that data in our models, much less know what to do with it. 

2. Borrowing to spend on weddings and funerals is not listed anywhere as rational economic behaviour. No model of economics accounts for this. Yet, for at least 1000 years, Indians have borrowed routinely for weddings and funerals (if they are poor). What makes this even more perplexing is that this is the same society that gives 10% to charity and has among the highest family savings rates in the world. Why, then, do they borrow for weddings and funerals? (And now, for education) How does this indebtedness impact their disposable income and consumption? Their total income? Their nutrition? For how long does the impact last? 

3. How much does a country like India really need to spend on welfare medical facilities for all its people? What are the real medical needs of people who live every day with snake bites and dysentery?

The fault is not with RBI alone. Most economic reporting of India leaves out India (Sure, you can call it Bharat and snigger, but well, where's the money, honey?) 

It is written by people educated in Keynesian economics, read by people being educated in Keynesian economics, and criticised by people who base their criticism on fancy jargon and models of... you guessed it. 

To be fair, there cannot be a single economic model of India. India is, like all cultures, complex and complicated. Economic decisions have been based on rational decision making only in textbooks. Behavioural Economics is just beginning to get its due (or, is it?). 

But, can that really be an excuse for completely excluding the real Indian economic models from the study of economics? 

India's policy making, macro economic indicators reporting, and indeed, our education of economics, cannot be conducted without understanding the native economic models of India.

Exceptional Educators

 Yesterday, we did our first ever Exceptional Educators chat with the Jindal Mount Litera School, Nagothane.

One of the things we heard was - Every child gets a response to their email when they write to The Children's Post. That is very important.

This is something that we been particular about.

"This is not a scalable model." "You cannot manage to write back to every child as your numbers grow."

Yes, but at the other end of that email, is a child or a parent, waiting with anticipation. We have to show them the respect that they deserve.
We have all been those children. :)

#ValuesthatMatter

The Growth Imperative

In Europe, there was bakeries that bake a certain number every day. At the end of the day, or when they are done, they shut shop and sit back and relax. They make a small profit every day, and use that to live. 

In India, there are samosawalas or chhole bhature walas who bring a certain amount of production to the market every day. Once they have sold it, they shut shop and go home. 

There is never any need to grow, diversify, increase etc. 

When we started work, both at Topgain and at The Children's Post, we came from a place of happiness and content. We were not in a race. We were not chasing anything. We were doing the best that we could, as much as we could with happiness, but giving it our all. There was no stress. Just the joy of doing great, fantastic work and adding value to the world. 

Today, both Topgain and The Children's Post have grown. Every day, esp on The Children's Post, we are asked questions like Growth numbers, projected growth, etc. 

The thing is, we are still not chasing anything. Only rats run rat races. We are here to focus on our work and to take the paper to more children. 

Growth is not an imperative for us. We have experienced that some people find chasing targets inherently joyous. We are not among them. To us, this endless chasing of targets leads to stress and not happiness. 

We understand that this is not a conventional view of business. But contentment is a good part of Indian business. The samosavala is inherently Indian.  

Of course, contentment precludes greatness and a place in history books. But we would rather be Nandan and Chandamama than Times of India :) 

How to write a feature / news for The Children's Post of India

If you want to write news or features for The Children's Post, this feature is for you. 

Step1: Read and Understand 

Read at least 8-10 different sources before you start to write. Note down the key figures. Make sure you cross check ALL the key figures that you are going to present and also save the source of each key figure. For instance, if you are reporting a figure on women and their welfare, the only authorised figures are the ministry of women and child development, govt of India. 

Understand all the key terms. Don't assume the meaning of ANYTHING. Read, read, read and understand. 

Step 2: Readiness check 

In your mind, explain the concept to an 8 year old child. If you have a neighbour or a sibling, nothing like it. Otherwise, practise in your own mind, or with friends or parents. Make sure you talk to someone who does NOT know the topic before hand. 

If you are able to explain the topic to them and answer their questions, you are now ready to write a feature on your own. 

Step 3: Write 

Different writers have different techniques. Some just sit down and start writing/typing and get it all together. Some first prefer to structure their content, figuring out how it will flow and the word limit for each section. Then, they write the main points under each section, and then they start writing. Most of u s are somewhere in between. In general, it helps to start with 100% planning and slowly internalise it so it becomes automatic in your head. Its just like driving. When we first start driving, we do Brake-Cluch-Neutral like a checklist. But after a few months, we just do all this the minute we sit in the car. 

Step 4: Illustrate 

Find CC0 images or your own original images. Even if you are using CC0 images, pls give credit where you know the name of the photographer. Sometimes, you can do Steps 3 and 4 together. Sometimes, you can even start with a vital illustration and write the story around or based on that. 

Step 5: Put it together. 

Visualise your story - both in the paper and on the website. How will it look? Where will the image come? What should the background colour be? Combine the text and images and create a full story. 

Step 6: Check 

First, read it as a third person. Does the story hold your interest, or do you lose interest after a few lines? Is there a coherent story, or does it jump from point to point? How does the story make you feel? Do you put it down with a smile or a sense of wonder? Well done, then! 

Sometimes, we pick up some phrases from the internet unintentionally, or because they just say it better. Even Helen Keller was accused of stealing a story once! To ensure that this does not happen to you, take some of the interesting figures of speech, clauses, phrases etc. that you have used and google them or use a plagiarism checker. If there is a match, change that part. 

DO NOT depend on Grammarly or any other grammar check software. The idea of writing for TCP is to help improve your vocabulary and grammar. Read books by S Upendran and GMAT guides. The idea is to help you write flawlessly. Further, these apps are not as accurate as they need to be for TCP. 

Step 7: Review 

Have someone else read your submission. Ask them to check for grammar, facts, correct usage of words, structure, and interest - everything! 

If all is well, send it to us. 

We LOVE hearing from you. 

Important Tips For You 

• DO NOT expect perfection from yourself. 

            Not the first time, and not the hundredth time. And not the thousandth time. We will all make                 mistakes, we will all learn. 

• Originality before excellence

            Please remember - we really don't want the wittiest thing, or the best thing. We want YOU.                     Write in your own original voice. No one else can do that. 

• We are strict about copying or not giving credit 

            Like, crazy strict. We will stop publishing anything by you after the third strike. And if there is a             strike, we will not publish anything by you for a month. Same thing for avoiding credit or taking             images from other publications or from people without taking their express written permission. 

All the Best! 

Shifting the consciousness to gratitude every morning

If you have noticed, before opening the store, a shopkeeper bends down and touches the floor of the shop. A performer touches the last step of the stage before getting on the stage. An auto driver starts the day by doing a small agarbatti or pooja in the auto.
Ever wondered why that is?
The shopkeeper, performer, and auto driver get their livelihood (rozi-roti) from the shop, stage, and auto respectively. Every morning, before they start work, they are thanking the means of their livelihood for providing for their families, and praying to it to bless them with a good performance.

There are some things that don't take a lot of time and effort, but cause a massive shift in our consciousness. The practice of thanking our livelihood before starting our work day is, I think, one such.