The benefits of outsourcing are can be nearly endless if your comapny needs to increase profits it may be an idea you should consider.

Although in some areanas outsorcing gets a bad name, it can truly be a money saving idea. A recent article suggests that the trend is only growing as we learn what works and what doesn’t.

Some of the arguments against outsourcing are:

a). It takes job from American citizens

b). It exploits those in less fortunate countries

c). Outsourcing is frustrating for your clients and customers

Consider these points:

a). If a man on the other side of the world has been trained and schooled in the same way as a man here in the U.S., what gives the American the right tot he job? If an Indian man is just as good at his job and will work for less, doesn’t he deserve a chance?

b). Those individuals who are able to work for American companies overseas are more often able to provide an above average living for their families. This work can change the lives of generations and help people in poorer countries afford medical expenses and the living conditions that ensure safe andhealthy living.

c). If your company relies heavily on phone based customer service and you decide to outsource your call center, it is important to make sure that the people you hire have a full grasp of the English language. Customers often call overseas and don’t even realize it.

Pierson Requirements Group can help you find workable ways to outsource aspects of your company to make your profits rise and your expenses fall.

Contact Pierson to figure out your best plan of action for the coming months and years like these customers did:

Jeff Manhardt, PMP Project Manager, M&T Bank

“I worked with Joy in 2009 to provide Use Case Methodology training to over ten business analysts and technicians. Joy worked with me to customize the training program and provided expert on-site instruction. This training laid the foundation for activity diagrams and use cases that were recently audited and found to be the best my company has on record!” Top Qualities: Personable, Expert, Good Value

If you have ever listened to Tech Support people talk about their work then it is likely you have been very confused. Even the simple words they use can have little to no meaning for the ‘normal’ person listening.

Pierson Requirements Group not only understands the conversation, they know exactly how to tackle the issues discussed.

If you are having problems with your software, hardware, or any other area needing IT help, Pierson Requirements Group can and will help.

They have specific methodology and ways of getting things done that will make your issues a thing of the past:

Pierson can provide you with a customized methodology for Object-Oriented development projects using the notation of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and the Unified Process. This customized methodology can be placed on your intranet to serve as a handbook or guide for the software system development teams. This document defines the steps and phases that should be followed, technical modeling options, and refers to quality procedures which should be employed. In this methodology Pierson will provide your company with a repeatable process for:

		Using the notation of UML Modeling and Unified Process
		System Development Life Cycle deliverables
		Joint Application Development (JAD) activities and JAD Session agendas
		Rapid Application Development (RAD)
		Documentation templates
		Best practices to be utilized throughout the Problem Statement, Requirements, Analysis, Design, Construction, Business User Final Acceptance and Transition phases of the system development life cycle.

Pierson can also provide your company with a methodology to evaluate and select a vendor for outsourcing and for evaluation and selection of software packages.

As discussed in the previous blog, this week continues our look into business tips from SCORE and how Pierson Requirements Group can take those tips and turn them into plans and actionable goals.

This weeks tips is the second of the 5 business tips to writing your business plan.

2. Examine your motives. Make sure that you have a passion for owning a business and for this particular business.

“Pierson can provide you with a customized methodology for Object-Oriented development projects using the notation of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and the Unified Process. This customized methodology can be placed on your intranet to serve as a handbook or guide for the software system development teams. This document defines the steps and phases that should be followed, technical modeling options, and refers to quality procedures which should be employed. In this methodology Pierson

will provide your company with a repeatable process for:

• Using the notation of UML Modeling and Unified Process
• System Development Life Cycle deliverables
• Joint Application Development (JAD) activities and JAD Session agendas
• Rapid Application Development (RAD)
• Documentation templates

Best practices to be utilized throughout the Problem Statement, Requirements, Analysis, Design, Construction, Business User Final Acceptance and Transition phases of the system development life cycle.”
Creating your business plan can be a time consuming and sometimes daunting task. However, if you follow the steps outlined by a company aimed to help you along and use the tools offered by Pierson Requirements Group, the entire process becomes a step by step plan to greatness.

In the ever competitive business world it’s emportant to keep your company current and on the cutting edge of what seminars and training courses are available. Online searching and reading can uncover a whole new level of expertise available at the click of your mouse.

Pierson Requirements Group offers a multitude of ways to do just that. This company will assess every single area of your business and find out if there are any gaping holes or even small leaks so that any problem is found and corrected as soon as possible. This may mean hiring more staff, letting some go, re organizing who does what and almost always involves more focused training. 

By taking the business analysis training courses offered at the Pierson Requirements Group website you are equipping yourself and your staff to be the absolute best in the specialized world of your field. Sparring no expense you will also utilize every penny of your investment for the most excellent training available.

1. Hallmark
2. Experian
3. Dell Professional Services
4. The US Department of Energy
5. the list goes on!

Some quotes on the JAD Facilitation and Methodology training provided by Pierson:

“The hands on experience and class discussions were great! The instructor was very effective and had a lot of knowledge to pass on – I like the learn-as-you-go setup. The class size was perfect- I would not recommend having more than 10 in any class. It was mentally stimulating – Also, the group feedback for each person at the end of a facilitation practice exercise was excellent.”

“This was the best training I have received in my professional career!”

“Very informative. Corporate wide training classes should be instituted.”

The term outsourcing has become on that people feel negatively about. However as a business owner the concept is hugely profitable and helps the global economy.

Simply put the idea is that you can put some of your call centers and the like in countries where labor is cheaper than it is here in the states. The families able to procure employment from American businesses in poorer areas are able to make far and away more than what other families in the area are. By providing jobs you are truly changing the face of people who have been impoverished for as long as most can remember.

The Pierson Website explains:

Pierson Requirements Group, Inc. has divided the services into three phases of tasks. The phases are preparation, workshop and follow-up.

During the Preparation Phase, Pierson Requirements Group, Inc. will include the following activities:

• Interviews and orientations of key stakeholders (SMEs) from each business unit to review and uncover seed material and identify project issues for the session
• Teleconference and on-site interviews to review the current documentation practices and templates used for business requirements
• Review of sample documents for a similar project
• Planning the session logistics, deliverables and agenda with the project team
• JAD Facilitator and JAD Documenter prepare the JAD Documentation to be used in the session

Contact Pierson Requirement Group for a full and complete explaination and the steps toward making this type of situation a reality.

Business Analyst Training is a way of targeting learning for exactly what your employees need. Pierson Requirements Group is a company who will provide business analysis training courses either on or off site to aid you in making your company as effective as possible. In order to take your business’ services to the next level you have to pinpoint your weaknesses and then create training classes and software to strengthen those areas.

Their Joint Application Development (JAD) which is used as a way to bring together the teams your company uses to design technical and creative aspects and the realities of the business world to create a round-table type discussion forum workshop to find out exactly what is needed in your field and make sure that your software is going to cater to those needs. This process saves time and money that is valuable during the upstart of any business.

They aim to cover every area of:

• project management
• business analysis
• system specification
• and more

Trusting a company like Pierson to have your best intrests in mind is the key to a good working relationship, Pierson will answer any questions you or your staff may have before, during, and after your analysis begins. Find out if the methodology used by Pierson is something your company can benefit from by contacting them today.

The Pierson Requirements Group has been a consulting and training company since 1990 and they’ve helped many businesses realize their potential by using practices to uniquely steer your company down the road to success. Their business analysts can help you take your idea from inception to full fruition in a clear and concisely planned way which will aide the smooth running of your ship.

1. Hallmark
2. Experian
3. Dell Professional Services
4. The US Department of Energy
5. the list goes on!

Process Re-design: scope, definition and related issues

1.      Process Types & Definition:  Identify whether the type of process is primary, support or management as this influences the types of goals set.

2.      Process Redesign Criteria and Options:  Blending analytical and creative thinking is the key to good business process redesign.  Use inductive thinking to identify a powerful solution as defined through the customer’s eyes.  Processes should be viewed end to end in a strategic context.  Think in terms of seeking out the problems to resolve and break the old unnecessary rules.

a.      Create a clearly stated “Business Statement of Process Intent”.  This is a clearly defined business statement which articulates what this process is setting out to achieve.  What we can do now? 

b.      Identify the performance measures/targets.  What are your own performance measures?  How geared are they to delivering process success?

c.       Business Statement of Process Intent should have clear objectives and be  quantifiable (SMART method). 

d.      The Business Statement of Process Intent should have clear ownership both high and low levels.

3.      Modeling Redesigned Processes- Identify how to simplify the process and model on the “New Current State” Process Map.  Tip:  When modeling the redesigned processes, select the appropriate view for the participants.  You can use mind mapping (creative stage), IDEF process flows (analytical stage), storyboard (free form), detailed flow charts with swimlanes (prescriptive).  Choosing the appropriate view can change the way problems are perceived.     

Pierson Requirements Group (www.PiersonRequirementsGroup.com) offers business analysis training to companies seeking a more efficient approach to software development.

Stamford, CT – March 18, 2009 – Companies no longer have to suffer poor return on investments (ROI), or accept costly redesign efforts as the norm in software development. Business analysis training and JAD training classes from Pierson Requirements Group help members of management and staff work together to avoid the most common pitfalls in requirements planning to maximize efficiency and ROI.

“The problems most companies have with software development are due to poor requirements rather than coding,” says Pierson Requirements Group Partner, Joy Matthews. “Developers know how to code but the business requirements are most often incomplete and don’t effectively communicate the business needs. The lack of effective requirements gathering and writing leads to 82% of the software re-design and maintenance efforts causing companies to waste millions of dollars a year on ineffective software implementations and lost product to market opportunities. [Our] customers have found that it is a 200:1 cost savings to find defects in requirements rather than in the maintenance phase.”

Pierson provides hands-on training in requirements gathering and writing, testing, and project management with an interactive approach. The business analyst training classes are designed to improve project performance by teaching project teams how to work together to implement industry standards and best practices.

The methodology is so effective that customers of Pierson Requirements Group have reported that $12,000 – $15,000 business analyst training classes have produced a $144,000 to $192,000 ROI in a year. According to Matthews, “Surveys of Pierson’s customers have found that the use of a Collaborative Requirements Approach saved 25% to 33% of time over the entire project, or three to four months out of a year-long project.”

Pierson offers training classes or seminars in business requirements analysis, UML and business modeling, QA testing, project management, requirements gathering and writing, JAD facilitation and requirements gathering, and more. The company also offers mentoring and consulting services for more direct involvement in clients’ software development projects.

About Pierson Requirements Group

Pierson is an Endorsed Education Provider of the IIBA- International Institute of Business Analysts and a member of the BABOK review board.  All of Pierson’s courses can earn PDUs with the Project Management Institute (PMI) and CDUs with the IIBA.

Pierson Requirements Group has been the leader in requirements training and testing training using industry best practices for 18 years and is often recommended by Gartner to its clients. What makes Pierson’s training unique and successful is that the training classes conclude with a simulation using the deliverables throughout the PLC.  A real life customer’s project can even be used. The training is 1/3 lecture and 2/3 hands on exercises so that the trainees are ready to go after completing the class and equipped for success with a full toolkit of checklists, a procedures guide, agendas and scripts. The primary objective of the training is to provide the participants with the knowledge and experience to implement a repeatable requirements gathering and writing process using UML and helps prepare those who want to take the IIBA Certification Exam.  Participants of Pierson’s training are provided with a certificate of successful completion of the training.

For more information about Pierson Requirements Group or business analysis training, please visit www.PiersonRequirementsGroup.com or contact Walter Pierson at 203-322-1606.

Contact:
Walter Pierson, President
Pierson Requirements Group
Phone: 203-322-1606
Email: wpierson@piersonrequirementsgroup.com
Web: www.PiersonRequirementsGroup.com

Pierson’s customers have found that they are able to capture 93 – 95% of the business requirements functionality by using a collaborative requirements method and by creating and validating paper prototypes with the business community.

Pierson has conducted studies with Hallmark, Amica Insurance, CarMax, Staples and the U.S. Department of Energy. The following time and cost savings were found:

• 25 – 50% of time saved for requirements gathering
• Use of a collaborative requirements approach saved 25% to 33% of time over the entire project or 3 – 4 months out of a year long project.

Pierson’s customers have all found that it is not just a cost savings but also getting it right the first time which decreases redesign. Redesign is very costly for companies. Pierson’s philosophy is also to strive for consensus based requirements in order to provide a key measure of success for better customer satisfaction.

You may find this informative also.  http://www.it-financeconnection.com/enterprise-systems/roi-success-through-business-anaysis/