Reply to: SME bottleneck

[tractor]

..

Well, strictly speaking a pureplay business analyst is expressing business requirements in a manner that can be used to develop new and/or amended designs.
Hence knowing how the physical hardware and software works is not necessary.
Back in the real world, BAs are generally re-badged SAs who need knowledge of the physical system to do an effective, timely job.
Another reason we are struggling.
Point taken in other posts - we only have the SMEs word for it they are as strung out as they say they are... Not sure what we can do about that as we are in a different office 100 miles away and the SMEs all work for a major subcontractor not the client. The BAs work for the Client. The developers are in 3 different cities in India.
I know, its a mess...

I thought mushroom management went out with MRPII. Do the developers work for the client or the subby?

Sounds like you need to go for fast track ITIL implementation.

[xux42]

How is that even possible?

Well, strictly speaking a pureplay business analyst is expressing business requirements in a manner that can be used to develop new and/or amended designs.
Hence knowing how the physical hardware and software works is not necessary.
Back in the real world, BAs are generally re-badged SAs who need knowledge of the physical system to do an effective, timely job.
Another reason we are struggling.
Point taken in other posts - we only have the SMEs word for it they are as strung out as they say they are... Not sure what we can do about that as we are in a different office 100 miles away and the SMEs all work for a major subcontractor not the client. The BAs work for the Client. The developers are in 3 different cities in India.
I know, its a mess...

[suityou01]

Arse Covering Memo/Mail...

Oh that old chestnut

Fooking weirdo.

[Churchill]

Academy of contempory music?
Association for computing machinery?
Association for college management?

...
...
...

Nothing on the first few pages of my google search seems to fit.

Arse Covering Memo/Mail...

[suityou01]

What do you think it might be?

Academy of contempory music?
Association for computing machinery?
Association for college management?

...
...
...

Nothing on the first few pages of my google search seems to fit.

[Churchill]

Indeed. 20 points to Churchy. Now what's an ACM?

What do you think it might be?

[suityou01]

Subject Matter Expert?

Indeed. 20 points to Churchy. Now what's an ACM?

[Churchill]

what's an SME? sounds like powdered baby milk

Subject Matter Expert?

[TheFaQQer]

what's an SME? sounds like powdered baby milk

Stupidly Mediocre Employee

[chef]

what's an SME? sounds like powdered baby milk

[tractor]

SME

Our project is struggling. There are 6 onshore subject matter experts who are the only people who throughly understand the system being amended 'across the piece'. They have to sign off the changes being made by 40 offshore developers who can code just fine, use change control software and have OK procedures but do not know the system they are changing.
There is no video link, so communication is by phone calls/conferences and email.
The SMEs also have to support the BAs who also do not know the system being changed.
Bottom line: the SMEs are overloaded.

There must be people who have experienced the same problem. Is there a solution?
Our target dates make no allowance for this bottleneck, but the project has already slipped 1 year. What can we can do other than slip the dates?
We cannot recruit more SMEs these are people with 3 or more years direct experience of the sytem.
The project is in phases so we could park phase 2 work & allocated 'semi-SMEs' to some of the SME work but that is just kicking the can down the road.

How is that even possible?

[Churchill]

if you can't beat em...

Well you still can, just don't get caught burying the bodies is my advice!

[Hot Mess]

Bob!! Is that you?

if you can't beat em...

[Churchill]

In all seriousness, make something up.

Get the 'SME's' on the hook to validate it.

If they can't or won't then give their line managers a nudge. If that fails, dump the lot of them in it in the next meeting.

Bob!! Is that you?

[Hot Mess]

In all seriousness, make something up.

Get the 'SME's' on the hook to validate it.

If they can't or won't then give their line managers a nudge. If that fails, dump the lot of them in it in the next meeting.