Fail now, succeed later

By Divina Paredes | Wednesday, February 11 2009

Enterprises should encourage and reward more business process failures in order to find the optimal solution.

For optimum success, encourage failure.

A contradiction in terms, yes, but Steve Prentice, vice president of analyst firm Gartner, says this is one strategy for enterprises to consider in the current economic environment.

Prentice, speaking at the Gartner Predicts forum in Auckland, points out successful enterprises in the next three years will actively encourage and reward more business process failures, in order to find the optimal solution more quickly.

He says this can be done through a process simulation sandbox, a “safe environment” to perform these tests. “The more the ‘sandbox’ reflects the current operational environment, the more accurate its test results will be.”
The ‘sandbox’ is where business users can learn simulation, scenario definition, data collection techniques, process analysis and event correlation, notes Prentice in his presentation on theTop 10 Predictions 2009.

The process simulation sandbox will allow business and IT professionals to work together “in a nonjudgmental manner” on scenarios without risks or deadlines. Real data from existing operations can be used, so that new designs can be tested to verify if operational results would be better.

‘Sandbox’ users can try new tools, new process designs, new techniques and methods, as well as experimenting with governance models.

He also suggests using the 'sandbox' for internal competitions, rewarding those who are successful at coming up with new designs that deliver high performance based on simulations, scenarios and real data.

“Why would you want to encourage failure? The sooner you find out what is wrong, the sooner you are able to find solutions," he states.

He says the process will require a cultural shift, but this can be done without significant costs.