| Headspring
Creates Options and Implements
IT Compliant Solution
for Dell |
Summary
Headspring delivers a comprehensive
project management tool
for Dell that allows for
end-to-end management and
insight from past to present
projects. |
Client
Profile
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL)
is a premier provider of
the products and services
needed worldwide to build
company information-technology
and Internet infrastructures.
Dell, through its direct
business model, designs,
manufactures and customizes
products and services to
customer requirements, and
offers an extensive selection
of software and peripherals.
|
Project
Initiative
An engineering development
group within Dell's Hardware
Division determined that
its existing product management
systems were insufficient
due to the inflexibility
of the IT supported system.
Dell required a comprehensive
tool to capture and centralize
a complete history of a
new server product. The
company's existing system
had two basic components:
-
Individual and team management
tools for various stages
of product development.
-
An array of documents stored
across numerous network
locations, in different
applications and formats.
This set-up prevented
future development teams
from benefiting from the
prior work. Project details
and processes were not
optimized or archived,
and valuable intellectual
property was being lost.
|
Project
Objectives
Dell needed a new project
management tool that could:
-
Manage a project from concept
to release.
-
Provide the development
process history and capture
a record of decisions that
were made throughout the
development lifecycle.
-
Provide access to both local
and overseas teams.
-
Scale for widespread usage.
-
Offer on-the-fly reporting
to improve the development
lifecycle.
|
A
Two-Phase Headspring Solution:
Phase One: The Options
As a large company with
many internal resources,
there were multiple options
open to Dell's team. However,
with staffers spread across
multiple projects, it was
a challenge for the team
to assemble the resources
necessary to create this
critical project management
tool.
Dell decided to contact
Headspring to see if they
could help with this issue;
Headspring leapt into
action and had a team
assembled in just two
days. Dell asked Headspring
to review the options
and suggest some fast,
scalable, and user-friendly
solutions. Headspring
quickly narrowed the field
to three available options
and analyzed them with
the following requirements
in mind: time-to-market,
leverage of existing systems,
and compliance with Dell's
IT standards. Headspring
then presented this analysis
to the client for selection.
| Option |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
| 1. |
Deployment
of a version
of the existing
Enterprise-Approved
System |
|
 |
Already
in place |
| |
Compliant
to internal
standards |
|
| |
Requires
heavy modification
to meet group’s
needs. |
|
| 2. |
Upgrade
of Current 'Partial’
Application
|
|
| |
Leverage
existing work
that had been
invested |
|
| |
Building
around this
code base was
not efficient. |
|
| 3. |
Redesign
of current system
|
|
| |
Build
the system rapidly
on Standardized
Platform |
| |
System
could be built
to incorporate
some of the
existing application |
|
| |
IT
Compliancy to
internal standards
not ensured. |
|
And the Winner
Is
Based on the results of
Headspring's analysis,
Dell's team chose to redesign
the current system. They
estimated a go-live date
in 12-16 weeks, and anticipated
that the efficiencies
gained would justify this
approach in less than
twelve months.
|
Phase
2: The Headspring Solution
Headspring used its proven
product development cycle
- Headspring Devolution™,
and implemented a solution
for Dell's Hardware Team.
The solution contained a
newly developed platform
that incorporated existing
project management applications.
Headspring then built on
the tool and managed every
aspect of the process from
design to release. The end
result is a thin-client
interface that stores and
logs all issues and parts
and provides a universal
view into the design and
development process for
all new products. The solution
archives the project history,
retains all intellectual
property, and provides an
ongoing resource for engineering
and support teams. |
|
Customer Value
The target roll-out date
was met, the solution
was delivered within budget,
and Dell's team immediately
took to using the new
application.
Since deploying the system
within the hardware division,
Dell's IT team has:
- Evaluated the application
and approved it as a
company-compliant application,
paving the way for adoption
beyond the hardware
group.
- Allowed at least
three other functional
organizations within
Dell to review the tool
for adoption by project
management teams.
- Postponed (until
further notice ) the
original development
request within Dell's
IT team.
|
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