How to Establish a Business Model Canvas for your IT Company

by Huenei IT Services | Jan 31, 2023 | Process & Management

Nowadays, software and IT companies are immersed in a competitive market, having to deal with a changing environment, different levels of competition, and varied needs and problems from clients, among other difficulties that may affect sustainability. In this context, companies must be able to form and evolve from a solid structure that allows them to develop, grow and face adversity. The development of a business model is the fundamental tool to be able to sustain the company in the long term, grow and achieve a return on investment for the partners.

What is the Business Model Canvas Methodology?

A business model represents how an organization or company generates value, provides that value to customers, and obtains a certain benefit in return. It represents the structure on which the organization is born, develops, grows, and even dies.

In this sense, various methodologies are used to develop a business model. However, the Canvas methodology, explained by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur in their book “Business Model Generation,” can be a handy tool so that technology companies can capture their strategy and business model on a simple canvas.

Illustration by Osmoscloud

How is the Business Model Canvas built for an IT Company?

This model is a simple canvas made up of nine quadrants that demonstrate the foundations of a technology organization’s business model. These are closely related quadrants, which leverage each other seeking a synergy that allows the organization to offer a differential to the appropriate public and obtain in return a desired benefit. The nine quadrants are built as follows:

 1. Segments:

These are the public or audiences the company focuses on and serves. In this instance, it is important to make a detailed description of the individuals or organizations that make up the target segments. And it is important to understand that we can target different types of audiences, such as the following:

• Mass markets, where the objective is to attract a large number of individuals without clearly specifying the inclusion criteria for the segment. For example, the Information Technology business is characterized by a wide variety of company profiles.
• Specific segments that share a certain characteristic but still represent large volumes of individuals or organizations. An example is the Retail sector, where software products are focused on the needs of companies in the market, which represent high volumes of participation.
• Niches, characterized by a lower volume of members and a specific unsatisfied need, such as the Government segment.
• Multilateral platforms, where users of software products are two or more independent segments that interact with each other. For example, the Telecommunications, Media, and Entertainment sector is characterized by the use of software products where both the service provider company and its customers interact.

 2. Value proposition:

All organizations pursue a main objective which is to satisfy the needs of their customers or solve their problems. The value proposition is the means and the tool from which we can achieve this objective. As an example, we can mention Huenei’s value proposition. We provide our clients with IT services to guide them and help them achieve their business goals through our three business units: Dedicated Teams, Staff Augmentation, Turnkey Projects.

3. Channels:

Once we determine our segments and our value proposition, it is essential to define the channels by which we will reach our customers. This is related to the communication, distribution, and sales channels that the company will use. At Huenei we rely on different communication channels, both physical and digital, and we offer our clients personalized attention throughout the project.

4. Relationship:

It is extremely important to establish strategies that allow us to build a long-term relationship with our market segments. Technology companies can provide us with very illustrative examples in terms of building relationships with clients, based on personal assistance, automated support services and co-creation in software development projects.

5. Sources of income:

The sources of income represent how the company manages to capture the value of customers. The focus at this point is on recognizing the appropriate way to capture the value of our clients through our value proposition offer. In the case of technology companies such as Huenei, the focus is usually on charging for the services and developments provided.

6. Key resources:

In order to carry out its daily operations, be it production, marketing, relationship, or others, the company needs to have certain resources. The following may be mentioned as examples:

• Physical resources, such as workplaces or points of contact with clients, programs and software used for development, and so on.
• Intellectual resources, such as patents and industrial design registrations.
• Human resources, the work team, developers, key account managers, salespeople, etc.
• Financial resources that allow the daily operation.

7. Key activities:

At this point we focus on the activities that are the foundation of the business. Those that allow the company both the generation of an attractive value proposition, as well as its contact with the public and the construction of relationships with clients. The key activities of a technology company may be related to the production or development of software products, the solution of customer problems through an after-sales support and follow-up service, the establishment of a network or platform intuitive for customers, among others.

8. Key alliances:

Sometimes, technology organizations outsource certain activities or resources important to the operation. In these cases, the partners, suppliers and allies that add value to the business and to the company’s proposal represent key players for organizational and commercial development.

9. Cost structure:

This structure is made up of fixed and variable costs incurred in the daily operations of the organization. Beyond the focus of the organization, which can be oriented towards reducing costs or increasing the value perceived by clients, the correct control and administration of the cost and expense structure of a company is essential for its survival and growth.

After this analysis of the business model structure according to the Business Model Canvas methodology, we can understand the importance of proper administration and planning of each of the quadrants for technology and software companies. As we have seen, key alliances are essential for business development, and that is why at Huenei we focus every day on offering the best service for our clients, so that they can capture that value and offer it to the segments they target. The daily work and the focus on excellence allows organizations like Huenei to collaborate in the delivery of value that companies offer to their clients.

Mastering Software Company Management: Strategies for Success

by Huenei IT Services | Jan 30, 2023 | Process & Management

If you are an entrepreneur or a manager, then you know how hard it is to master software company management. You need to find people who have the right skills, work ethic, and personality to make your project succeed. But what if there aren’t enough developers in your area? Are there any other options? Yes! Outsourcing might be one of them.

Let’s review a series of steps that help us at Huenei to succeed in managing our business units.

Step 1: Understand the business goals and make sure that your team is aligned.

The most important thing you can do to plan your software company management is to understand the business goals and ensure that your team is aligned.

A key question is: What do you want your software team to accomplish? For example, if one project has a stated goal of improving sales by 10%, another might aim to increase revenue by 20%. This helps keep things focused on their objectives while still being able to follow up with wider issues concerning overall progress toward achieving those goals

Step 2: Choose the right structure for your company.

You should choose a team structure that is aligned with your business goals. For example, if your company is focused on developing new products and services, it makes sense to have a small team of developers working directly with the product manager.

On the other hand, if you want to scale up quickly and integrate with existing systems in fast-moving industries such as retail or banking where there are many moving parts (like web sites), then having more people involved in development will help ensure success faster than having just one person responsible for everything.

Step 3: Address team communication, feedback, and review processes.

The team structure you choose will be the foundation for your organization’s communication, feedback, and review processes. A good way to think about this is: if three different employees need to communicate with each other at any given time, how do they do it? Do they email? Do they call? Do they meet in person? If one of them is on vacation or not available at that moment, how does that employee know what’s going on in the other two’s work areas anyway?

The answer is clear: communication is key!

Step 4: Ensure regular outreach to stakeholders.

Stakeholders are the people who will use your software. They may include employees, customers, and partners. To ensure that stakeholders are involved throughout the development process, you should have a plan for engaging them.

Define your goals and objectives with stakeholders early on in the project lifecycle. This can help ensure everyone’s expectations are aligned.

Step 5: Formalize your Teams Charter – Checklist!

We offer you this resource that can be very useful to formalize your team’s charter. It is a checklist that we use in Huenei in this type of situation and that guides our decision-making:

1. Define the scope of the project.
2. Define your goals and objectives for this project.
3. Define roles and responsibilities for each member of your team.
4. Define timelines for milestones and deliverables.
5. Identify key stakeholders and their expectations.
6. Define communication protocols and channels for team members and stakeholders.
7. Establish a system for tracking progress and measuring success.
8. Identify potential risks and mitigation strategies.
9. Define a process for addressing and resolving conflicts.
10. Identify resources needed for the project and establish a plan for acquiring them.
11. Establish a process for regularly reviewing and updating the team charter to ensure alignment with project goals and objectives.
12. Identify and assign a designated project leader or manager.

Bonus: Need more help but can’t hire new employees?

If you can’t increase your headcount, outsourcing is the best alternative. Outsourcing can be a great way to save money and time while still providing the same level of service as if you were doing it in-house.

However, before jumping into an outsourcing relationship with a new company, you must do some research and find out what kind of experience they have in this industry. You should look for a company that has experience in the same industry as yours or one that specializes in certain aspects of software development such as data science or DevOps. At Huenei we have extensive experience working on this type of project from our Agile Dedicated Teams, Application Management Outsourcing, Turnkey Projects, and Augmented Teams services.

We hope that this article has given you some insight into how to structure your software company management process. We’ve discussed different approaches and outlined some key points, but ultimately it’s up to you as an organization whether or not these ideas are right for your needs. By following through with these tips and making changes as needed over time, we believe you’ll find a successful way forward in creating a great team that can execute its goals effectively!

Scrum Tips: The Best Advice You Could Ever Get About Scrum

by Huenei IT Services | Jan 30, 2023 | Process & Management

Scrum is one of the most popular agile frameworks for project management. It’s a set of practices that help organizations get things done better and faster by ensuring they focus on what matters most.

But that doesn’t mean scrum is perfect for everyone. Many teams find it difficult to adopt this approach. This is generally the case if they don’t know where to begin or how long it will take them to succeed using the scrum methodology. So here are some tips from Huenei’s experienced scrum masters who have helped countless clients overcome their challenges!

Tip #1: Minimize your WIP. Start with one project.

First, you should minimize your work in progress (WIP). Start with one project and focus on that one thing at a time. Optimize all your processes to help you focus on that one thing.

This is a great tip for any project, but it’s especially important for Scrum projects. When you work with other people on a Scrum project, you can make the most of their ideas and contributions by focusing on one thing at a time.

For example, if someone comes up with an idea for how to improve your process or product, ask them if they want to work on that feature right now or if they want to wait until later in the project when there might be more time available. If it makes sense from both sides then go ahead and prioritize what needs doing first (or even multiple times). If not then don’t worry! Just keep working on whatever else was requested by someone else until either option comes up again later down the line.

Tip #2: Optimize all your processes to help you focus on that one thing.

You can use scrum to optimize your processes by using the P1, P2, and P3 steps, that is, dividing your tasks into priorities: priority 1 (P1), priority 2 (P2), priority 3 (P3), and so on. This will help you focus on that one thing which is your software development process.

For example, if you have a lot of meetings in an organization where most people are working asynchronously, then using scrum can help you achieve better results by making sure they are all aligned with each other and have clear deadlines for when they need to be done.

Tip #3: Adapt the methodology to your needs.

We want to make sure you understand that Scrum is not a theory. It’s not a set of beliefs or ideals to be followed blindly. It’s an approach for managing your team, and there are many different ways to do it.

The official Scrum Guide is the document that defines scrum as it was originally defined by Ken Schwaber, Jeff Sutherland, and Jeff Patton in their book “Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time.”

But if you look at this guide closely, you might find yourself reading through pages upon pages of text explaining how you should run your project! You shouldn’t worry about getting bogged down by all those details—you just need to know what they mean for your organization so that everyone knows when something goes wrong with using this method correctly.

If you try scrum and it doesn’t work well enough, keep trying something else until you succeed!

You might think that if your project is struggling, there must be something wrong with your team or process. But this is not true. There are probably a lot of things that could be causing the problem—you just don’t know what they are yet.

It’s important to remember: no matter how many times failed experiments occur, don’t get stuck on one idea! Try another one if necessary until something works better for everyone involved. You can always try again later once more information has been gathered from previous attempts at implementation.

Tip #4: Keep it simple, start small, and don’t give up if it doesn’t work the first time perfectly.

When you’re working with Scrum, there are a few things to keep in mind. The first is that it’s not necessary to try and do everything at once. You can start small and work your way up as time goes on. There’s also no need to feel bad if something doesn’t work perfectly the first time—you’ll learn from your mistakes as you go along!

You should also be flexible when adapting this process. Sometimes an idea might seem like it will work but then fail when practiced in real-life scenarios like meetings or sprints. Don’t give up hope though: even if something doesn’t go according to plan initially, there are ways around most issues that come up during its use so long as they’re handled correctly by everyone involved.

All in all, Scrum is a great method for teams to improve their productivity and collaboration. It can help you manage your time better, prioritize more effectively, and be more effective at delivering value to your customers.