Griffon Conseils | Agile Systems

	The Power of Agile Systems Business today is like driving a car through fog. In perfect conditions you would prefer to focus your view around ten metres ahead, but now you have to settle for only two metres at best. To maintain your cruising speed, you’ll need to process the limited information five times faster. Agile systems can ‘present’ the information emerging from the fog so that your eyes view it with clarity and your brain can process it rapidly. That matters, because clear analysis involves distinguishing signals – those vital few pieces of information – from noise – the trivial many data points that could cloud our vision. It’s this clarity that enables some executives to be incisive while others flounder. Clarity is a scarce resource, particularly now that change is ‘the new normal’. Agile systems provide a strong information architecture that can cope with constant change and still produce accurate signals – quickly and reliably. Which means that you can make the best decisions for your business in its prevailing context. In other words, you can maintain your speed while others are hitting the walls.

	Critical Success factors of Agile Systems Agile Systems distinguish themselves in many ways, however these are some of the ‘must have’ characteristics: No templates The problem with one-size-fits-all templates is that they are tailored to nobody, which makes it hard to distinguish your ‘signals’ from your ‘noise’. Agile systems allow you to model your circumstances in a way that keeps the information highly relevant those who use them to make decisions. Requires no IT configuration Many companies have bought an ERP system believing it will provide the answers to their pressing business issues, only to endure a long and painful implementation before they get reliable information. Others have seen functioning systems go offline while IT reconfigures the modules in response to an organisational change. Agile systems can be deployed without major configuration – leaving their power in your hands. Easy to build and maintain Computer language is beautiful to those who write it, but unintelligible to most. Agile systems are simpler to build and maintain, because they are written in plain language rather than laced with complicated cell references and lookup functions. And because you don't have to decipher their logic, they are far easier to keep up to date. Easy to share or hand-over Effective organisations thrive on teamwork and collaboration, which involves sharing models and handing-over findings. Agile systems based on a clear layout, simple formulas and best practice approaches are so friendly to use that teams engage with them, and they can be handed-over without fear of push-back. Clear dashboards Agile systems which measure the ‘sensitivity’ of your planned actions across various possible scenarios, so that you can take decisions with confidence in the outcome they are likely to produce. Which means you can spend your time planning your next move, and not fretting about your last one.

	Agile Planning At Griffon we have chosen to build our FP&A solutions on the Anaplan technology platform, which combines agility, with a simple, intuitive interface and unrivalled planning and modelling power.