Greenfield Is the Best Solution To Implement a New Idea!

If you want to implement a new idea it is the best solution to start with a greenfield. It is an easy solution, no problems with history or legacy systems, and no difficult questions about how you got stuck with all those problems. And talking about history is boring too. Greenfield has only advantages! Or?

Unfortunately, such a thing as the past exists. You cannot live without it. You, or more often your predecessors, have invested large sums of money in processes, people, and systems. It is part of your company infrastructure, and therefore it should be managed as an asset. The only way to treat an asset is to make sure it has a sensible Return On Investment (ROI).

So, thus this means that you can never start something new? You can never start from scratch? Well, not exactly. If you consider your current situation as an asset, you should treat it as an asset. That means you should not consider your legacy as one piece, but cut it up in parts: Some will be deliver a positive cash-flow, others will be neutral, and even other parts will cost you lots of money.

So, if you have a new idea, you should consider that your Soll-situation. Your Isst-situation starts diffuse. Identify parts with a negative ROI and remove them. Keep the ones with a positive ROI. Balance your scarce resources. Make sure you get the most out of them. And then migrate from Isst to Soll. That will provide you with the best of all worlds!

Want to discuss it further? Contact Hans Lodder at Requirements-Management.nl.