Kelly Robertson
We love blockchain but at the same time, we do understand there’s a huge hype around it. And we’re not talking about cryptocurrencies, but business applications that use blockchain.
The US Department of the Treasury thought it should help and has published five tips for blockchain project managers looking to venture into decentralized computing. We have turned those tips into questions and here they are…
Hopefully, they will help project managers determine whether blockchain is a good fit for what they’re working on.
1. Is blockchain a good fit?
The fact that it is “in” these days and that everyone’s talking about it doesn’t mean blockchain is best suited for every project. Like any other technology, blockchain has the potential to solve problems but that doesn’t mean it is the right tool for everything.
The Treasury suggests asking the following questions to determine whether blockchain is suited for the project you’re involved in:
- Do you need a structured central repository of information?
- Is more than one entity reading or writing transactions to a database?
- Is there less than total trust between parties/entities in the ecosystem?
- Are central gatekeepers introducing costs and /or “friction” when verifying transactions — i.e. is manual verification required?
- Are there routine or logical interactions that occur that could be programmed to self-execute using smart contracts?
Answering “yes” to a few of those questions means that blockchain could be a good fit for the project.
2. Do you know the pain points?
For this part, the Treasury suggests talking to various stakeholders to determine the challenges they are / would be facing with a centralized system. This way, the project makers will be able to uncover “pain points” that may have otherwise gone undetected.
From there, it is the project manager’s job to documents both pain and good points so they could be implemented into the future blockchain application.
3. Do you know the business processes?
Pain (and good) points won’t get you the complete picture. A blockchain application should incorporate current business process(es), with an added twist that makes decentralized solutions better than their centralized counterparts.
The Treasury suggests mapping current processes and identifying friction points — which tend to be costly, time consuming, require manual work, or are otherwise inefficient.
This “process map” should be included in the project documentation from the getgo to make for easier development later on. Also, as you’re doing this, it is suggested to ask yourself and other stakeholders questions such as “why do we do this” and “is there policy/regulation that requires us to do this” or “does our system have functionality we are not using” to identify potential solutions to problems.
4. Do you have a diverse project team?
It is a common sense to have a good team on any project, whether it includes blockchain or not. The Treasury echoes this, adding that the team should include representatives from across program offices, IT department included.
Furthermore, it advises involving blockchain skeptics as well as non-technical people, who may be able to see beyond the hype surrounding the technology.
5. Do you need an agency governance?
While it can be time consuming, preparation for investment review and technical review boards can bring to light perspectives or issues you haven’t considered.
The Treasury suggests leaving enough time in the project plan to present and explain blockchain technology in clear, easy-to-understand terms so — when the time comes — you can move through the process swiftly.
