Why Methodology Does Not Mean What You Think it Does

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Executive Summary

The term “methodology” when “method” is appropriate.
We cover what these terms mean and their proper use.

Introduction

The term methodology is used quite frequently on SAP and other consulting projects. This article will dive into the word methodology to see if it means that users of the term imply that it represents. And we will discuss why so many people continually use a word that they do not know the meaning of.

Notice of Lack of Financial Bias: We have no financial ties to SAP or any other entity mentioned in this article.

This is published by a research entity, not some lowbrow entity that is part of the SAP ecosystem.
Second, no one paid for this article to be written, and it is not pretending to inform you while being rigged to sell you software or consulting services. Unlike nearly every other article you will find from Google on this topic, it has had no input from any company's marketing or sales department. As you are reading this article, consider how rare this is. The vast majority of information on the Internet on SAP is provided by SAP, which is filled with false claims and sleazy consulting companies and SAP consultants who will tell any lie for personal benefit. Furthermore, SAP pays off all IT analysts -- who have the same concern for accuracy as SAP. Not one of these entities will disclose their pro-SAP financial bias to their readers.

How is the Word Methodology Used?

A methodology is used to justify when a company wants to do something or when a consulting firm or vendor wants to make a good impression on a customer.

You will often hear a consulting company say they have a particular methodology, which seems to have power over those receiving this message. SAP developed something called an ASAP methodology. The ASAP methodology had the following graphic that was popular in SAP presentations for years.

The only problem with this is that this approach is not unique to SAP. For instance, can there be a different sequence applied to systems implementation?

That is, can “Realization” be performed before “Project Preparation”? Probably not, right?

Read through the individual bullet points.

What is different here from any other systems implementation method or series of steps?
How is this methodology any different than any other method that was used to implement SAP before ASAP?

Nevertheless, the generic nature of the ASAP “Methodology” did not stop SAP from claiming that it sped SAP implementations.

We covered this topic in the article Did SAP’s ASAP Methodology Ever Reduce Project Timelines?

Each one of these cups of coffee was brewed using a methodology — at least according to the definition of the methodology used by consulting companies. But they would have to have been, as, without a method, nothing can be produced. The very existence of an item requires a method to have created it. This is true whether any human is involved in the process or if the process is a natural process.

A World Brimming with Generic Implementation Methodologies

In our evaluation of multiple methodologies by SAP consulting companies, we could not find anything unique or interesting in any of them as we cover in the article The Real Story on IT Implementation Methodologies.

Yet, each consulting company maintained that their methodology gave them a significant advantage over other consulting companies.

The Word Methodology is (in The Vast Majority) of Cases Misused

People that use the word methodology typically use it because they have heard other people use it.
It is a problematic term because its users don’t know what it means, but because there is a far more straightforward word that can be used that is also far more accurate. One should be suspicious of people who use more advanced words when a more simple term is available and accurate.

What Does the Word Methodology Mean?

The word methodology is the combination of two root words.

Method: This is an approach, a pathway to accomplishing an objective.
-ology: Latin for the study of a topic or scientific discipline.

Therefore a methodology is the study of approaches and pathways to accomplish an objective.

Wikipedia has the following to say on methodology..

Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study. It comprises the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a branch of knowledge.

Notice how Wikipedia switches to what a methodology isn’t in the next paragraph.

A methodology does not (emphasis added) set out to provide solutions – it is, therefore, not the same as a method. Instead, a methodology offers the theoretical underpinning for understanding which method, set of methods, or best practices can be applied to specific case, for example, to calculate a specific result.

However, this is not what a consulting company offers customers when they state they have a methodology. They are not offering a study of methods of system implementation. As in, they offer a study of

A method versus..
B method versus..
C method, etc…

Instead, they are merely offering a method of accomplishing the objective. For the word’s usage to have meaning, it means that the term can be reversed and has a purpose. If the word cannot be reversed and make any sense, then there becomes little justification for using the word in a sentence.

Using a Method as Opposed to What Exactly?

However, the term’s usage becomes particularly enigmatic if one were to attempt to reverse the word. So would a consulting company ever say they have no method of software implementation? Would a plumber state they apply no method to troubleshooting plumbing problems?

This could not be proposed. It is assumed that anyone doing anything for some time trained in a topic will apply some way of doing something. That is a method.

Therefore, why is the statement that one has a method for accomplishing an objective considered positive or something that needs to be stated? The question is not whether it exists (it does), but why it is suitable or the right method to use.

The response to this might be that the company has a particular methodology (methods), and it is better than other methodologies (methods), but how do we know that is true. Usually, the entity trying to convince you of this will provide a long history of successfully implementing their methodology(method). But how do we know that is true? Much of the reason for using the term methodology is to make it seem more proven. Instead of using a fake word, the proposer should explain why the particular method is excellent using logic.

It’s always instructive to observe who is using a term. For example, a person who uses the term digital transformation is generally in sales and will not be doing the work. The term methodology is also often used by people that won’t be doing the work.

Who Uses the Term Methodology in IT?

The companies that tend to use the term methodology the most, such as the large consulting companies like Accenture and Deloitte, tend to deceive their clients as to their work frequently. Upon evaluating many large consulting companies’ methodologies, we found nothing unique to advantageous in any of them, as we covered in the article The Real Story on IT Implementation Methodologies.
SAP introduced a methodology called ASAP, which did nothing to help attain the methodology’s stated goal: to implement SAP faster. I say it was the stated goal, as it is debatable whether it was the actual goal. The essential goal now appears to have been to convince prospects that the implementation would be faster and cost less than it would end up being. The real purpose of the methodology was marketing and sales advantage and had nothing to do with implementation.

The companies that use the term methodology and how little they impact software implementations bring up the question of whether methodologies are primarily developed for sales purposes.

Big Consulting Company Methodology = $$$?

Analyzing the Deloitte methodology for SAP implementation, it was clear that it was merely an excuse to place as many Deloitte services into the methodology possible.

Therefore, following the Deloitte methodologies was to buy everything Deloitte offered in its SAP practice and other services from other practices. But that is hardly an implementation method, and it is a method of income maximization. One has to ask, is this a methodology for the customer or a methodology for optimizing Deloitte’s bank account?

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Conclusion

The use of the word methodology to describe what is, in fact, merely a method has an undeniable and specific purpose.

Pretentious Usage: It is to gain the prestige of using a word that sounds more advanced than what the actual thing is that is being provided.
An Evidence-Free Claim of Superiority: A second problem using the term methodology is that while it intends to signal value to the message recipient, it provides no evidence that the methodology is a good one. It attempts to prestige signal as a way to improve any need to provide proof of benefit.

The Brightwork Methodology for Combining High-Speed Driving and Communication

I will outline a method for communicating while driving.

Start the engine to a big rig truck.
Direct the truck to the highway
Bring the truck to 75 MPH and set the cruise control.
Unlock your cell phone
Begin texting friends on the cell phone while steadying the wheel with your knees.
Use as many emojis in the texts as possible (increases symbol search time and the time your eyes will be off of the road but has proportional enhanced pleasure for the text recipients and general message engagement)

This is undoubtedly a method of communicating while driving. However, is it a suitable method?

No.

Does the fact that the method exists makes it good?

Again no.

One should never be impressed with the statement that some entity has some methodology. First, they don’t offer you a methodology (they offer a method), but second, this does not prove that the method employed is a good one. Thirdly, it is better if the people you are listening to know what the words they are using mean, rather than repeating what someone told them.

In most cases, the person making this statement does not know the word they are using.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodology