An IT project without a future

A few years back, my associate Paul and I were working as network engineers for a large transportation company when we were assigned to a project supporting a major new intercontinental communications application. Grady and Dennis were the project managers.

The project got off to a slow start -- and ground even slower as we found ourselves setting objectives that should have been finalized before the project ever saw approval. Paul and I moved forward as best we could: creating network plans, preparing equipment lists, and contacting vendors to enable the new application. The fact that this application was still in development made us nervous, although Grady and Dennis assured us that it would be finished according to the project schedule. Taking their word for it, Paul and I continued to advance designs, assign network addresses, create static routes, and prepare documentation.

One day, as I was discussing the application with a technician working outside Dublin, I discovered a disquieting fact. The application was supposed to speed up processing of incoming data for customers doing international transactions. The technician advised me, however, that application parameters limited access to a subset of customers that met certain dollar and volume levels. When he crunched the numbers, it seemed that out of an estimated 700 to 800 customer transactions per week, no more than eight would meet the application parameters.

Our company was already having financial difficulties, and here we were wasting thousands of dollars on a virtually useless project. I didn't want to spoil the party, but when I took this up with Grady and Dennis, I discovered that despite seven months of "development," the application didn't exist at all.

Grady and Dennis pleaded with us. They explained that the head of app dev was involved in a political battle with the person who initiated our project and was never going to devote resources to actually writing the code. They also explained that if this project were canceled, they stood a good chance of being laid off, too. As a favor, Paul and I agreed to keep quiet -- as long as no more time or money was spent. We would issue an occasional "site not ready" message that they could roll into their project summaries each month. Paul and I figured that some day we'd need a favor from Grady and Dennis. You get by with a little help from your friends.

Three months later, Grady and Dennis were given a huge new assignment, and they handed off our doomed project to another PM -- who turned it into a "process under review." Paul and I moved on to more worthwhile efforts.

I should have known better. About a month after the project was canceled, I got the word: The entire network engineering staff was being outsourced. That was me, Paul, and about six other guys. We learned, however, that there were a few openings in the project management group. Time to call in that favor! Paul and I called Grady and Dennis. And called. And e-mailed. And called some more. They never called back. A month later Paul and I were looking for new jobs.

What I learned: When politics trumps technology, expect the worst.