Doing more with less. Enhanced business agility. Reduced costs. The demands on IT have never been greater, particularly in light of lower revenue and uncertain demand for the goods and services offered by many companies. There are many ways that IT can help organizations adjust to this new economic environment. Learn about five key technology trends that can immediately impact your organization's bottom line, and how to build a strategy to implement these technologies within your current budget. more
Dear Bob ...I just read Keep the Joint Running for this week ("Don't supersize. Chunkanize." 9/18/2006) about modifying business procedures to go along with "IT" projects. I quote (probably paraphrased as I have a lousy memory) your line all the time: "There are no I.T. projects ... only business change projects of which IT is a part."I understand this perfectly and it's my #1 reason IS projects fail: because ov
I just read Keep the Joint Running for this week ("Don't supersize. Chunkanize." 9/18/2006) about modifying business procedures to go along with "IT" projects. I quote (probably paraphrased as I have a lousy memory) your line all the time: "There are no I.T. projects ... only business change projects of which IT is a part."
I understand this perfectly and it's my #1 reason IS projects fail: because over and over and over and over we roll out new software, the users whine and complain until we change it to work like the old software to support their (usually outdated) processes, and the sum effort results in making life worse rather than better. They don't get any of the benefits of the new software, they long for their wonderful old software back, and the IS staff is demonized as the monsters that ruined their lives. oy.
Yet, here I am in the middle of another multi-year project with a few dozen people working on it (contrary to the "chunkinzation" theory of actually getting something done). I've tried as hard as I know how (as a consultant) to get the users to understand they need to change their processes to match what the new software adds for them ... and I get Bambi-in-the-headlights from the entire room. I'm not looking forward to next year when we turn this monster on (mission-critical; four locations on the same day. It's the Big Bang theory - it will not be pretty).
- Trapped in a monolith
Dear Trapped ...
There isn't a lot you can do (pointing out that the Big Bang was a universe-sized explosion will just annoy everyone).
I do have one suggestion for you: Stop telling the users that they have change their processes - probably, they have no idea what that means in any practical sense. Instead add process change to the project plan.
Yes, it's scope creep, and radical scope creep at that. The good news is that you can probably hide it, since it will take a relatively small amount of your time, and redirect the time of the end-users already assigned to the project team. One way of doing this is to redefine the software quality assurance methodology so it includes a "conference room pilot" - an environment for the end-users to figure out their new processes using the new software without being intimidated by the thought of process redesign.
You start by showing them the capabilities of the new software, then have them bring in a few hundred test cases to run through it. They figure out how to handle the test cases using the new software; your developers learn what they need to change to adapt the software to the cases, and it's all automatically outside the constraints of the old process because what the users are bringing in are the test cases, not their old processes. You get to work with them to explore how to handle the test cases using the capabilities of the new software.
Addressing Linux Threats Leveraging Fewer Resources
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Recommend This
