I am always amazed when I go into a new company and ask to see the list of IT projects. Typically a spreadsheet gets produced with a wide variety of items that are typically 1-2 years old. When you talk to the admins, and programmers, they more often than not, have never seen "the project list".
Most small IT organizations have a huge back log of work that never gets done, the project list is more of a wish list! If you are going to move the organization along and get some of this strategic stuff done, you have to stay focused. Break these big projects down into manageable chunks and hold people accountable. Decide what is important and continue to drive forward, remembering that you can always find a small enough piece that can actually get done.
The other thing that amazes me is that many organizations have projects that make up a significant portion of there budget and there has never been a project definition, or scope defined. The project is underway, resources are being utilized, and a firm deliverable is nowhere in sight! If you have any of these "projects in the wild" stop right now.
While most small IT shops don't have budget money to spare, they continue to put resources into projects that will never come to fruition. I have seen several companies spend literally millions of dollars on the "system consolidation" project which will get rid of all of there core legacy systems and replace them with a new all in one system developed from scratch. I have yet to see one of these come into production.
Remember ...
Keep it simple.
Hold people accountable.
Identify the requirements, don't get caught in the "Ready, Shoot, Aim" game.
If you have a horror story of a "project in the wild", let me know.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Post a Comment