Has IT become a 'dirty' word? - Part 1

It is so common these days to start a tsunami of whinging and complaints at the very mention of any of the words software, hardware, IT. What is the reason for this type of attitude and is it possible to achieve “IT nirvana” at all?

Before attempting to provide any suggestions or answers it may be useful to try and identify some of the causes that created this situation in the first place. Usually they vary from project to project but some general symptoms seem to be present more often than not.

Leadership failure

While many people may disagree with this, it seems that the main reason for over 80% of all horror stories related to IT is the “human factor”. In other words, technology fails very rarely on its own. It is the way it is used (abused?) and the expectations placed on it that create problems and disasters. And whether, as business owners/managers, we like it or not, the root cause usually can be traced to the top.

Leadership is just as important in IT projects, as it is in any other aspect of the business. A leadership failure is followed inevitably by a project failure and, subsequent, “witch hunting”.

And in most companies it is the senior management team that needs to take the blame. It is much more difficult for a middle manager to get the same cooperation from various business units than for a senior manager.

Even if the most senior people are not directly involved in the project they need to be accessible most of the time. This way any minor “hiccups” can be fixed before they become major “hiccups”.

Lack of common sense

For some unknown reason when dealing with IT-related issues the common sense just seems to go out of the window. The processes and criteria used for any other business activity or purchase are disregarded and a variety of “exotic” approaches with little business sense are applied. “People in the know”, i.e. technologists, use acronyms and terms no one understands. Other people on the team don't want to lose face and just listen to the gibberish.

But the technology people are not the best in solving business problems. Quite often their focus is primarily on technology and that is simply not enough. Each IT project needs to have clearly defined objectives and deliverables, i.e. “why” and “what”. “How” needs to be a secondary consideration.

Poor planning

Unfortunately, IT project management is still somewhat of an art, rather than science. Due to the high complexity of most IT projects it is very difficult to estimate costs and durations within a project. The best project managers usually come within a range of 10%. While 10% may not seem that bad, the major problem here is that people who can achieve these levels of accuracy are few and far between.

On the other hand when a project is underestimated by 50-100% (there are enough examples around), how would a manager feel going to the board or the bank and asking for more money halfway through the project. Let's face it, nobody wants to be in that situation. Yet, it happens so often.

Unrealistic expectations

There's no question that everybody wants to pay for a little 3-cylinder car and get a Rolls Royce. Yet, we all know that's not possible, and after parting away with the money we drive away in a car that makes us happy. Not so, with IT, though. Every project starts with a lot of enthusiasm, good intentions and a splendid vision for the future. Vendors present their products, customers select a supplier and implementation is under way.

Together with implementation, “project creep” is also under way. A new button here, a different colour scheme there, and so on. Most of these changes seem trivial from outside. Anyone who has been in IT for some time, though, knows that some of them may require huge amounts of work to be done. What then follows is disappointment, missed deadlines and increased prices.

It is unfair to put the blame only on one party, though. Usually, this situation is a result of major miscommunication on both sides. Suppliers have a natural tendency to overpromise and underquote in order to get the business. Buyers on the other hand tend to underestimate the size of most projects in order to fit within budgets, look better in the eyes of the board, etc.