Newsletter March 2007

It's All About the People: A Pop Quiz

In our last issue, we mentioned six different kinds of IT problems. As promised, this time we're going to start talking about the first category: people problems. Without intending to make anyone nervous, here's a simple quiz based on some of our real-life experiences.

Case 1: Inventory Inadequacy
A midsize company installed a new inventory system. They had relatively complex requirements. Unfortunately, they hadn't thoroughly tested the system before they went live, and when they did flip the switch, the inventory made no sense. The problem was solved by:

1. Replacing the software.
2. Hiring a new consulting firm.
3. Documenting every issue, assigning responsibilities and meeting weekly to check status.

Case 2: Complaining Consultants
A client acquired nine companies, resulting in a field consulting force of almost 200 people. Everyone had laptops, and many, many workers were VERY unhappy with the support provided by the internal technical people. Things were fixed by:

1. Buying new laptops for everyone.
2. Firing the internal IT manager.
3. Setting up a simple 800 number and a Web-viewable call-log system so that people could know the status of their issues and when resolutions were expected.

Case 3: The Project That Would Never End
A fairly well-known manufacturer implemented a new financial system. Three months after going live, they were still dependent on the outside consulting firm to close the books. The project ended by:

1. Going back to the legacy system, which everyone hated but at least understood.
2. Hiring three of the consultants as full-time staff members.
3. Talking with the CFO and insisting that people finally attend the training they had skipped on multiple occasions.

The correct answer in each case is C (for "consultant"). These are just a few examples; indeed, we see problems like these every week. We'll admit that with various companies in the past, we were part of the problem and not just the provider of the solution. But our point is that in each disaster, technology was not the fundamental issue. Instead, again and again it came down to inadequate communication and commitment. That's not to say that software doesn't fail--it does. Rather, we want to insist that above all, what makes IT fail is a lack of communication and shared understanding.

The solution to this problem is obviously situation-dependent. However, we'll give you one hint: There's a tool that every one of you probably has on your desktop--Microsoft Excel. If you're unhappy with your IT staff or your own people, get all your problems listed on one sheet. Make someone responsible for that sheet. Meet to review it on a regular basis. Since so much can go on, and so many things can happen, you need a central clearing-house for information.

And if you need help getting it together, give us a call.

Red Three Consulting: Transforming Information Technology into Answer Technology