Public sector, private sector . . . it really doesn’t make much difference. The continuing saga of IT projects that run beyond their budget and don’t deliver continues to grow. Maybe we should be asking what IT initiated project actually ever works. I have seen claims of improvement, but it is like a football replay – upon further review I have yet to see an IT victory.
Go to an IT vendor website and you would have to believe the opposite were true. Sorry Charlie . . . but that’s a can of sucker you are reading about on these sites. Procurers need to be asking for evidence and this is something not promoted in marketing-speak. A little research will tell you otherwise and don’t trust other fools that have had their share of gullible pie.
You need to go to the work and see the effect on the design and flow of the work. Management to management communications are full of assumptions and not fact. And please don’t trust the IT salesperson, they are paid to embellish . . . can you say lipstick on a pig?
The latest is the cost over-run is with the FBI. This one was originally be slated for 2009 to be ready. The inspector general found “deficiencies” in the program. Oh, and the FBI may go over the $451 million budget. Noooo, really?
IT vendors love to use the favorite words like antiquated, modernization, automation and even sophistication to sell their wares, so be weary. Any IT pushed on organizations is a dead end. Your system is unique in customers, design, management etc. and need solutions unique to enabling the work of YOUR organization. Customization to get what you need that works is better than a cheap solution standardized by what others believe is best. Common sense? Yes, it should be, but it is rarely present
Tripp Babbitt is a speaker, blogger and consultant to service industry (private and public). His organization helps executives find a better way to make the work work. Read his articles at Quality Digest and his column for CustomermanagementIQ.com. Learn more about the 95 Method for service organizations. Reach him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TriBabbittor LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/trippbabbitt.
