Strategies and Trends for Information Technology Leaders
Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with several CIO’s who have lost their jobs over a failed ERP implementation. Initially, I thought it was unfortunate that these individuals were blamed for a project that went awry, but later I realized these individuals had the responsibility and power to deliver a robust…
These are extraordinary times given what businesses have dealt with the last couple of years and most CFOs still wear a look of anxiety on their faces. The good news is about two-thirds of the CFOs I talk to believe business prospects are better now than last quarter. To be effective in 2010, CIOs should…
As a business manager, what do you do when your IT team tells you a strategically important project can’t get done because there are too many other business critical projects ahead of it? Do you arbitrarily prioritize your project ahead of the others? Do you know what those other projects were going to do for…
Reduced budgets, reduced workforces and reduced resources often equate to reduced patience on the part of employees. In an uncertain or stressful business environment, it’s not uncommon to see greater staff conflict. Poor working relationships not only deplete morale but also lead to a decline in productivity—the last thing you need when you are trying…
Despite good intentions, organizations often fail to deliver expected outcomes, resulting in a loss of stakeholder confidence and frustration among the business and IT staff. Avoiding this demoralizing outcome should be a matter of priority for service improvement teams. Following some simple rules for managing quick wins will increase the likelihood that you’ll deliver the…
Does your organization have a high success rate in delivering IT projects? If the answer to this question is “No”, then it’s probably safe to assume that the project management maturity level within your organization is low. As a former CIO I know project management is one area that many CIO’s tend to take for…
This series of five articles takes a closer look at software development, the reasons for failure and how to avoid them. The simplest way to ensure a successful software development project is to clearly define the requirements. Easier said than done, of course. This demands not only an understanding of the individual processes being automated,…
This series of five articles takes a closer look at software development, the reasons for failure and how to avoid them. It takes years to build a reputation. It takes only one failure to ruin it—even if it was someone else’s fault. Take Edsel Ford. He was president of Ford for 24 years, directed the…
It is a widely held belief that business analysts (BAs) must have a number of years experience in a domain they are to be discovering and documenting requirements in to be effective in that domain. It turns out that that assumption is usually false. An IAG study, Business Analyst Benchmark – 2008, identifies the following…
Once you determine your organization’s needs and level of maturity, a rollout plan must be developed for establishing the PMO. While there is no preset order for executing against this plan, here are some suggestions on how to best implement a PMO into your organization. The First 3 Steps Step One: Implement the PMO staff…