When is an IT project not an IT project?
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@Dashrender said:
This isn't just ERP, but any project that affects the business as a whole.
Oh, absolutely. I always struggle with cross-departmental projects. Life get's complex when you have to involve other human beings.
I've been involved in loads of different projects, but usually projects are born out of some specific need, like the old software becoming unsupported, or a company merger. This is the first time I've gone "hey, let's rip out our working, fully-supported system and replace it with something completely different", which adds certain pressures.
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But if you're not the project lead, then the success or failure of this project doesn't lie on your shoulders, even though it was your idea. right? So it's really up to the project lead to present it to other departments as a company project (aka non IT project) so they get the needed buy in?
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Correct. I'm not familiar with the term project lead, but I'd guess that that role will (hopefully) be taken by the CEO, as he is Project Sponsor. My boss is also on the team and as Finance Director he has considerable authority over all the other team members.
I try and inspire the team, and provide some vision, which is kind of the "carrot" approach. But there will always be situations within any project where the stick is required, and that will have to be provided by the CEO.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
ERP is always a tricky project because however much you talk about increased efficiencies resulting in business growth the reality is that jobs are at risk. People aren't stupid.
What jobs are at risk?
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@scottalanmiller said:
What jobs are at risk?
Mine, for a start.
New business systems can increase automation which puts back-office jobs at risk. That's true generally and is not specific to my organisation.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
@scottalanmiller said:
What jobs are at risk?
Mine, for a start.
New business systems can increase automation which puts back-office jobs at risk. That's true generally and is not specific to my organisation.
In theory, sure. But how does back office automation reduce, rather than increase, the need for IT to run the automation?
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Possibly. It's probably a combination of automation and simplification that I'm striving for. Make our business processes so simple and automated that a chimpanzee could maintain them. At that point the company might decide that it's more cost effective to replace me with, you know, a chimpanzee.
More likely, the less complex you make your systems, the easier and more cost effective it is to outsource IT.
I'd actually like to reach the point where I feel I've achieved everything I possibly could at a company and I have to move on. Like the Littlest Hobo walking off in to the sunset in the TV series I used to watch as a kid. I doubt it will ever happen though.
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It's tough to cultivate buy-in from other departments sometimes, you have to find their "hot button" and exploit it.
Example: Customer service mgr is paid bonus to reduce wait time; "hey CSM, want to make bonus easy? train your dude(tts) on this software"
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Yes, money is a great motivation, as I often point out to my bosses.
When I mention this people often mention Maslow's hierarchy of needs. But I find people who believe in Maslow are normally people with plenty of money already.
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Peter Taylor has listed the 6 typical phases of projects in his book "The Lazy Project Manager". They sound about right to me!
- Enthusiasm
- Total confusion
- Disillusionment
- Search for the guilty
- Punishment of the innocent
- Reward and promotion of the non-participants
I'm obviously trying to avoid the above.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
Peter Taylor has listed the 6 typical phases of projects in his book "The Lazy Project Manager". They sound about right to me!
- Enthusiasm
- Total confusion
- Disillusionment
- Search for the guilty
- Punishment of the innocent
- Reward and promotion of the non-participants
I'm obviously trying to avoid the above.
Sounds like he spent time in a Government job.
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AWESOME!
