May 5th, 2009
Book Review: Why New Systems Fail
Phil Simon has a new book out called “why new systems fail – theory and practice collide”.
I read through it quickly this weekend. Here’s my review:
I’ve pored over systems failures much of professional IT career. In fact, I was often brought in to fix/put back on track/repair many such initiatives. Recently, I even penned some of those experiences for a colleague, David Dobrin, and his blog.
If one could imagine a reason for a project to go wrong, I’ve probably seen it. So, it was interesting to see what Phil produced.
His book is actually quite complete. He methodically looked at a very complete range of causation factors. He looked at the choice of consultants used, setup issues, post implementation maintenance issues, role of vendors, etc. It was actually a lot more thorough than I thought it would be.
I’ve seen the work of others in this space. Usually, they pen a tome about one type of project and one major causal factor (e.g., bad choice of implementer). Or, they take a real high level approach and then dive into a single solution (e.g., CMM) that should be a cure-all for most any project quality or failure scenario. Personally, I’ve never found the one-size fits all approach to project success or failure to be correct.
The issue with projects is that they are emotional, political, economic, time-based, financial and technical endeavors just to name a few of their attributes. Even the simplest projects are complex and multi-faceted. Sometimes, a project needs a leader who resembles Machiavelli. Other times, a project needs someone like Gandhi to help show the masses a more enlightened way. Other projects need a Jack Kennedy or an Attila the Hun. It just depends on the circumstances of the project. And, since no two projects are the same, your approach to project success must continually adapt to the new circumstances, project team, culture, locale, etc.
When you read Phil’s book, you need to remember that your next project could get clobbered by any of things he writes about. Your job, as a project leader, is to watch out for all of these and do your best to minimize the impact of them. You might want to re-read the book quickly every time you start a new project just to make sure you’re not about to step in a real mine field of unexpected issues.
If you really like to read about system failures, be sure to check out fellow ZDNet blogger, Michael Krigsman.
This blog explores the intersection set between services and technology. If it impacts either space, it will be covered here. Brian Sommer is a former Accenture partner. He did an 18-year tour of duty there and ran three small practice units (Finance Center of Excellence, HR Center of Excellence and Software Intelligence). He’s sold service projects in almost every continent and remains just as current on both services and technology today as ever before. Brian is currently CEO of TechVentive, a strategy consultancy servicing technology providers, and a research analyst with Vital Analysis. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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