Page 317 - (DK) The Business Book

DELIVERING THE GOODS 315

See also: Stand out in the market 28–31 ■ Gaining an edge 32–39 ■ The value chain 216–217 ■ Forecasting 278–79 ■
Kaizen 302–309 ■ Feedback and innovation 312–13

when senior management is clear
about what they hope to achieve
from it. A clear set of objectives will
help the IT designers to produce a
system that effectively benefits the
To err is human—and to end user. Features that are not As a rule, software
blame it on a computer is needed add to the cost of the systems do not work well
even more so. project, and, in all probability, until they have been used,
Robert Orben make the system less usable. and have failed repeatedly,
Comedy writer (1927– ) In Australia in 2005, a plan was in real applications.
introduced to improve productivity David Parnas
of traffic police by getting them to Canadian software engineer (1947– )
spend more time on the road, and
less in the office. State governments
equipped police cars with relatively
inexpensive Automatic Number
eliminating favoritism, the airline Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.
will improve morale, which should Real-time information collected by
have a positive effect on customer police cars was fed, on the road, into know why the new IT system has
service, and eventually boost the national database—CrimTrac. been introduced, have a clear vision
revenues. Air India also anticipates The system made policing more of the benefits of the system, and
that CMS will enhance safety by efficient because officers could use receive adequate training. In some
improving the company’s ability to CrimTrac to identify, and pull over organizations systems might fail
meet strict international regulations immediately, stolen cars or vehicles because there is resistance to
relating to working hours. that had not been taxed or insured. change—employees may fear
However, not all new IT projects losing expertise, or even their jobs.
are successful. US investment bank Factors for success To overcome this, management
JP Morgan lost $6 billion in 2012 A new IT project also needs to be needs to communicate openly and
because a new IT program, a shared vision. Customer-facing honestly about why the new IT
designed to help traders assess the and factory-floor employees should system is needed. ■
risks of holding a range of financial
derivatives, failed to work properly.

Managing change
So, how can big IT projects be
best managed in order to achieve
progress, rather than disaster?
In 2005, research carried out by
Lancaster University in the UK
established that the chances of
successfully implementing a new
large-scale IT project increase

Police cars in many countries run
Automatic Number Plate Recognition
(ANPR) software. Suspicious vehicles
are checked immediately and can be
intercepted without delay.