Page 92 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

connected from sales order to invoice. The MD got his system and one by one the human element
that made the old system flow left the company.

The MD was right, by the way, the more integrated system would turn out to be the right decision
and a decade later (a few iterations in) it is delivering a healthy return on investment. Not listening
to his end-user talent at the time though almost crippled the business as key managers quit in
frustration.

It's a good idea to approach your IT Project knowing who your main end target is!

Cultural Fit
I think this factor is often overlooked but is crucial in ensuring success for an IT Project.
I often think of an IT Project as being like a transplant, you are usually literally grafting something
new into an existing structure – you want to make sure that the latter will accept the transplant.
Cultural fit is one of the magic agents to ensure cohesive delivery into service. If an IT Project team
works hard to make the deliverables of their project feel that they fit the culture of the end-users’
and stakeholders’ organisation, there will usually be greater acceptance.

This has been one of the problems with VAR, already working fine in 15 top-tier leagues around the
world and a huge success at last year’s world cup, it just doesn’t feel very ‘English’ - I’m not sure it
fits the culture of the game in this country

Transparency
Have you been to a football game where a VAR challenge is being made? It’s really confusing!
Even on TV, when you’ve got Martin Tyler and Gary Neville to try to talk you through it, it’s a bit
bewildering. In the ground, with just the screen telling you why play has been halted, you’re left a bit
dazed and confused, and then the verdict is delivered without any real explanation. It would be
great if we could hear what the referee and the VAR team are saying – or at least have access to
transcripts of those interactions later.

In an IT Project, it’s crucial to document important interactions like these for clarity later on. The
thing is, everyone doesn’t have to agree with a decision but transparency around how the decision
was made really helps drive acceptance in those that it affects.

Has VAR Been A Successful IT Project?
Controversially, I'm going to say that, thinking of VAR as an IT Project, it has been largely successful –
worldwide, at least. Football's governing bodies wanted to improve decision making and accuracy.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said of the trial, "From almost 1,000 live matches that were part of
the experiment, the level of the accuracy increased from 93% to 99%. It's almost perfect."

To be fair 93% (let alone 99%) accuracy would have many IT Project leaders I know high-fiving
around the office. So, overall, you have to declare it a success … it’s just that … well …
It's just that every decision seems to go against my team!

Mind you, every football fan I talk with, supporting every team in the league, says the same.
It's a funny old game!

Sources:
espn.co.uk https://www.espn.co.uk/football/blog-marcottis-musings/story/3989588/var-has-become-a-hot-mess-in-
the-premier-league-heres-how-to-fix-it
telegraph.co.uk https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/0/var-rules-used-fifa-world-cup-2018-russia/