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How to Select the Right IT Projects

By Jack Keen

May 15, 2003 — CIO — I.T. project decisions, and the ways they are made, inevitably shape our destiny. Get them right and we boost business success. Get them wrong and we preside over investment disasters.

The reality is that not only are IT selection decisions tough, but so are all management decisions. Paul Nutt, professor of management sciences at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, reports in his recent book, Why Decisions Fail: Avoiding the Blunders and Traps That Lead to Debacles, that more than 50 percent of all management business decisions fail, sometimes in big and inglorious ways.

My own experience suggests that IT investment decision methods fare no better. This is not surprising, since IT projects are often controversial, complex, costly and fraught with unknowns. These challenges frequently foster closed-door, decision team deliberations where too often emotions trump reasoning. Prejudice, bias and ignorance dominate the discourse. Politics rule the day.

Fortunately, this situation is not beyond repair. Warning signs exist that you are not making good decisions. Honestly analyzing your own IT project decision process is the first step to fixing what may be wrong.

Warning Signs

Here are some symptoms I often detect, followed by suggestions for remedies. If you find at least one of these signs present, I suggest an immediate "process tune-up." If several of these indicators exist, a downright makeover may be called for.

No self-criticism: Decision-makers frequently won’t critique the objectivity and effectiveness of their own IT project selection methods. (Risk: Decision-making flaws continue to do their damage and give employees the message that management doesn’t "walk the talk" of continuous improvement process initiatives.)

Poor external communication: IT selection team members don’t clearly explain to project stakeholders why individual projects were, or were not, accepted. (Risk: Proposers of losing projects feel alienated, thus festering resistance to funded projects. It also discourages future project submittals, since sponsors find it frustratingly difficult to predict likely success.)

Lack of change: Decision-makers have not visibly changed their IT selection decision process within the past year, regardless of whether "self-critiques" are conducted. (Risk: Decision methods become out-of-step with business climate changes. For example, should risk analysis be more important now than last year? Should different people be involved in the selection process because of business strategy shifts?)

Secrecy is culturally justified: Decision-makers claim that "formalized and open" selection processes are counter to the company’s culture. Management, they assert, is highly experienced and has worked well together for years. The implication: Trust us, we know what’s best for you. (Risk: Even if good selection decisions are actually being made, suspicion and mistrust are easily nourished among the rank and file who, being in the dark, suspect the worst.)

 

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