Quick poll on failure

My VPs convinced me recently to put up a quick poll on our Web site where we ask visitors what is the most common risk associated with managing IT projects. As if this was a mystery of some sort. I said okay, just to keep them happy and busy.

There are only 3 possible answers, you don’t get to win anything. Let's take a closer at the possible answers, shall we?

Lack of required resources and skills might mean many things. For instance the consulting firm initially proposed a team of seasoned senior guys, really top shelf, but on Day 1 they claimed some “availability issues” and sent a mismatched bunch of junior guys who happened to be on the bench the previous week. Or the firm managed to send good people to the client, only to realize internal resources had as much as brain power as a tooth brush. Either way, the project is doomed to fail.

What does inaquate oversight and communication mean? Well it might mean that the PM is a total douche bag who doesn’t care much about what happens on the floor, he’s just in for the paycheck and to add another line in his resume. Or he is a smart person who has been dropped in the middle of multiple wars raging between organizational units. He’ll just be another casualty after a few months, the firm already has a short list of mildly depressed PMs ready to replace him.

As for disconnect between business needs and technology, and it’s still the same old story, a fight for cash and glory. This is one of the shameful disease you get when you hire someone let’s say from IBM, Microsoft or HP/EDS (totally random example, don't know how those got into my head). Those guys want to make your project a relatively good success but as long as you buy their shit.

Snakeoil top salesmen come in and their first task is to identity the internal dweebs who will act as external “spokesmen” for the company. Microsoft Certified A-holes are very good at this, they can pinpoint internal employees who built their careers by spreading the Redmond gospel all over. The MS horsemen then slightly praise those employees for their “exceptional knowledge” of Windows (ahem), and next thing you know those employees will work day and night to provide reasons for the organization to purchase Microsoft products and nothing but. The project as a whole might fail, but it won’t be because the client chose a disarray of products from multiple vendors.

But in the end, keep in mind that failure is not a critical factor for an IT consulting firm. What matters is whether or not you can manage to bill top rate for whatever acts your clowns can perform, as long as possible.