Amherst Information Architects
Don't bother with the large number of CSS files this layout uses. Feel free to compress them into one or two stylesheets. Excessive stylesheets can lead to a huge increase in the size of your webserver's logs. Every page hit means 8 CSS files need to also be accessed. That's a total of 9 requests per page load. Be nice to your webserver.
What goes wrong?
Hidden assumptions
and agendas
Business/project misalignment
No way to make
new decisions
Confusion and frustration
Language differences
Communications breakdown
No plan to handle conflicts
Loss of focus over time
Documentation doesn't
do its job
How we make IT projects work better
Success and failure of IT
70% of IT projects fail to meet expectations, and 18% are never fully implemented. Despite advances in technology, business savvy and technical expertise, IT projects falter or fail at an alarming rate. Why?
Our experience has shown us that many IT projects simply do not address the "people factors" that are required for success.
Only one chance to save money
Once an IT project is underway, it is very difficult to reduce its cost. You have one opportunity to save money—and that is at the very beginning. Only before the project has begun can you productively clarify requirements, assess risks, set priorities, challenge assumptions, consider alternatives, and then build an effective development team.
The true cost of IT projects
Despite the knowledge and experience of business and technical staff involved in project planning, 70% of all IT projects run over budget—by an average of 43%. And this does not include the hidden costs of organizational change, missed opportunities and diversion from other projects, not to mention the cost of restoring damaged morale.
True Cost Calculator - We developed a calculator to show the impact that "non-technical" factors have on the cost of an IT project.
Click to open
Fewer failures = social science + computer science
The top five factors causing IT failure are non-technical. Of course it's impossible to completely eliminate project failure—but it's easy to increase the chance of success. To do this, your teams need to implement a structured approach, based on objective analysis—one that ensures that business leaders, management, staff and IT specialists all work together to address the tough problems that undermine projects.
What we do to make projects succeed
We provide services that are designed to eliminate the most common causes of IT project failure. We work with management, business and IT staff to build solid project teams. At the same time, we offer tools and techniques that allow teams to handle the problems and setbacks that are inevitably encountered along the way.
Assumptions
Projects fail because unexamined or hidden assumptions mislead the team. We can help you reap dramatic savings by exploring and challenging the assumptions that shape initial decision-making.
Clarity
Every project requires documentation, including a mission statement, lists of requirements, priorities, assigned roles and responsibilities, and a schedule. We can help you ensure that your documentation is relevant, appropriate, clear and agreed-upon by all key participants—so that it will actually help to move the project forward.
Communications
It is often said that business and technical people speak different languages. For your project team to work well, people on the business and technical sides must learn to talk to each other. They must also learn to appreciate the demands and challenges that the others face. With our years of experience on both sides, we will facilitate effective communication within your team, preventing many misunderstandings and conflicts.
Project ecology
Project ecology refers to the "fit" of the project in the organization. It includes the impact the project has on the culture and politics of the organization, its business partners and customers. A project that does not fit well can lead to resistance as well as poor decisions and performance. Our job is to make sure that the projects you undertake are "ecologically" sound.
Teams and Teamwork
After teams are assembled, they often plunge into projects immediately, without regard to team dynamics and process. Social psychology tells us that many problems that emerge during the life of a team are predictable and avoidable. When little attention is paid to these well-understood patterns, teams meander through the same minefields that have plagued IT projects for decades. We will make you aware of a few important considerations that will greatly enhance your team's effectiveness.
Change
During the life of virtually all IT projects, the business and technology requirements change. We will help you create a "team process" to evaluate the impact of changes—and to make smart decisions that will keep the project moving toward success.
Leadership
Most project decisions are made inside the team. Issues arise that should be brought to upper management, but teams are often reluctant to request help. It is a poorly-understood fact that the way project status and problems are reported to decision-makers strongly influences their level of involvement and the quality of decisions they make. We have developed a strategy that encourages teams to seek advice and motivates leaders to stay involved.