Plural president and CEO Neil Isford has seen his share of technology-enabled successes -- and more than a few meltdowns. Here's his advice for avoiding disaster.
1. Be honest about the risks. Before you commit, get all the facts on the table. Go to a consultancy with tire tracks, one that has done this before. Make sure that they outline all costs -- including any potential hidden costs -- up front.
2. Test, test, test. Find an environment in which to test the technology, internally or externally. Then do it until you can't stand it anymore. It's too big a decision not to. Then go through a pilot phase that really looks and feels like your own environment. The "people" aspect of implementing a new system is often more challenging than the technology itself.
3. Love your project team. Once you've made the "go" decision, make sure that the people around you not only can deliver the new system but also will tell you when there's a problem. If there are just a bunch of junior people in place, you're looking for trouble.
4. Give yourself wiggle room. There are always speed bumps. You may be committed to launching an application by a certain date, with X weeks of test time built in. But if there's a problem with the software, the schedule will start to slip, and test time will start to shrink. If you're not disciplined, you could go live before you're ready -- which could be a disaster.
5. Keep talking. Undertaking a massive IT project requires careful communication, every step of the way. So define your milestones -- not only so that you can track your progress but also so that you'll be ready for the inevitable glitches.
Contact Neil Isford by email (isfordn@plural.com).
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