I really wasn’t going to write New Year’s blog post, and then saw this picture on the Facebook page of Secret Boston, who is http://www.lovethecool.net/, who is really @Michellemmm, who is really Michelle McCormack, Vice President Marketing at SCHEDit / Producer @FNOBoston / Founder Secret Boston.
I really like the sentiment, and believe it applies to IT as well.
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood…Make big plans, aim high in hope and work.”
Daniel H. Burnham, US architect & city planner (1846 - 1912)
Far too often, IT groups get sucked into the maintenance mode, doing small incremental improvements. It’s my view IT organizations need to minimize the maintenance items, and focus on major process improving initiatives.
IT groups should focus on programs/projects providing business value, where the business process is fundamentally changed. A CIO once told me, “If a project doesn’t change the business process, I don’t want to do the project.” Using that as litmus, how do your projects stack up?
However, when organizations take on multi-year projects, without substantive interim deliverables, IT is placed in a different light. A light characterized by non-delivery, high cost, and with ever changing requirements. The very people sponsoring the efforts change, as do the IT people, leading to more change.
So, I advocate 90 day deliverables, where value is provided on a continuous basis.
So I encourage your IT group to “do epic shit”, characterized by regular deliverables improving the business process.
What do you think?