Twenty Nickels
If you save twenty nickels, you’ve made a dollar
by
Raymond Matkowsky
www.datastats.com
email: rdm@datastats.com
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Issue 10-11 October 2011
Have You Ever Tried To Put A Whole Tree In A Fireplace?
by
Raymond Matkowsky
For those of you that own fireplaces, have you ever tried to put a whole tree in it? For those of you that don't own a fireplace, just try to imagine the scenario. It probably can be done but most of the time it just doesn't work. It takes less effort to chop that tree up and burn the smaller pieces as they are needed.
All Inclusive IT Project?
If shoving an entire tree into a fireplace is just plain unreasonable, why then do you think embraking on a complex IT project is any less unreasonable? It is not! Almost 60% of all projects fail to meet time, cost, and performance projections. The more complex a project is the more likely it will have cost and time overruns.
The Landscape Is Littered With Examples.
After 10 years of development (1979 to 1989), the United States FAA decided their new air traffic control system was just too unreliable to trust. A similar situation happened in the UK.
The otherwise completed new Denver International Airport sat idle for 16 months because of computer failures. The system proved to be too complex and resulted in US$560 million cost overrun in order to implement a much stripped down version of the original.
The list goes on and includes The Chicago Board Of Trade, MCI, Toyota, and British Airways.
Years ago I worked in the computer room of a local hospital. This employer never purchased the 'latest and greatest' equipment. The equipment they would usually buy was two or three years old. One would think that all the bugs would be worked out by then. With one purchase, a new computer system was installed but would not work properly. The vendor finally decided that the hospital needed to install a newer switching system to make the computers function properly. The new equipment was installed at a cost of $25,000 and it did not improve the situation the slightest. Months later the system was finally made to function with huge overruns in both time and money.
Keep It Simple!
Regardless of what a vendor may say to you, do install any new technology piecemeal. The vendor may say that it would be cheaper to do this all at once. That may be true. But, it also assumes no cost or time overruns. History says that the chances of overruns versus completing the project on time and budget are pretty much equal. A piecemeal approach may actually save you money. It may also save your business!
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A Call For Reader Input
We at Data Stats would like to see this newsletter become a reader supported forum for help questions, answers, or general comments on anything appearing in this newsletter or Data Stats’ website. If you have a question, answer, or comment to contribute send them to me at newsletter@datastats.com. I will try to publish it here.
If you have an urgent question to ask, you don't have to wait for our newsletter to come out. We will try to find you a reader or one of our experts that may be able to help you. So, if you have a question, comment, or think that you can be of help, send us an email at once to: newsletter@datastats.com.
Also, in your email, please let us know if we have permission to share your email address with experts that may be able to exchange ideas with you directly.
Raymond D. Matkowsky
Copyright © 2011 Raymond D. Matkowsky
Data Stats
P.O Box 672
Old Bridge, New Jersey 08857-0672
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