Liz Lavaveshkul

COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS INVESTIGATIONS

THE CASE OF THETHE CASE OF THEMISSING LINKSMISSING LINKS

Liz Lavaveshkul

How Poor or Missing How Poor or Missing Requirements Requirements

Can Kill an I.T. ProjectCan Kill an I.T. Project

A Special Report A Special Report by Liz Lavaveshkulby Liz Lavaveshkul

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A successful projectsuccessful project is one that:

• is completed on time

• meets user requirements

• is on budget

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The High Cost of IT ProjectsThe High Cost of IT ProjectsIn order to compete effectively, companies must be able to harness the power of computers and technology to their best advantage quickly and succinctly.

One in six big IT projects go over-budget by an average of 200%, according to new research by Oxford University.

Companies spend an average of up to 4 to 10% of their income on information technology projects

In the United States alone, companies spend more than $250 billion each year on IT projects

IT projects have become the second largest corporate expenses

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Average Cost of IT Development Projects

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

Small Medium Large

Size of Company

According to the Standish Group, the average cost of a development project is as follows:

• $ 434,000 for a small company

• $1,331,000 for a medium company

• $2,322,000 for a large company

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The High Costs of FailureThe High Costs of FailureWith so much on the line, it is vitally important to ensure the projects’

Ironically, however, a great number of these projects fail.success.

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When a project fails, it can make a difference between

and

mega profits

major losses.

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Take the example of FoxMeyer Drug Company, which was once a $5 billion wholesale drug distribution company in Texas.

Because its resource planning system was so poorly implemented, the company eventually plummeted into bankruptcy in 1996.

$5,000,000,000$5,000,000,000

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The Denver International Airport’s fully automated baggage tracking system was supposed to be programmed for just-in-time delivery of baggage. It was expected to direct and track baggage in thousands of unmanned carts throughout 26 miles of underground of the airport’s baggage system.

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The Denver International Airport’s fully automated baggage tracking system was supposed to be programmed for just-in-time delivery of baggage. It was expected to direct and track baggage in thousands of unmanned carts throughout 26 miles of underground of the airport’s baggage system.

Unfortunately, because the system design was flawed and full of bugs, the $234 million project never worked and, consequently, delayed the much-anticipated opening of the new airport. The delays reportedly cost the city of Denver roughly $1 million a day!

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When it published its Chaos report in 1994, the Standish Group, an internationally recognized research organization, stated that:

By 2006, there were still no signs of improvement. An astonishing 65% of projects did not meet the criteria for success.

31.1% of projects begun were outright failures

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What causes Information Technology projects to fail?

What is the missing link that could bridge the gap to success?

The three cases described here are typical examples of information technology projects that went awry. They were missing critical components of a successful project.

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The Case of the Dying Database

Case #1

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Manny Ger

Manny Ger, East Coast Regional Manager of Widgets R Us, just completed a Microsoft Access class through the extension program of a well-known university.

He is convinced that MS Access is the “way to go” to develop a tracking database for this sales team.

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Applying the principles he learned in school, Mr. Ger sets up tables and relationships, forms, queries, and reports for his new “Super Widgets Sales Force” MS Access database.

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Next, he trains his assistant and his 8-person sales team at the Miami Regional Headquarters. He instructs them to enter their contact and sales information into the database daily for the next two weeks and directs his administrative assistant to run the reports every morning.

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Since things go so well, he decides to roll out his application to the nine other sales offices in his region.

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With much fanfare, he credits himself for creating a database that will be their new weapon to improve efficiency and double sales in his region.

Next, he requires everyone on his team to use his database.

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Soon after all 172 members of this East Coast team start using the application, things start to slow down. Not wanting to displease their boss, who created the “Super Widgets Sales Force” database, no one complains; instead, they dutifully enter their data every day.

Eight months later, data entry is slower than ever.

Employees grumble among themselves that it takes “forever” to log in to the application. Many are frustrated because the application sometimes freezes or “kicks them out” for “no reason.”

Yet, no one dares to openly criticize Mr. Ger’s database.

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After spending hours struggling with the database to run and print reports for Mr. Ger one frustrating Monday morning, his administrative assistant finally gives up and goes to him to complain.

She tells him that she cannot give him his report on time, since the reports that once only took seconds to run now take a full 30 minutes per report.

Mr. Ger makes some vague comments and tells his assistant to “do her best” and bring him the reports “as soon as she is done.”

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For some time now, Mr. Ger has secretly known that his database was in trouble, but didn’t want to admit it to his subordinates.

Super Widgets Sales Forcedatabase

“How did I get myself into this mess and what do I do now?”

Mr. Ger wonders,

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Case Analysis

Mr. Ger embarked on his project without any IT project management experience. He did not take time to analyze his real needs before setting up his Access database, nor did he seek input from anyone else – including his own sales teams and his company’s IT department.

Mr. Ger also backed himself into a corner when he invested too much of his ego into the project. He should have recognized his own technical limitations.

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Super Widgets Sales Forcedatabase

Are you using home-grown applications that lack flexibility and scalability?

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This project would have greatly benefited from the expertise of a skilled Business Systems Analyst (BSA).

The BSA would have developed a solid set of written requirements from the outset, which would have been reviewed by both “management type” users and actual “end-users.”

The requirements would have also gone through a technical review with the IT project team.

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non-functional requirementsA skilled BSA would have also taken

into consideration, such as the

volume of data

number of users

capacity of the server

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The BSA’s requirements would also have defined the conceptual and logical data model.

Working with the project manager and the technical team, the BSA would have followed a Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) procedure.

• Analyze the problem

• Understand the business’ needs

• Define the problem

• Define the scope of the system

• Refine the system definition

• Manage changing requirements

In this particular case, Microsoft Access may not have been the right solution for the Sales Department’s needs.

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The Case of the Missing Website

Case #2

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Al, Holly, and Beverly at their Los Angeles office

Al Hambra, Holly Wood, and Beverly Hills are partners at a start-up company in Los Angeles what will primarily do business over the Internet.

The entrepreneurial trio know that they have to think creatively and act fast to get a hold of the market before the December peak sales season. They hire a team of crack-shot web developers to create their Internet presence and capture their segment of their target market.

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Every time they think of something for their website, Al, Holly, and Bev call up their developers or drop by their desks to let them know what they want.

The developers are young, very competent, have access to leading edge technology and equipment.

They are anxious to please and implement the owners’ requests immediately.

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After several months of going past their target launch date, the partners are wondering why their website is not yet running.

The December peak sales season is slipping away, and they blame their web team for losing millions in potential revenue.

They begin to question their web developers’ competence.

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The development team, on the other hand, is equally frustrated.

Al, Holly, and Bev’s requirements are constantly changing.

Furthermore, what the partners consider to be a “simple” change could sometimes require a major overhaul of the web design and database.

Moreover, there are times when Al, Holly, and Bev cancel out each other’s requests.

No fair!

The web developers feel that they are being used as scapegoats for the partners’ incompetence.

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Case Analysis

The partners – and the project – did not have clear, measurable, and attainable goals, and the requirements were never captured and documented.

The partners should have mapped out and agreed among themselves exactly what they wanted their website to accomplish.

They should have clearly explained their goals and requirements to the project’s technical team.

After they had been agreed upon, the scope and requirements should have been “frozen” and managed before development work began.

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Project objectives not fully specified – 51%

Some of the main causes of project runaways are:

Bad planning and estimating – 48%

Inadequate or no project management methodology – 42%

About 5 to 15% of IT projects will be abandoned before or shortly after delivery because they are seen to be “hopelessly inadequate.”

Many other projects will arrive late and over budget or will require massive re-working. Few IT projects, in other words, truly succeed.

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Have you lost revenue because of missed critical deadlines?

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This project would have greatly benefited from the expertise of a skilled Business Systems Analyst (BSA).

A seasoned BSA would have captured project objectives when defining project requirements.

Solid requirements, in turn, influence sound planning and estimating. Well-written requirements meet the following criteria:

• Correct

• Complete

• Clear

• Consistent

• Verifiable

• Traceable

• Feasible

• Positive

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The Case of the Disastrous Disaster Plan

Case #3

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The WINNER’S EDGE, a Fortune 500 company, is run by Jay Winn, a talented business-savvy visionary who wants to make sure his company maintains its leading edge over its competitors.

Mr. Winn has assembled a project team composed of business sponsors, a project manager, an IT network administrator, programmers, a change management coordinator, a database administrator, and an information security analyst.

Mr. Winn wants to be sure that his company will be up and running and will continue operations, in the event that a natural or man-made disaster were to occur.

The project is initially expected to be completed within 10 months.

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Jay Winn, CEO and President of the WINNER’S EDGE

After two and a half years and three different project managers, the project is still far from completion.

The delays have angered Mr. Winn, who has threatened to cancel the project if the team cannot turn it around within the next six months.

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Case Analysis

The cancellation of IT projects happen more often than we care to admit, both in the private and government sector.

According to the Standish Group research findings:

• a staggering 31.1% of projects will be cancelled before they are ever completed

• 52.7% of projects will cost 189% of their original estimates

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Have your projects been sabotaged by unreliable estimates and scope creep?

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This project would have greatly benefited from the expertise of a skilled Business Systems Analyst (BSA).

The project had numerous representatives from the IT department, but it lacked an essential key player: a qualified BSA, who would

effectively elicit business and technical requirements

sift out “wants” from “needs”

clearly define and document project objectives and requirements

distinguish between items that are “in scope” or “out of scope”

conduct walkthroughs and reviews with clients and end users, as well as the technical staff

consistently communicate project status and raise “red flags” when needed in a timely manner

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Conclusion

Some of the major causes for the high rate of failure of systems development projects:

• Lack of understanding and following a process and a life cycle

• Poor requirements

• Lack of understanding the cost and schedule that are based on requirements

• Scope creep

COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS INVESTIGATIONS

Liz Lavaveshkul

About the author

Liz Lavaveshkul has had over 20 successful years in the Information Technology industry, specializing in business systems analysis. Her IT career began when she was one of six candidates selected over a field of hundreds of applicants for an intensive Systems Analysis training program at a Fortune 500 company. She has built a solid reputation for providing exemplary requirements documentation.

Aside from business systems analysis, Liz also has expertise in project management and technical writing. She has been the lead analyst in various projects and has managed business analysts and technical writers.

She has a Master’s degree, with a major in communication.

Liz is uniquely qualified to implement the principles outlined in this Special ReportLiz is uniquely qualified to implement the principles outlined in this Special Report