It's the same phenomena in large corporations and family households..the small project that turns into a big project that never gets completed.
Complexity kills-
If you need to patch a hole and paint a small area on a wall, then do it first.
DO NOT overdo the project by deciding to paint all the walls a new color, resurfacing the floors, adding crown molding and getting new drapes.
I promise that if you go the complex route then you will have a hole in your wall for years.
It's called scope creep and big companies make the same mistakes.
What started out as a request for a new field to annotate a Fed-Ex shipping number turned into a 2 year project to scope and implement an entirely new system.
The new system was to "solve everything", and allow the tracking from raw materials through assembly and into order fulfillment.
It was also to integrate into the accounting system to make reconciling accounts payables and receivables simple. It was also going to bring world peace and cure cancer.
What was delivered after 2 years?
- The costs ballooned
- The time lines were pushed out
- IT launched a product that was 2 years out of date and not in tune with current work loads
- The system was not "seamlessly integrated"
- The accounting system need to be upgraded so it would link with the new system
- The new system didn't track everything so everyone was required to update the old and new systems causing redundancy and increasing the workload
- IT now had to support both systems
- None of the current computers could handle the new system so everything had to be upgraded
- Lastly….there was no place to put in a Fed-ex tracking number. The new system didn't support it.
Next time...think twice about what you really want to get done....patch the hole...and then cure cancer. You will accomplish more in the long run.
NOTE: During the implementation process is was discovered that the old system did actually have a field for Fed-ex numbers. There were so many bells and whistles that it was overlooked.
