The health industry tells me that I should eat more fish to increase my intake of omega-3 fatty acids (whatever those are). The environmental people tell me that factory fish farms are horrible polluters. The Discovery Channel tells me that the natural fisheries are over-fished and some species are dangerously close to being wiped-out. Or... maybe it's the other way around. I don't know. As a consumer of this information, it seems to me that I'm getting contradictory advice. Should I eat fish or no? Farm-raised or not? The answers are not simple. There are different angles to consider, and none of these sources give you the a complete picture.
As an IT department, we are giving our business partners advice from a variety of sources. The line developers advise the business users. The project managers do, too. The business analyst, the architect, the department managers all talk to the business partners and all try to provide helpful advice. Are your business partners getting consistent messages that considers all facets of the situation or are they confused by what seem to be contradictory information from different groups? I bet you know the answer...
Any IT effort is a balance of time, costs, and future sustainability. Each group within your IT services delivery should be concerned with all of these, but each tends to focus on one aspect more than the others. Sustainability is the focus of your support and architecture groups. Management has an eye on budgets. Project Managers are tuned into the project calendar and time lines. All these are important, but depending on the focus of the conversation and the group that is discussing it, one topic usually takes the lead.
Here's the thing. The topic that takes the lead cannot be the only thing we talk about. All conversations need to be about how these aspects are balanced. A project's value proposition is a zero-balance equation of all of these parts. For example, your team may deliver faster, but at a higher expense, or with reduced sustainability. High sustainability usually comes with higher short-term development costs and a longer delivery time frame. All of us have the responsibility to explain the gain and the expense to our business partners.
Each member of the IT organization needs to understand that every gain in one area leads to a cost in another. The full disclosure of all of these impacts needs to be made. This, then, allows your business partners to make well-considered decisions without being forced to reconcile conflicting information from different sources. Because if they have to do that, they may do what I do -- just skip the fish and order the chicken.
How have your organizations created a clear communication channel between your IT and your business? Tell us in the comments.
photo: mrjorgen
As an IT department, we are giving our business partners advice from a variety of sources. The line developers advise the business users. The project managers do, too. The business analyst, the architect, the department managers all talk to the business partners and all try to provide helpful advice. Are your business partners getting consistent messages that considers all facets of the situation or are they confused by what seem to be contradictory information from different groups? I bet you know the answer...
Any IT effort is a balance of time, costs, and future sustainability. Each group within your IT services delivery should be concerned with all of these, but each tends to focus on one aspect more than the others. Sustainability is the focus of your support and architecture groups. Management has an eye on budgets. Project Managers are tuned into the project calendar and time lines. All these are important, but depending on the focus of the conversation and the group that is discussing it, one topic usually takes the lead.
Here's the thing. The topic that takes the lead cannot be the only thing we talk about. All conversations need to be about how these aspects are balanced. A project's value proposition is a zero-balance equation of all of these parts. For example, your team may deliver faster, but at a higher expense, or with reduced sustainability. High sustainability usually comes with higher short-term development costs and a longer delivery time frame. All of us have the responsibility to explain the gain and the expense to our business partners.
Each member of the IT organization needs to understand that every gain in one area leads to a cost in another. The full disclosure of all of these impacts needs to be made. This, then, allows your business partners to make well-considered decisions without being forced to reconcile conflicting information from different sources. Because if they have to do that, they may do what I do -- just skip the fish and order the chicken.
How have your organizations created a clear communication channel between your IT and your business? Tell us in the comments.
photo: mrjorgen
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