Have you ever experienced large IT implementation projects, which have resulted in extended time lines, costing huge amounts of money, but without delivering the expected business results? This happens over and over again. Sometimes to the extent that no one is ever surprised that the effects don’t materialize. Costly projects without results become the rule, rather than the exception.
Why does this happen, and how can organizations allow this to continue to happen? In the traditional organization, the business processes, i.e. how the work is performed, is the responsibility of the line organization. It is not uncommon that the responsibility for the support systems lie within a different organization, e.g. the IT department. Here is a gap. Changes in the business must be synched and coordinated with changes in the support systems in order to achieve the expected business benefits. Different budgets and different priorities in, and a lack of coordination between the different organizations result in unrealized benefits.
The information created, used and refined in the business is the cohesive link between the business and the support systems. But the information, how the various information elements are related, where it is stored, and where and how it can be updated is oftentimes a mystery. Few organizations have mapped their information model, and hence, they are unaware of the consequences that changes in processes or support systems will have for the entire business. The result is costly “IT projects”, which get extended in time and still not produce expected results.
What does your information model look like?
