f communication within the department and potentially external to the department as well.
Information technology projects, when measured in accordance with the typical return-on-investment (ROI) analysis, are usually not successful. Many will argue that the arena is so markedly different that it needs to be measured against a different standard. The following are typical of some of the challenges that will influence the degree of success.
Securing solid requirements and expectations from the user community.
Having robust, reliable software and systems.
Communication between participating departments.
Resistance to change brought about by new information systems and the associated technology and infrastructure.
The first step in this process must be a clear determination of what the user community expects to see from the solution. This represents the measures by which either the user and/or management will determine whether or not the final result or system solution is acceptable. User requirements need to focus on the critical elements associated with the desired end results and avoid the non-essential. From the information provided, it is difficult to determine how much of the lack of desired improvements in productivity is caused by inadequate definition of requirements at the beginning of the initiative. For this reason, this factor will be considered of secondary importance in this analysis.
Just as was discussed the importance of defining requirements, so is the definition of performance indicators. Without some sort of performance requirement, one is unable to judge just how truly strong (or robust) the final solution. The following represents a sample of some of the more common types of performance indicators placed upon a system design (Nicholas, 2001, p. 125). This is not an all-inclusive listing. An experienced project manager will work with the user community to establish guidelines and thus he...