Tales of a consultant in decision support and data management (1) - IT Governance

I often get asked by clients to help them jiggle¹ their decision support or data management efforts. The pattern that unfolds can be described as follows:

1) As any consultant I always want to know why I am being hired. In other words, I ask: 'what are your current problems?' 'Any new challenges on the horizon?'

2) Client; 'we need new tech/tools'

3) Me: 'Then you don't need me, just write a check to the vendor. But again, what problem are you trying to solve?'

4) Client: 'Look, we have all the tech money can buy (me: I’m not kidding, this actually happens), but it is just not working at the moment'

5) Me: 'Hmm, why is it not working for you?'

6) Client: 'it's expensive, changes take forever, business is extremely unhappy and we keep buying more expensive hardware to increase performance'

7) Me: 'ok, so leadtime, quality and costs are a problem?'

8) Client: 'aye'

9) Me: 'and why do you think new tech will help you out?'

10) Client: 'we think this new appliance stuff - super-dooper-in-memory-shared-nothing-all-in-one-box - can save our asses'

By now, a quote comes to mind from Einstein: 'The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.'

11) Me: 'so how does this new super-dooper tech stuff help increase quality?'

12) Client: 'ehhhhh'

13) Me: 'Is it an idea to first perform a root-cause analysis? Lets try - together with stakeholders - to specify the problem'

14) Client: "We know the problems - we just need tech'

Obviously I am polarizing a bit, but this pattern seems to repeat itself over and over again. Of course, it could also be me ;-), but I do not think I am that special.

There is a lot of publicly available research which proves that technology is an extremely small part of any IT failure. By far the biggest part of the problem is management itself. More precisely: IT governance, or the lack thereof, usually is the core of the problem. Allowing technology to be purchased without proper IT governance is the same as creating waste.

It would be much better to just donate the money to charity.  

If management in IT is incapable of clearly explaining by whom and how decisions are made regarding the use of IT, then how do you expect conformance to principles? Or how do you expect to attain some kind of sustainable robust/pervasive architecture? How do you expect infrastructure (including shared and standard applications) to accommodate the needs of the many? How do you cope with business needs and how to align it with IT? How are investments in IT justified? Who is prioritizing? Who monitors the ROI (and acts on deviations)? Etc.

Obviously in the pattern I described above, I urge my clients to invest in a proper root-cause analysis and retrospective (what went wrong and how can we improve). Then I will try to establish some leading principles, all in the context of data management and decision support. These leading principles will be translated to an 'organizing logic for data, BI applications and infrastructure, captured in a set of policies, relationships and technical choices to achieve desired business and technical standardization and integration'².  

Technology choices, tool choices, vendor choices can be logically derived from this exercise. And don't be surprised if it turns out that you already have all the technology/tools/skills/people you need.....

15) - client: 'ehh....Ronald, that's a lot of work - are you sure - I just wanna buy tech.'

16) - me: 'aye - I am sure - but don’t be fooled - you, my dear management, are in the center of the problem that needs to be solved. It will be hard work...'

Two scenario's unfold now:

1) - Client: bye, bye, Ronald - I think we need another consultant. This happens to me occasionally, and I am perfectly fine with it. I am congruent with myself in my consulting because I sincerely believe this is how it can work. I would not be congruent with myself if I went along in a technology selection process of some kind or implementing some tool that will never solve the real problem.

2) - Client: ok - lets do this.

 

 

1 - A jiggler gets an organization unstuck by providing a small change in how the client sees the world

 2 - IT governance, 2004, Weill, Ross

 

Comments

[Jorgen Heizenberg]

In 15 years of BI I have only once discovered a situation where the tool / technology was the problem. 99 out of 100 it's much more about people skills and capabilities and/or data governance (and management). Keep your back straight!

[Ruby Badcoe]

"There is a lot of publicly available research which proves that technology is an extremely small part of any IT failure. By far the biggest part of the problem is management itself." - I have to agree with this statement. Handling any business requires proper management. Management plays a vital role in handling a business. It serves as the foundation. If management level is not okay, then everything else will fail.