According to CIO Magazine, “Nearly 70 percent of IT projects are dogged by cost-overruns or aren’t completed on schedule due to poor planning, poor communication or poor resource allocation.” When IT projects go awry, it’s rarely because of technical issues.
Our FIRTM Process
1
Find
- What business-users think the status of the project is
- What the technology team thinks the business requirements are
- What the project team as a whole thinks their roles and responsibilities are
2
Investigate
- Alignment of software requirements with business needs
- Technology delivery to date, project plan, and budget
- Communication cadence and content
3
Replan
- Requirements and Scope with stakeholders
- Project with technology resources
- Weekly delivery sprints for immediate business value
Project Spotlight
Energy Distribution Utility
Issue
A district energy utility had been trying to automate their accounts payable system. After months of attempting to implement a vendor’s solution, little progress had been made. Management was unhappy with the implementation delay and cost overrun.
Solution
We assessed the situation by interviewing end-users, management, and the vendor’s team. After completing an organizational review, we rescoped the project in a manner that still aligned with the client’s goals. We enforced agile project management practices to ensure daily progress. With hands-on management, we were able to put the vendor and the project back on track.
We negotiated a solution that cost 60% less while covering 90% of the business requirements.