Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
some data in our existing small computer we used, which you can move
to your new system” can completely alter delivery times.
Failing to follow a pre-decided formal change management process is
another cause for delay. A potential problem occurs in the development
of a system when a programmer needs to implement an obscure or vague
specification. Consultants and experts in the domain may not be accessible
in time to get advice or clarification. If clarification is not sought or
received, any guesswork on the part of the programmer can lead to
unwanted results, and even cause system failure. For example, the pro-
grammer may have specifications that fields, which are not explicitly filled
by the user on a screen, should default to certain values when the user
hits the “save” button. When a change is introduced, adding a new field
to the screen, the programmer may not get a clear specification about its
default value and decides to select the one “that makes sense.” This could
lead to problems in the data being displayed elsewhere in the application.
Ecosystem Failures: Uncoordinated Efforts within a Team
Improper or uncoordinated marketing and sales processes also can lead
to the failure of a product (Figure 1.4). Take, for example, the failure of
online grocery and furniture stores the first time they were launched in
early 2000. Although 40 percent of their budget was spent in marketing,
they missed out on two critical customer shopping behaviors: (1) custom-
ers like to touch and feel before they buy; and (2) walking into a store
and buying groceries or furniture is not so negative an experience that
people would flock to an online store. In fact, in the case of furniture, it
was sometimes a family outing that stimulated the purchase. Similar
examples exist for huge marketing blunders such as the introduction of
Coke in China (in Mandarin, Coke translated as “female horse stuffed with
wax”), and the unsuccessful launch of Nova by General Motors in Mexico
(which meant “goes nowhere”). These companies spent millions before
realizing their mistakes.
Uncoordinated efforts lead to failure
Figure 1.4
Lack of coordination.
