50 Questions Executives Should Ask About Technology Projects: A Practical Approach to Maximizing Val

Theme of This Book Frank McKinney Hubbard an American cartoonist in the early 1900s coined a phrase "no one can feel as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish". I think this applies nicely to the feelings of many Executives towards their Technology Projects. You cannot ask a goldfish what is wrong because you do not speak the "goldfish language" and even if you miraculously were able to get the goldfish to talk, you probably wouldn't understand what they are saying. Without this understanding, anything you did to try to help the goldfish would be as likely to kill it as to make it better. So it is with Technology Projects. Technical personnel have their own esoteric language that is difficult for most Executives to understand. Therefore these projects often do not get the appropriate level of Executive oversight. I have often heard Executive lament that they wished that had known the questions to ask in order to understand the true state of their Projects. This book contains 50 simple, but key questions that non-technical Executives can use to better understand their projects along with practical advice on how to address common problems. Real World examples are used to illustrate what can go wrong and the impact. Most project that fail can be "rescued" if issues are recognized early enough to allow time for corrective action. This book will help you identify common issues that plague Technology Projects. Focus Areas Preventing Project Failure Focus on Business Value and Benefits Importance of Scope/ Requirements Management Understanding Organizational Dynamics Schedule/Cost/Resource Management Contractual Concerns Managing Project Leaders and Team Members Executive Involvement and Oversight