The IT Governance Evangelist

Happy with Crappy

Steve Romero — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:22:00 GMT

I have written a number of posts discussing the rate of IT project failure. According to every study I have seen over the past 10 years, at least half of all IT projects fail. I believe there are many factors that contribute to this trend but during a recent interview with SearchCIO http://bit.ly/3w5S3, Kristen Caretta asked me to choose one. Whenever I am asked this question I always cite the...

No "One size fits all"

Steve Romero — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:32:00 GMT

Are you looking for "the" solution to a specific problem in IT? Are you looking for a single solution for all of your problems in IT? Do you seek the "one" best practice that will make things better? Do you want that silver-bullet? Don't look here, because I can't give it to you. I have said this, time and time again. And there have been occasions when it was not...

REORG!

Steve Romero — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:52:00 GMT

Have you been "reorged" lately? I would bet if you have been in the same IT organization for more than three years you have been involved in at least one reorganization. And this is under "normal" circumstances. Given the disastrous economic downturn, I am sure countless Enterprises have turned to the infamous reorg as a response to the need to do things differently in IT. Do...

Got IT Governance? Yes, you do.

Steve Romero — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:16:00 GMT

In my last blog post I noted how I use the basic definition of governance to convince organizations they have IT Governance, even if they don't recognize it. I make this assertion so often that I hardly took note of my brevity in presenting the argument. Upon reflection I thought I should elaborate on this position and invite others to share their thoughts on my contention. First, I must...

The Politics of Decision-Making

Steve Romero — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:17:00 GMT

I recently responded to a blog post that delved into our motives when making decisions and getting things done. The post included the following interesting dilemma, "One person's influence is another person's politics." This is SO true, but only in the absence of the constructs and conventions capable of exposing the true nature or our behavior. Consider the definition of...

How do "you" determine value?

Steve Romero — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:11:00 GMT

In every presentation I deliver, I talk about value. Many of my recent posts have addressed the elusiveness of understanding and determining value in enterprises today. We don't know the value of our processes, our methodologies, and most regrettably, we don't know the value of our investments. A recent IT Governance Institute (ITG) IT Governance Survey of 255 Non-IT Executives showed...

What's Wrong with the PM Triple Constraint?

Steve Romero — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:19:00 GMT

I just read a blog with this title on Aras' "How to Manage a Camel - Project Management and Recruitment site. http://projectcentric.co.uk/how_to_manage_a_camel/projectmanagement/guest-pm-blogger-whats-wrong-with-the-triple-constraint/. In summary, the premise of the post is that the three dimensions of the project management triple constraint (Time, Cost, Quality) are insufficient. The...

Understanding the Value of our Systems

Steve Romero — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:14:00 GMT

This blog post was inspired by Kristen Caretta of Search CIO @kcaretta who is writing an article about an organization's issues with legacy systems and she is looking for analysts, consultants to weigh in. I started writing her a response and thought it would make a good post. I have been writing on the topic of value with some frequency lately, so understanding the value of our systems and...

A Great Business Case

Steve Romero — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:43:00 GMT

I am sure all of you have written or reviewed Project and Program Business Cases. In addition to those you have personally encountered you have seen many more examples, templates and recommendations for business cases. In my experience, the #1 purpose of the business case in most organizations is to get the project approved. I think this is a recipe for disaster because it potentially promotes...

Understanding Project Failure Rates

Steve Romero — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:39:00 GMT

Do you know the project failure rate in your organization? To have any chance of answering this critical question, you first need to define and characterize project failure. How you define project failure? You may recall a post I wrote a year ago titled "Straight Talk About Project Failures."...

Projects Failure Rates Increase

Steve Romero — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:48:00 GMT

My colleague Gail Meadus just notified me of that the Standish Group's just-released its latest Chaos report, "CHAOS Summary 2009" http://www.standishgroup.com/ . The news is not good. I am looking into obtaining a copy. In the meantime, here are some high-level points from the summary on their website. This year's results show a marked decrease in project success rates,...

Realizing IT Value

Steve Romero — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:55:00 GMT

Are you realizing value from your investment in technology? In my experience, most organizations have difficulty answering this question. I have also found I need to take care when asking the question. In my last post I noted how IT should create value and I received some savvy comments from Bill Monroe, Chief Collaboration Officer. Bill noted that IT in and of itself does not "create...

Do You Love Your PMO?

Steve Romero — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:24:00 GMT

I struggled with the title of this blog. I first called it, "PMO as a Partner in Success" which I then changed to, "Getting More Value from Your PMO." Though I firmly believe in each of these propositions neither of these labels worked for me. So I spent some time reflecting on the inspiration for this post. It was a recent exchange I had with Demian Entrekin of IT Toolbox...

Technology Changes Too Fast To Govern

Steve Romero — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:46:00 GMT

This point was raised when I recently delivered my IT Governance presentation to a Master's class at San Francisco State University. I had completed the first half of the presentation that covers the principles and decision areas of IT Governance and launched into what I consider to be the major IT Governance processes. The first process I discuss is "Integrated Business and IT...

PPM Around the World

Steve Romero — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:20:00 GMT

I recently returned home from a quick trip to Europe. I spent two days speaking at events in Copenhagen and two days in Helsinki, speaking at one event and two client sites. In each case, the topic was Project and Portfolio Management. It was my first experience evangelizing IT Governance in Europe. I have delivered presentations in 6 countries and I am always excited and intrigued when...