Revolutionizing IT. . - Bookshelf: Books in Brief - book review

HR Magazine, Jan, 2003

By David H. Andrews and Kenneth R. Johnson

John Wiley & Sons, 2002

272 pages

List price: $29.95

ISBN: 0-4712-5041-4

Why do HR information systems (HRIS) implementations often end up being so messy? In Revolutionizing IT, technology consultants David Andrews and Kenneth Johnson say HRIS and other technology projects suffer from the attempt to do too much at once and from allowing already challenging projects to become even more complex.

"IT professionals are very good at solving clearly defined technical problems," Andrews and Johnson write. "Failure nearly always results from factors that have little to do with making the actual technology work."

Authors Andrews and Johnson studied a number of successful information technology projects, trying to understand how they succeeded while others failed. "The pattern of behavior that leads to success is similar to that which is naturally adopted when an emergency arises," they found.

"The first priority is to come up with a workable solution as rapidly as possible. The most immediate needs are addressed first, and less important issues are resolved one at a time, in priority order. Little effort is expended trying to invent innovative solutions," Andrews and Johnson explain.

The authors expanded this philosophy into an information technology project management approach they call Revolutionizing Information Technology Effectively (RITE). RITE starts with a small task force that creates a technological goal for the organization, one that solves a specific problem. Then the task force launches a series of projects that help reach that goal.

"No single project is expected to accomplish the full vision," write Andrews and Johnson. "The RITE approach strives for continuous incremental improvement.

Among the factors the RITE approach emphasizes:

* Scope control. There's nothing wrong with establishing lofty goals for information technology, but the team should resist the desire to strive for a high level of sophistication all at once.

* Accountability. Technology projects should be led by the departments that will benefit from the new system, Andrews and Johnson write. Thus, HR managers should be held responsible for the cost, quality and capability of a new HRIS. Fully accountable projects must strike a balance between eight factors: scope, benefits, time, disruption, cost, risk, resources and quality.

* Imitation over innovation. "Successful projects borrow ideas and building blocks from any source that is available and legal," the authors write. For example, when FedEx introduced its successful web-based package tracking application, it relied on systems first created for its internal tracking system.

* Careful management of information technology professionals. A strong internal information technology function is key to any high-tech project. "Treat information technology staff as a valuable and fragile asset. Retain talent by helping them manager their careers.

The RITE approach emphasizes quality over quantity. That same principle can be applied to recruiting workers for high-tech projects, say Andrews and Johnson. "A modest number of outstanding people are more valuable than a large number of average ones.