Why New Systems Fail

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New! Now on the Kindle.

A Fortune 500 manufacturing company spends millions attempting to implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Across the globe, a 150 employee marketing firm builds and tries to implement proprietary customer relationship management (CRM) system.

For two very different companies doing two very different things, the outcomes were virtually identical. In each case, the organization failed to activate and utilize its system as initially conceived by senior management, adversely impacting each business.

And these two organizations are hardly alone. On the contrary, research indicates that more than three in five new systems fail. Many miss their deadlines. Others exceed their initial budgets, often by ghastly amounts. Even systems activated on time and under budget often fail to produce their expected results and almost immediately experience major problems.

While the statistics are grim, there is at least some good news:

These failures can be averted.

Organizations often lack the necessary framework to minimize the chance of system failure before, during, and after system implementations. Why New Systems Fail provides such a framework with specific tools, tips, and insight from the perspective of a seasoned, independent consultant with more than a decade of related experience.

The book examines in great detail the root causes of IT project failures. Detailed case studies, examples, and lessons from actual system implementations are presented in an informative, straightforward, and very readable manner. More than a theoretical or technical text, the book offers pragmatic advice for organizations both deploying new systems and maintaining existing ones.