Installation vs Implementation

I attended one of Joe Peppard's IT Management Masterclasses in the ICS last week. This one was entitled "Designed to Fail: Why IT Projects Underachieve And What To Do About It". One of the reasons projects fail to deliver what they promised is that they are over-sold to get them approved in the first place. Unsurprisingly, Joe did touch on this. However, for me the most interesting slide of the day was the benefits dependency network. Not new, but the first time I've seen it applied well to IT projects - with examples.

We know that IT alone cannot deliver results. Yes, you can install an ERP, CRM, ecommerce portal, collaboration, content management, or [insert name here] system. But if it is not used by the business people in a way that benefits them and the organisation, then the system has not been properly implemented and the project is a failure. In such a scenario, it's likely that the IT techies will say that the system (hardware and software) has been delivered, and it's not their fault that the business aren't using it.

I'm cautious when approached by a business manager seeking a magic bullet system to solve his or her problem(s). I start off by saying that it sounds like a good idea (if I genuinely think it is), explain that (typically) the hardware and software installation can be achieved reasonably easily, so we'd tease out the details of the implementation. For some, this is the first time they realise that the implementation will involve a lot more than hardware and software installation (not to mention configuration).

Joe's presentation can help illustrate the difference between installation and implementation. IT/IS - the installation - is on the left, with the investment objectives on the right, and the business changes - a key part of the implementation - in the middle. Have a look at it here. The pertinent slides start on page 22, work through the model and a couple of examples, and finish with a summary on page 39.

I find it illustrates very simply and vividly the difference between installation and implementation. Worth a look.

B