Going commando: Four signs of CRM failure

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Snake oil salesmen

Should you become the exit champion who calls out warning signs of a CRM effort in jeopardy?

If you wait until you see warning signs, you've already lost. Every CRM and SOA project I've been involved in the seeds of destruction were sown way before the project ever started.

1) Decision makers trumping their own IT people. That starts when the system reps by-pass the IT department and pitch directly to upper management. And, more often than not, management is dumb enough to go along with that.

2) Unrealistic expectations on budget and schedule. Especially when non-IT managers are dictating both of those. I listened to IBM and Siebel bid a fixed-price, fixed-cost contract at $5 million with beta delivery in 3 months with a straight face. There was no freaking way they could deliver the specs in 3 months. 5 years and $27 million later, they still hadn't delivered anything. The project was scrapped. But did I get any credit for warning them? Ha!

3) Letting contractors drive the project. Don't take on any IT project you have to hire out to manage. When contractors get settled in, they start acting like employees. Work slows down, deadlines drag out, they start acting like they belong.

Those decisions start well in advance of any warning signs.

Posted by: Chad_z   Posted on: 10/20/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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