Is Your IT System a Dreamliner?

This article was previously published on the Tri Tuns blog.

The 787 SHOWS US THAT NEW TECHNOLOGY BRINGS NEW RISKS REPORTED

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been hailed as a revolutionary advance in technology that will provide the greatest advance in air travel since the Concorde. The Dreamliner uses new materials and technology and promises to cut 15% off its weight, dramatically lowering fuel consumption and costs. It’s obvious why airlines are salivating to get their hands on it.

However, like all new technologies, great advances come with great risks and lots of “unknowns”. The Daily Mail cites a recent GAO report that states while the Dreamliner is safe, it has introduced new risks and even the inspectors don’t know how to manage the new technology or how the risks change over time.

“U.S. inspectors said they do not know what to look for when the new composite [plastic wings & fuselage] starts to fail. …The report said it is unclear how the 787 will become damaged over time and it is not known what the damage to the composite will look like.”

– Daily mail, 03NOV11

NEW RISKS & YOUR IT SYSTEM

Can you image what will happen to Boeing if in a few years some problem is discovered with their new materials and/or design results in repeated 787 crashes? Or if the new composite materials turn out to have a lifespan that is only half of that of traditional materials? Lawsuits could fly and demand could be wiped out overnight. Do you think Boeing is going to monitor these risks and take action to mitigate them? You bet they are.

Just like with the Dreamliner, introducing new technology systems into your organization can provide revolutionary advances in capacity and benefits. The problem is, it also introduces revolutionary advances in risks as well. Unfortunately, many organizations get seduced by the potential benefits while ignoring the risks. And they do so at their peril. Are you going to make this mistake?

CONSIDER THIS

When implementing new IT systems, many organizations focus on getting the system live, but ignore what happens once it is in production. The value of your system – and the risks – only get introduced after the system is live. And they continue over the life of the system. This means that you need to manage the value creation and risk mitigation over the life system.

• The FAA inspectors said they don’t even know what to look for to identify emerging problems with their technology. Will your staff know how to identify and manage the new risks (and opportunities) that your new IT system will introduce? How do you know?

• The report indicated that it is unclear how the 787 will become damaged over time and what it will look like. If left unattended, do you know all the ways in which new IT systems can damage your organization?

WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU

When dealing with the “unknowns” of IT systems, you cannot prevent emerging issues, you can only respond to them. The best course of action is to develop the infrastructure and capacity necessary to identify emerging issues (and opportunities) and to quickly respond to them.

This means that you need to have:

• Clearly defined and assigned the roles and responsibilities for ensuring your IT system is adopted in such a way that it is delivering value and not introducing unnecessary risks and exposure to your organization. This needs to continue over the life of your system.

• Developed the tools, metrics, and reporting to give you visibility to emerging risks and opportunities. You need to identify risks and opportunities as early as possible.

• Establish communication processes and tools that allow you to have 2-way communication with all stakeholders. This allows you to identify issues and respond back to them.

HOW TO DO IT

If your organization is like most, you probably agree that you need to do this, but you are not sure how. Tri Tuns can help.

We work with organizations to develop the infrastructure you need to manage risks and maximize the value of your IT systems.

With our new User Adoption Portal, MyUserAdoptionPlan.com, we help you drive effective user and provide you the capabilities you need to respond to emerging risks, needs and opportunities. And we can do it faster, cheaper, and easier than you probably thought possible.

In addition, with our expert services, we can provide the advanced knowledge and skills your team needs to make sure they identify risks before they become problems.

Contact us to learn what we can do for you.

FIND OUT IF YOUR PROJECT IS AT RISK

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