I’ve been in the IT business in various roles for almost 45 years.  During that time, I can never remember a time when we weren’t criticized for being too techie and not understanding the business in which we labor.  I guess I’m just a bit fed up with this constant criticism of our business acumen.  Over my career, I have seen dramatic strides taken by IT practitioners to better understand and identify with the business of our company.  What I haven’t seen over those same years is much of an attempt by our users to understand how IT operates and their responsibilities in assuring corporate success when developing IT systems.

I believe the proof of this condition is the ongoing attempts by many companies to minimize their involvement with the IT process by outsourcing, off-shoring and ERPing.  All of these techniques have a common denominator, namely, to reduce the influence of internal corporate IT.  History has shown that these techniques, when improperly implemented, can have severe deleterious effects on the corporation.

I’m not against any of these methods categorically.  Each can play a helpful role in an overall IT strategy to minimize cost and maximize output.  What I am against is the use of the techniques as a knee jerk reaction to some perceived problem with corporate IT.  I would argue that IT problems are oftentimes not a problem with internal IT but are problems with the way that the users work with IT to attain their goals.  As far as I know, there is very little training in corporations on how to get the most out of your IT organization.  When systems are in trouble, due to cost overruns or blown schedules, it is always IT’s fault and IT must be held accountable.

I would recommend that companies take the time to train their users in how to work effectively with IT.  This starts with strategic planning where IT must be involved so that emerging technologies can be brought to the table.  The company must use an IT steering committee staffed by the corporate officers in order to assure that the right projects are being funded and that IT is aligned with the corporate mission.  The training continues with a thorough understanding of the users role in systems analysis, design, systems testing and post audit.  There needs to be a requirement that the user will spend the time or they will not get the system.

The user involvement continues in matters of business continuity.  The users must be involved in planning for physical disasters and security breaches.  This process is very important and is one of corporate survival. They must be able to document what is needed and when it is needed during times of business disruption.  Finally IT and the users must collaborate closely during the initial discussions of mergers or acquisitions in order to assure that the systems are compatible and that they can be adapted for the new organization in a timely manner.  Studies show that IT is most often brought in too late and they become the critical path.

This lack of knowledge of IT by users is just as damaging to successful IT systems as IT’s lack of knowledge of the business.  IT has made great strides in this regard.  Now it’s the users turn.