TABLE OF CONTENTS When I was in school I had to memorise a poem by Henry Humbolt about the game of cricket. (Yes people did write poems about the game, probably still do.) The essence of the story involved a tense end-game situation, with time running out, ten to make and a match to win, and the batsman is exhorted to play up, play up, and play the game, to meet the challenge, and take the side to glory. It is now IT s turn to play up and play the game. But it s not the game they are expecting to play or even necessarily want to play.
I have observed many IT re-engineering exercises. They all start to boldly go where no man has gone before (to split an infinitive, mix a metaphor and plagiarise all in one short sentence). Processes are mapped, plans are drawn, functions are centralised or decentralised (whatever they were not before), and yet somehow, not a lot changes. When all is said and done, business people still distrust the IT department, are still dissatisfied with IT service, and still wonder if their investment is worth it. The problem is that IT concentrates on what has been rather than what is now. While IT has made great strides in communication in recent years, there is still a lot to be said for paying attention. The rules of business have changed, we need to pay attention to these...
