Shopping Solutions

It's that time of year when most of us are doing some sort of holiday shopping. Imagine that, as you set about this task, you first purchase stacks of beautiful laminated boxes, along with coordinating gift paper, ribbons and bows. You become so caught up in the bells and whistles that you wrap all of the boxes, curl the ribbon and affix nametags for family and friends.

Then it hits you: You haven't selected the gifts yet, and you're running out of time; the boxes may be inappropriately sized, but you've already invested the money, so you'll have to select gifts that fit into them. This is a completely ridiculous scenario. None of us would do this. Yet, chances are we've all heard stories about this type of behavior when it comes to reviewing, selecting and implementing new software and other technology.

Some of the common refrains: The technology did not match the business processes and needs it was adopted to improve. The company bit off more than it could chew all at once; chaos ensued. The technology is great, but not user friendly; half of the company is clinging to its legacy systems. Lack of "buy-in" from senior management stymied the new solution's adoption in the trenches. And so forth.

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