Design and Development Methodologies
If you try some time, you just might find, you get what you need.
I always feel silly and embarrassed saying that. I mean, its a song lyric. It's not like I'm quoting Peters, Drucker or Porter. I'm quoting Jagger! But it's perhaps the most insightful statement about business, particularly business and technology, there is. And Michael Jagger did attend the London School of Economics.
The traditional methodologies used for implementing technology for business purposes all rest on a basic assumption that the ideal end result can be determined in advance. This assumption is quite valid in large engineering and infrastructure projects like building bridges, roads or accounting systems. The laws of physics don't change very often, the earth (in most places) takes a long time to shift, and the FASB is not known to be the most nimble of organizations. Unfortunately, markets aren't as predictable as physicists, rocks or accountants, especially over the long term. And, most business use of technology today focuses on improving the firm's performance in the marketplace.
To move beyond making technology work and towards making technology work for you requires methodologies that focus on people and results rather than process and tools. After all - if your goal is to optimize results, shouldn't results be your focus?
