“Failures of ignorance we can forgive. If the knowledge of the best thing to do in a given situation does not exist, we are happy to have people simply make their best effort. But if the knowledge exists and is not applied correctly, it is difficult not to be infuriated.”
“In the last thirty years, aviation has had a radical cultural transformation. The transformation has been a critical shift in an industry where safety is the number one priority. Using checklists has made all the difference in this industry and aircraft accidents have been on a steady decline since the 1980’s, when checklists were developed for flight crews.”
Businesses can achieve successful outcomes on technology projects by increasing their understanding. This knowledge can help avoid project fiascos.
The Master Checklist is designed for non-technical business teams and is different from ordinary checklists created by IT.
Poor soft skills doom many projects.
The checklist follows a Capability Thinking® approach:
Note: For organizations that don't practice Capability Thinking®, Engage, Prepare, Abridge, and Zip should occur, though often don't, early in their software development life cycle (SDLC).
Master Checklist
Your organization's culture must value and instill the following attributes in team members and the business environment to optimize technology return on investment (ROI):
The quality of engagement with business constituencies, IT, vendor partners, and senior leaders determines project success.
Engage the System Constantly
How's My IT?
Embrace Engagement
Act on Feedback
Manage Risks, Issues, and Decisions
Initiate the Right Mission
Communicate Clearly & Often
Know 9 Unique Insights About Projects
Learn From History
Know the Real Reasons Projects Fail
Shift Your Mindset
Relate to Analogies
Set Your Team on a Path to Success
More on SDLCs
Act ASAP to Warning Signs -- Establish Contingencies
Realize Reality
Manage Transitions
Align on Right Approach
Define Clear Organization
Increase Your Project's Long-term Success
Minimize Resource Consumption
Commit to Your Mission
Recap & Reference
Solve the Right Problem in the Right Way
Define Succinct Outcomes
Practice Acceleration
Leverage
Confirm
Design
Develop
Deploy
Optimize
Exploit
Stop
Optimize Vendor Software Investment Checklist
Most, if not all, of the Master Checklist items above also apply to vendor software and evaluation projects. The following checklist includes items unique to vendor evaluation and selection processes.
All prerequisites are inherited from the Master Checklist.
Reconsider a Vendor Solution Approach if:
Consider More than Software Fit:
Goals -- Why Consider Vendor Software?
Mitigate Misinformation
Evaluate and Select a Vendor Solution in 5 Steps
Develop Insight & Outsight
Benchmark Leading Vendors
Prioritize Your Needs
Align on Guiding Principles
Score Vendors using Quantitative Measures
Confirm Evaluation Process
Skip RFP and Accelerate with JITDE™
Score Vendor Proposals
Conduct Interviews and Software Demos
Engage with Vendor Customers
Experience the Software Firsthand
Engage with Vendor Leaders
Complete Vendor Assessment
Assess Contractual Terms & Conditions
Recap & Reference
All Extend checklist items are inherited from the Master Checklist.
Vendor Relationship
Vendor Governance