Career Opportunities- Solving the right problem

Solving the right problem

July 29, 2005

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As a high-tech careerist, you will often be called upon to solve some intractable problems. In fact, these projects will often be the ones that will make your career. Nothing boosts your resume quite as much as solving a problem others may have found unsolvable. Of course, these same projects can also be the most troublesome. Sometimes you can find yourself trapped in a no-win situation that has very little to do with technology and a lot to do with human nature and the nature of business.

Who’s in charge?

So how do you tell a good project from a bad one? You must try and determine what is driving the need for the project. Is there a clamor from the staff to solve a particular problem? Are orders being shipped late because they cannot be tracked properly? Is inventory being misplaced? These are good signs. On the other hand, perhaps management is trying to track a particular function so that they can place blame for delayed shipments? Maybe one layer of management is trying to prove something to upper management. Even worse, the project may be designed to replace staff members with technology. These are clear signs that your job will be a difficult one. It may even leave you with no positive way out of the project.
Technology can assist workers in doing many wonderful things, but if the underlying business processes are flawed or troubled, technology can do little to help…and may even hurt the situation. Most high-tech workers are not experts in office relations, but you might find yourself diagnosing office issues before you can even begin to address the technical issues. You might even want to reconsider your involvement in the project if you can see such glaring problems at the start.

There are several reasons for avoiding this situation. First, regardless of the amazing technology you develop, you will often be the focus of any criticism. There are few companies that will be willing to acknowledge that their own internal problems are the source of the failure. It is much easier to blame the technology, and its developer, for any problems, large or small. If their employees fail or refuse to use the system, they will blame it on you, not on the fact that their own employees are rebelling against management’s attempts to control them.
Even if the project doesn’t fall apart completely, you might find yourself involved in the "project with no end." Despite the fact that you have fulfilled all the criteria in your contract the company will ask you to make more and more changes in an effort to get employees to use it. Extricating yourself from a situation like this is very difficult and almost always leads to bad feelings between you and your client.

Finally, it is very discouraging for you to work on a project that will never be used. Sure the money might be good, but after a few abandoned projects you might find yourself wishing for a new career.

Homework

In order to avoid becoming involved with a high-tech failure you need to investigate things fully before contracting with the client. As you talk with both management and end-users, try to develop some sense of their reaction to the project as well as the technical requirements. Are people happy to see the project move forward or does there seem to be some sort of resistance or resentment under the service? Are people voicing the all too typical "it will never work" or "we’ve tried that before?" If possible, get some feedback on previous projects and where people think they went astray. The more information you gather, the better able you will be to make a decision on the project.

Some projects will be so obviously flawed that it will be relatively easy to avoid them. Others, though, can suffer from subtle or hidden issues that you only realize once the project begins. This is why it is so important to do your homework.

Technology can provide many benefits to almost any company, but you cannot fight human nature with computers. If company management, business ethics or employee relations are flawed, no amount of technological intervention will solve the problem. Your job is to avoid becoming involved in projects that leave you, and your career, in a no-win situation.

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