In which the most well kept secret in the all of Information Technology is revealed …

Investments are made in Information Technology projects with the promise they’ll bring benefits that support our mission. All projects have a promise.

Often we see the promise of a project like this: 

Project -> Benefits -> Mission

But the secret is that information technology provides almost no direct benefit, benefits don’t come in a box, and it’s an extraordinarily rare project that creates a product or service that can bring benefits. It’s much closer to the truth to say that the technology product created by a project can facilitate, or enable, change, and when we change: when we do new things, do things different, or stop doing inefficient things, that is what fulfills the promise of the project.

Project -> Change -> Benefits -> Mission

And if that seems more like common sense than a secret then why do we painstakingly incorporate existing business rules and ways of working into computer applications? Why do discussions about problems quickly deteriorate into discussions only about a technology solution? Why do we build or buy without having frank discussions about change with those anticipated to change?

We must change the way we think about information technology because projects have a promise and that promise will only be realized through change.