Some project management teams evaluate solutions with large technology components without asking for input from the technology side of the organization. They loop in the tech teams very late. Their dialog with technology begins more or less like this:
“We want to implement solution Y to solve problem X. Can you help us with the implementation? Can you help us sell the solution to stakeholders A, B and C?”
This approach presents a risk for the organization when project managers lack the skills required to evaluate the solution from the technology angle; or when they haven’t been with the organization long enough to have sufficient background information on the supposed problem they are trying to solve.
Tech teams should be brought in early to the process of evaluating technical solutions. And the conversation should start a different way:
“We think X is a problem. Is it really a problem in your opinion? Has it been solved here before? Has a similar problem been solved here before?
“In what way was the problem solved? Who solved it? Why was it solved that way? What other ways were tried? Why didn’t they work?
“Why wasn’t the problem solved? Have you looked for solutions lately? We are considering solution Y, are you familiar with it? Would you help us evaluate it?”
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