IT Success!: Towards a New Model for Information Technology

Chapter 10. Case Study

Good judgement comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.

—(Anonymous, from the quotes archive on www.jokes2go.com)

The following case study illustrates how the new business model applies in the real world, with particular emphasis on the following aspects:

• Building the business case;

• Defining the budget;

• Building an IT–business partnership;

• Building a cross-functional project team;

• Piloting a prototype based on iterative methods;

• Bringing out subsequent releases and versions;

• Measuring business benefits in operational terms.

Needless to say, the company in question did not 'apply the new model' (this case study took place in 1996–2000) – it simply had business practices in place which reflected many of the essentials proposed in this book.

At the end of the case study we will summarize the main lessons learnt and relate them back to the new model.