Real Life Experience # 10
A consumer products company established an 8 month implementation plan for
its Sales, Finance, and Manufacturing system. The Executive Committee
identified the Director of Information Systems as the individual with overall
project responsibility. The project was to be operated from within the
company’s existing operating budget. This Director was to incorporate the
project management into his overall responsibilities. As a the project
progressed, functional team members continually raised new enhancements and
technical changes for consideration. Soon the Director found himself
overwhelmed with the responsibilities of his department along with the
direction of the entire project. A list of scope changes was developed, risks
identified, and resources required to support the project created. In an
emotional exchange with the Executive Committee three months into the project,
the Director requested the need for a project manager who would be responsible
for the entire project. The request was denied and the Director announced his
resignation. The Executive Committee turned to outside consultants to assist
in completing the project. A revised project plan was developed, and the
implementation date moved out 9 months to enable incorporation of a portion of
the identified enhancements. The project exceeded it’s original budget by 200%
and took 17 months to complete.