Confessions of an IT Manager_Phil Factor

Section III: Software Projects: the Good, the Bad and the Pitiful 129
I explained at considerable length the process of building an application.
First, we created a series of simulations from which we could get all sorts of
data including usability; then we hardened up the look-and-feel until it reached
the point that we could get the training and documentation started. Only at that
point did we build a production quality system. (This was before 'Agile' was reinvented.)
They seemed to take it in, and nodded wisely, but I thought I could
still detect an amused twinkle in their eyes, as if they were 'on to my game' and
were just playing along.
It was all decided. We would build the system. When we were three months
from release, we would invest in the expensive parts of the project such as
buildings, training and staff. The minders gravely took notes with gold biros.
A week later, I discovered that the directors of the bank had spent over ten
million pounds buying a building to house the telephone banking operation.
Recruitment and training were already swinging into action. My head sunk to
my desk and I groaned pitifully. Clearly, the central message of my demonstration
hadn't quite got across. An email message dropped into my inbox. The
IT director wanted to see me urgently. The next few months were not easy.