Confessions of an IT Manager_Phil Factor

138 The Writing on the Wall
As with all enterprises, the tide of management revolution turned, and the
dynamic management in braces and striped shirts all disappeared. Against all
expectations, the old traditional parts of the business flourished and the radical
new initiatives failed to achieve their promise. The workforce once more settled
down to their old ways without the threat of radical reform of their work
practices. The only thing that had changed was that visitors were no longer
liable to wipe out the organisational system of the shipping area with their
sleeves. Their cherished diagrams flickered on computer screens around their
department.
The vast filing cabinet with its precious contents was quietly removed, like
the Ark of the Covenant, to a convenient cellar. The business reengineering and
its colossal expense were quickly forgotten.
So when one hears, with monotonous regularity, that enormous government
computer systems fail, could it be that it is not the fault of the IT people who
implemented the systems at all? Maybe it is the fact that the government
employees puff up the complexity and importance of their roles in the business
and systems analysis to the point at which one is implementing a complete
fantasy, designed to protect cushy jobs rather than to serve the public? Could it
be that, once these specifications and architectures are complete, nobody has
the power or the inclination to challenge the veracity of what has been
produced?