Systems failure analysis and causes

Systems Failing

How can a manager prevent a system from failing?

How can a manager prevent a technical system from failing, if he or she does not have a highly technical background? Although understanding the proposed system is certainly helpful, it is also important that the manager not neglect his or her duty to carefully supervise the IT staff and to prevent deviations from the project's budget, timetable, and purpose from occurring without reason.

One of the first positive steps that a manager can take to prevent a future systems failure is to develop a cohesive vision in conjunction with the IT staff and set up a line of communication between the developers and management. Managers are likely to view a prposed system in terms of its ease of use, functionality, speed, measurable performance, and cost savings for the organization. In contrast, the IT department is more likely to regard the system's compatibility, ease of integration and the ability to support the application as the most significant issues. (Greengard, 2004) Managers are likely to forget issues about system functionality, with their eye upon the human element of using technology, while IT users may forget the importance of making the new system easy for laypersons to use.

A meeting of the minds can be helpful, even before the project begins, to iron out these differences The manager must listen to the IT staff to gain a good idea if the proposed plan will meet the necessary specifications for the system and the ability level of its users. When creating a timetable for the project's develoment, the manager should designate certain junctions in which he or she will meet with the critical design staff members to ensure that the project is progressing in the agreed-upon fashion. The manager must also make sure that certain neglected steps of the system development cycle, such as testing the system before and after it has been put into practice are not ignored. The objective must be a "best of breed" product, in other words a kind of middle ground between the competing visions of the human and technical sides involved in the system's creation. (Greengard, 2004) Communication and clarity are the keys to preventing unnecessary delays and confusion, and management must not refuse to exercise a strong hand if it appears that different members of the IT staff are engaging in unnecessary delays, not testing the system components properly, or worst of all, deviating from the initial purpose or plan without a clear rationale.