"Do more with less, and deliver it faster," proclaim the organizational leaders dealing with the effects the 'new economy'. A project manager's nightmare, the times are quickly changing, and the need to make a full glass of orange juice out of a quarter-sized orange is becoming an unfortunate reality.
We've discussed the predicted impacts of the economic downturn on enterprise telephony, but have not explored how future projects and deployments are expected to succeed or fail under these new financial times.
In my opinion, the threat of project 'scope creep' is becoming a silent and ever-emerging problem. Dealing with anxious organizational leaders, the potential of having little-to-no implementation budget in the near future is sending project managers and implementers into a tailspin. I honestly believe that projects aren't being scaled down, however, scaled up.
Why? Especially in the areas of enterprise communications, corporations and organizations alike are in the midst of multi-year deployments and upgrades. Long-term and 'relaxed' projects obviously take time, but their slow speed can mean more accurate, thought-out results. Now, as budgets are tightened, and 5-10 year projections are indicating a need for significant cuts, projects are being accelerated to dangerous speeds. Time simply equals money: money and liquidity that organizations simply do not have.
Projects are being combined, and schedules are shortened. Multi-system integration, true convergence, is being seen from the executive level as a cost saving tool. What many forget, however, is that implementations of such technologies and strategies take time and money, too. A dangerous chicken-and-egg problem is developing, and there doesn't seem to be a clear answer in the near future.
What's your opinion? How have projects-in-progress been affected by the recent economic situation, in your organization?
The Leader in Network Knowledge
Post new comment