Why is IT Planning Stupid to Do?

Any possible roadmap in locating functions of operational local systems is doomed to failure. That is, anyone in the software industry who believes that a reliable and effective information technology (IT) plan and roadmap is possible – even useful – is just plain cuckoo. With so many frequent innovations, IT is simply too unpredictable to plan for next steps or for software and hardware purchases. Hiring consultants, such as Accenture, to develop an IT roadmap is a waste of time and money.

Any possible roadmap in locating functions of operational local systems is doomed to failure. That is, anyone in the software industry who believes that a reliable and effective information technology (IT) plan and roadmap is possible – even useful – is just plain cuckoo. With so many frequent innovations, IT is simply too unpredictable to plan for next steps or for software and hardware purchases. Hiring consultants, such as Accenture, to develop an IT roadmap is a waste of time and money. Don’t be delusional that an IT roadmap is any better than just good guessing and spontaneous purchases.

The best approach to IT planning for buying information systems and technologies is to have the organization’s typically uninformed senior executives impulsively select what software and hardware tickles their fancy or they have a hunch it will be good. Why is this smart to do? Executives have been making decisions based on their gut feel and intuition without facts throughout their careers. Why stop them now?

Without an IT roadmap plan, what is the worst that can happen? Maybe software is purchased that does not integrate with existing or future software or hardware. Or maybe the software falls short in providing users with information for reporting and analysis to gain insights to make better decisions. Or maybe the software results in little or no return on investment. Heck, nothing is ever perfect.

By dropping the foolish notion that an IT roadmap has any value, organizations can eliminate all that wasteful planning time and just let the chips fall as they purchase software that looks cool or nifty. If some of it does not work out, just throw it away. The accountants know how to write-off failed investments or use bookkeeping reserves to bury the results from bad investments. The shareholders or governing boards will never know.

And if you believe what I have written here, read the first letter of each word in the first sentence of this blog. You will see that together they spell A-p-r-i-l f-o-o-l-s!