Revolutionizing IT: The Art of Using Information Technology Effectively

By David H. Andrews and Kenneth R. Johnson

A guide for making information technology work for any company Often corporate IT projects fail because the underlying assumptions about a program are unrealistic. Revolutionizing IT helps organizations find success for their IT projects by showing them how to create and reach realistic goals. A combination of real case histories and examples helps show how this strategy controls both expectations and costs.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471250414
• ISBN13: 9780471250418
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Practical Information for my entire IT department

This is one of the most practical books on the topic I have read, and I have been following and participating in this field, and following writing on the subject, since Fred Brooks taught us fledgling programming managers in IBM about the mythical man-month and other programming project realities.This book is being routed throughout my IT department -- managers, developers, infrastructure and support people. I suggest they read the last chapter first as it is an excellent summary and reference checklist of the points Andrews and Johnson bring to the reader. Key reminders and points made and expanded upon, for me, include:1) Just do it -- the perfect solution is never available.2) Know what goes wrong and what goes right and manage accordingly.3) Control scope creep, probably the greatest weakness of all of us IT managers who want to be loved by our customers.4) Managing programmers -- "junior programmers run the world" making those detailed, seemingly low level decisions that can compromise a project implementation.This is not only a great read but an excellent reference manual for experienced and new IT managers alike -- one of those books we should each read every year! Well done, guys.

Great for Business Students also

You have to like any book that is what it claims to be, and Revolutionizing IT is exactly what it claims to be. After reading this book and recently completing a 10 week course based on its contents I can say happily that it will "change the way you think about the management of any complex task, especially if it involves Information Technology." Written for a non-technical management audience, its best attribute is the multitude of genuinely useful examples that illustrate the principles of the authors' RITE approach in detail for serious understanding. Unlike many books, especially college textbooks, these concrete examples keep the book, which is filled with good project management theory, from becoming merely a set of entertaining but impractical and vague remarks on IT as some books are. Of course, while these qualities are helpful for the non-IT managers at whom this book is aimed, I found it to be invaluable for college students planning on entering the business world upon graduation with aspirations toward higher management. Not only does this book help future mangers understand IT, an important task in and of itself, but more importantly it's simply good advice for anyone who will be managing people and major projects in the future. In my personal experience, Revolutionizing IT has made me very aware of the risks, and how to manage them, involved in any change to an organization that will fundamentally alter the way current staff will be doing their jobs. While this is a good reminder for experienced managers (who should be aware of this already), this advice both on how to look out for and how to deal with potential resistance and hostility toward business process changes is invaluable for future business executives. In fact, as I read the book I found myself wishing I had read it before I embarked on a particularly difficult internship which involved my writing an efficiency audit report for a department within the organization. The report ultimately culminated in the firing of the department manager. This is a great book, easy to read and full of wisdom hard won through the experience of its authors. Put it into the hands of non-IT managers, especially the ones who are uncomfortable with IT. But first put it into the hands of young business people, even the ones who think they understand computers, because they will need the advice on project and people management. Justin SwiftPrincipia College

Great advice for any project

Even though much of Mr. Andrews' excellent book focuses on information technology projects, I believe his ideas and advice can benefit almost any kind of project. As a retired Vice-President from Cap Gemini Ernst and Young's consulting practice, I spend much of time as a volunteer working with nonprofit organizations. I believe that Andrews' concepts of: strong leadership, clear objectives and accountability, tight scope control and delivery in "bite sized" pieces are just as important for an organizational change project in a non-profit as they are for an MRP implementation in a Fortune 500 company.A core message in the book is that senior management has to get close enough to the details of a project to make intelligent decisions about scope, staffing and funding. Many executives don't focus on the details because they are "too technical". The author's advice on this one issue could save American business billions of dollars every year.

A Homerun

This is a clear, concise guide to properly managing IT projects. It is revolutionary, but soundly based on good common sense and over 30 years of experience. Anyone who has been invovled in large-scale IT projects for a number of years will recognize the soundness of Andrews' approach -- the RITE Approach. A very good read with strong practical application.