Question

subject,,,,,project management..

All projects have a level of uncertainty. The project manager should do whatever possible to identify the risks that can affect the project. How can technology be a risk to the project? Is it positive or negative in nature?

Answer 1

The risk of implementing new, unproven technology looms large in most content strategy projects. A bad technology decision can derail or destroy an otherwise compelling project. However, it is our experience that poor technology choices are rarely the cause of a failed project. Bad project management is a much more likely culprit.

Technology risks include the following:

Bad fit. It is critically important to choose tools and technologies that solve your organization’s problems. The fact that a particular system offers much better support for Feature X is interesting only if you actually need Feature X. A system that works miracles for another organization may not be appropriate for your organization.

Deficient products. Some products do not deliver what they promise, or a feature is implemented in a way that does not solve the problem you need to solve. You can avoid this trap with pilot projects and other field testing. Pay attention to industry scuttlebutt—which vendors have good reputations? Which vendors are heavily criticized? Are the criticisms relevant to your requirements?

Customer support issues. You think it is a missing feature. The vendor may insist it is a support or custom configuration problem. How does the vendor handle customer support? Are current customers generally pleased with the vendor? What happens when (not if) you uncover a bug in the product? Good customer support will mitigate the inevitable bumps in the road; bad customer support will magnify them.

Scalability. Is the technology designed to handle the scope of content you need? What if you are wrong about the scope and you need to scale up significantly? For example, what if an unexpected acquisition triples the amount of content you are managing? Can the product handle additional content, languages, outputs, authors, reviewers, and so on? Will the cost of the product increase?

Answer 2:

Technology risk can be positive or negative depending how an organization is looking at it in terms of future perspectives.

If a new technology is going to bring the change in the industry mindset or behavior then organization will need to adopt it. There will be a kind resistance or struggle initially but If we look at it as a competency to be developed then it is a opportunity risk.