Helpdesk and Services...
As a Systems Analyst with 25 years experience, persuading accountants that spending money is necessary and convincing operations staff that the 'way they have always done it' is not necessarily the best way, I have come to the conclusion that a proper analysis, followed by a clear message and a straightforward methodical approach is the key.
I have implemented Helpdesk and CRM systems in India, Freight Handling systems in the North of England, and Supermarket POS integration in Turkey, and the problems with all of these disparate systems will still fall into the same old categories; which are outlined - in no particular order - below.
The first category is 'Imposition from the Top'. Staff are always resistant to change, even if you are replacing their battered old banger with a Rolls-Royce... The second category is 'Round peg - Square hole'. A 'best of breed' solution is ordered, and the process of making it fit has not been qualified. It is no good buying the worlds best gearbox, if it does not mesh with the engine, chassis and other parts of your car... The third category is the 'Heath-Robinson'. Everything is creaking at the seams. Despite Biztalk servers and EDI batch routines and two or three loving geeks maintaining the database, the whole system is balanced on the edge of a cliff...
All of these issues are solvable and in most cases avoidable, and the key lies in combining proper monitoring and control combined with effective communications. The biggest challenge is very often ensuring that the rationale, the organisational objective, the 'why' of the project, is understood from the boardroom down to the shop floor. This is a challenge shared by all the providers of IT services, irrespective of whether it is the latest CRM system or Tetris on the console in the lunchroom. How do I make the users happy, how do I make the bean-counters happy, and how do I make sure everything goes along nicely?
Which brings me back to the points above. First make sure you are doing the right thing, then explain it to your whole constituency in terms they can each understand, make sure implementation goes smoothly and plan for change and control going forward. Easy if you have the right skills...