Case: Distribution I
Narrative
A small business supplies company achieved significant success primarily because of its ability to respond rapidly to customer orders for an intentionally limited range of products. To enable further expansion and continued success the company decided to invest in a custom software application that would provide focused functionality specific to the nature of the business. However, when the project actually got under way discussions almost immediately focused on details of the needed screen designs to such an extent that the overall purpose of the project became obscured. Eventually it became clear that the approach being used combined with the limitations of the budget meant that the project could not succeed. The project was eventually abandoned altogether.
Comments
Although the scope of this scenario is much smaller than that described in Manufacturing I the failure to focus on core business requirements and the resulting value to be derived led to significant expenditures of time and money on aspects of the project that should have been examined much later. If the feasibility of designing, building and implementing the desired solution had been examined carefully before embarking on the course the company chose it is likely that a different approach - or none - would have been chosen. Trying to work out designs when the requirements are not clear should be expected to be ultimately fruitless. Where there is sufficient time and money there may come a realization that the project has to be restarted from a different perspective. In this case both the initial energy and the budget had been exhausted.
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