Introduction

Have you ever felt a bit stuck with your IT systems? Maybe they seem old-fashioned, too complicated, or not quite what you need. Often, these problems come from unclear goals that aren’t well-thought-out or tied to the organization’s needs. Maybe the focus is on the latest tech trends instead of what really matters.

We firmly believe that companies need to have solid digital plans that run from their top vision to every single business process. And the digital transformation needs to support every step of the way.

Requirements are like the rules that a system must follow to work properly. They can be grouped into three main types: business, functional, and technical. These requirements can be expressed in different ways, like user stories or use cases. But here’s the thing: many companies start planning for new IT systems with either super vague or super detailed requirements. This can cause a big problem because it makes it hard for everyone to agree on what needs to be done. And when that happens, it can be tough to get the project off the ground.

Recurring Problems

After years of advising businesses on consulting and IT, I’ve noticed that when IT systems and an organization don’t align, it often leads to similar issues. Here are my top four problems that clients face because of bad requirements.

1. Inefficiency

2. Unrealized value of the investment

3. Increased costs

4. User frustration

Below, we will go through each of these top four problems.

Inefficiency

Business processes can often get bogged down by time-consuming tasks and a lot of handoffs. When business processes and IT system processes don’t match up, it makes it tough for users to get their work done. The real value of a business is usually found in these processes. When the IT system doesn’t match, tasks often have to be repeated in different systems, which wastes time and increases the chances of errors, which hurts operations. To really get operational excellence, the system needs to support the organization from its vision to its processes.

Unrealized Value of the Investment

This topic is also linked to change management, which shouldn’t be started in a rigid waterfall manner after the new IT system is put in place. Change management should start right alongside the requirements gathering for the new IT system.

If the organization, expectations, and requirements aren’t on the same page, the system won’t be as valuable to the organization as it should be and could even hurt the business. We’ll talk more about this in another blog post, but early on in the project of investigating a new system, it’s a good idea to do a cost-benefit analysis. It should even be used as a basis for deciding if the investment is worth it. PENG is an example of a cost-benefit analysis method.

There’s a big difference between what the cost-benefit analysis said the IT system would do and what it actually did. This could be a problem, especially if it’s not good. I’ve never seen a big difference between what the analysis said and what the system actually did that was positive.

There are three possible reasons for this. The first is that the cost-benefit analysis was done wrong. This isn’t the main focus of this post, but we’ll talk about it in another one.

The second is that the system is actually good, but the people using it aren’t. This doesn’t mean the system is bad; it just means the people aren’t using it well. Usually, this is because the business processes and the IT system don’t match up, or because people don’t know how to use the system.

The third is that the system is actually bad. This could be because the people who designed it didn’t do a good job, or because the people who signed the contracts didn’t do a good job, or because the people who made the decisions didn’t do a good job. This leads to higher costs, which we’ll talk about in another one.

Increased Costs

Costs can increase in many ways. The most obvious reason is inefficiency. But there are other factors at play too. In requirements engineering, the costs of implementing new IT systems usually go up a lot as the project gets closer to completion. This shows why it’s so important to make sure the right things are digitized early on. It’s one of the most important things for the success of the new investment.

If the requirements are bad or if the organization isn’t on the same page, the targets won’t be aligned. You’ll never succeed if you aim for the wrong target, no matter how good your aim is. People who realize too late that the IT system won’t meet their expectations because of poor alignment in the early stages will soon find out that they made a costly mistake. This often leads to redoing the requirements or even redeveloping the system. At this point, delays are inevitable, and the risk of the project being canceled increases with every extra dollar spent.

Another reason why costs keep rising is that we’re still stuck with old systems. The new ones don’t live up to our expectations, and when we need to share information between them, it’s a hassle. This means we have to spend more money on maintenance for all these different systems.

User Frustration

I’ve never seen a digitalization project go completely smoothly, with 100% user satisfaction. There are always some users who aren’t happy. But that’s not a big deal as long as you handle it in the change management part of the project. The problem is when users have unrealistic expectations about the system.

Many people, even decision-makers, think that a new IT system will solve all their operational problems. That’s not true. A new IT system usually doesn’t fix problems on its own. It takes the organization to do that.

It’s risky to hype up the expectations of a system and tell everyone about it. Even if the users are generally positive, if they’re not happy with the new system, it not only hurts the investment but also any future changes that could be good.

Users usually get frustrated when:

• The system doesn’t meet their expectations

• The system doesn’t work the way they want it to, like being buggy, missing features, or too complicated

• They have to do the same task twice, like in two different systems

• The system is slow or doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do, like taking too long to load

• The system uses a different word or phrase than the organization does, like a term that doesn’t make sense.

Conclusion

The success of IT systems in an organization depends on clear and well-defined requirements. If the IT system doesn’t match the organization’s needs, things can go wrong. This can lead to wasted money, errors, and frustrated users.

Inefficiency

Complicated business processes and mismatched IT workflows waste resources and increase the risk of mistakes. It’s important to align IT systems with business processes to make things run smoothly.

Unrealized Value of the Investment

A new IT system can cost a lot, but it won’t be worth it if the requirements, goals, and change management aren’t all in line from the start. A thorough cost-benefit analysis should help make sure the investment is a good idea. If the requirements aren’t right, users won’t use the system, and the organization won’t get what it paid for.

Increased Costs

Inefficiencies, misaligned targets, and the need to change requirements or rebuild the system can all drive up costs. The costs can skyrocket during the implementation phase, so it’s important to get things right early on. Also, keeping older systems around because they didn’t meet expectations can add to the costs.

User Frustration

Users get frustrated when their expectations aren’t met, the system is buggy or too complicated, or they have to do the same thing twice. High performance and alignment with the organization’s language are important for user satisfaction. If users have unrealistic expectations, they’ll be disappointed, and this can hurt not only the current project but also future organizational changes.

Do you need help with your digital transformation?

Looking for a digital strategy expert to help you with your new digitalization project? Just4consultant is here to help! We offer a wide range of consulting services, including digital transformation, IT strategy, and operational excellence. Our team of experts is well-versed in organizational change, business development, and marketing strategy, so you can rest assured that your digitalization projects will be successful and aligned with your business practices. Check out our business consulting blog for more insights and consulting skills to drive your organization forward.