Reactions to Unit 9 readings

The readings for this week covered technology planning for many types of institutions and environments. I was most interested in the readings this week that addressed government IT project management, because that is the environment in which I currently work (state government). I particularly liked the Brenda Whittaker article "What went wrong? Unsuccessful information technology projects," because of her in depth statistical analysis and research methodology. Don Sager's article on environmental scanning also piqued my interest, because I think that lifetime learning among information professionals is one of the most important aspects of the profession due to the rate of technology innovation and its affects on society.

The Michael Schuyler article made me think. I agree that a technology plan is primarily a "political" document. It is essential for there to be clear communication and assurance of accountability between a project team and its stakeholders in technology initiatives. Unfortunately, as Schuyler, Whittaker, and others point out, there is often a lack of understanding and enthusiasm among top managers for sponsoring innovative or "modern" tech projects. It has been my experience so far in state government that top management has little incentive to sponsor such projects, despite the lip service paid to technology in official vision statements. Why? I believe its a combination of aversion to risk from potential failure of the projects (top management ultimately bears responsibility) and the organizational culture of many state employees who prefer the status quo.