John Kavanagh.
The gap between IT and business departments is growing, and the
IT industry urgently needs people who can unite them to improve
project success rates. That was the message from the inaugural
meeting of a new BCS specialist group formed to push for such a
change.
The Business-IT Interface specialist group now expects to forge
ahead at its second event this month.
The interest shown in the group underlines the importance of the
issue, according to founders Christine Ashton, systems director at
chemicals manufacturer Octel, and Ruth Wallsgrove, managing
director of consultancy SFK Technology.
"We were absolutely delighted, not only at the turnout for the
initial meeting in Stoke on Trent, but also at the huge number of
other people who showed interest," Wallsgrove says.
The group aims to promote the need for people who understand
both IT and business, and encourage individuals and industry to see
this role as a career in its own right. The group wants to put
together a formal definition and job description and draw up
programmes of suggested training and experience.
"Some organisations already have what are called hybrid
managers, but one clear point from our first meeting was that these
are generally seen as people with experience of both business and
IT," Wallsgrove says. "But, as one participant put it, being a good
bridge between business and IT is not just a case of training in
both areas but also of training and experience in actually being a
bridge."
Ashton agrees. "This vital role is often underestimated and the
skills involved are poorly developed," she says. "It was felt at
the meeting that the situation is probably getting worse, not
better, with IT risking becoming more of a ghetto."
Wallsgrove adds, "It was also agreed that the problem doesn't
solely lie with IT - many organisations are naive about the process
of developing IT."
The group is already working on compiling a database of project
failures, setting up a Web site and organising a major event in the
spring. It also has an e-mail discussion list set up.