Saw an article on ComputerWorld that the leading cause of software project failures is complexity. Duh. Although I’d add “culture” as right up there at the top. In my first software project, we only got a fraction of the benefits because top management didn’t understand what we could do. And few wanted to use it.
That leads to another thought, though. Charlie Gifford spoke to an Automation World writer for our January issue and says much the same thing about problems within the manufacturing software business. Basically it’s gotten too complex, too expensive and too large. Watch for his comments along with Jim Pinto and Jay Lee in the article on innovation when it’s posted in a couple of weeks
What do you think about your software projects? What would you like to tell suppliers? Let me know. You might look into attending the soon-to-be-announced MESA Conference this spring and talk to software vendors face-to-face to express your thoughts and concerns as well as to get their response.