A recent ZDNet article describes the impact IT project failures on our economy… and the numbers are scary. The author estimates that $6.2 trillion dollars is lost annually worldwide. What does that really mean? While ultimiately this number a SWAG (sophisticated wide-ass guess), it does illustrating the high rate of failures within the IT field.
I believe these failures can we reduced though better utilization of existing technology, specifically though the magic of open source. Open source software is developed with the intention of being sharing with the general public. This results in code which has been peer reviewed resulting in an arguably more secure final product.
A problem I frequently encounter are managers who want to “reinvent the wheel”. The result is less time is spent on quality control, detailed planning, and true development. The Internet is teeming with thousands of open source projects covering all disciplines, which most developers already know. These projects can be used to fill in gaps, and cut out large chucks of development time. As an example, there are at least a half dozen legitimate content management system which are completely open source. When commissioned to build a website, does it really make sense to build a custom CMS? Doubtful.
So why does the wheel get redesigned every day? Generic managers. Typically managers do not fully understand how to utilize open source and by their nature like to keep everything under their control.
The solution? Train developers to be managers. The same way a factory worker trains to become a line manager — IT developers must establish a place in management. As technology continues to grow in sophistication, the way we develop needs to evolve and mature. Eliminate managers who cannot develop and you will significantly reduce IT failure rates. I guarantee it.
