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New from the Zoo -
IT Conflict Management - more than the sum of tasks

Perceptive - (Plutonic Zoo shares a perspective on a topical subject)

Project successes have long been seen as an unlikely outcome for many Information Technology endeavours in business. More structure, diligence, and attention to planning are often mentioned as elements that will help. We agree.

However, not all well-planned and conscientiously executed projects manage to live up to what the business users expected. This is most acutely witnessed for implementation of software products when expectations created during the sales process exceed the accomplishable reality. So what else is needed?

The science of Information Technology meets the art of doing business in IT projects, and what happens in this clash of cultures reflects that famous line from the movie Cool Hand Luke (1967), 'what we have here .... is a failure to communicate'. Communication and the capacity to form relationships are even more important than tasks, functions, roles, and positions.

The orientation, vocabulary, and perceptions of project participants are often very different in respect to the same reality. Getting to a common understanding of the requirements, or of the business impact of implementation requires more than signatures under documents.

Empathic listening and other soft skills of CIOs and project managers can improve the communication and relationship between IT and other parts of the business or between IT and external vendors. But sometimes the objective perceptions of a trusted, resourceful and impartial third party can help the protagonists to find practical ways to move forward. They can avoid a conflict or help resolve an existing conflict, and achieve a successful project outcome for all stakeholders. Please Contact Us if you want to follow up.

Resourceful - (events and interaction)

• Plutonic Zoo will hold an interactive lunch seminar 'IT Conflict Management' in Sydney on Wednesday May 16, 2007 (please note revised schedule). After some keynote introductions, we will facilitate roundtable discussion over a sandwich lunch on practical information and considerations relating to dispute between the IT department, other parts of the business, and IT vendors. For more information and registration details click here or go to www.plutoniczoo.com.au/lunch.

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Impartial - (Links to research material for comparison)

Defined: Mediation, Chris Honeyman

Study: Conflict as a Factor in Information Systems Failure, L Warne

People: Just Human would do, Sue Bushell

Presentation: What is conflict and how should we view it on a project?, The Project Management Institute

Paper: Conflict Resolution in Project Management, Amy Ohlendorf

Surveys: Failure Causes, IT Cortex

Research: Pssst! Your Corporate Initiative Is Dead and You're the Only One Who Doesn't Know, VitalSmarts

Press Release: Communication is the Most Frequent Cause of Project Failure, Comptia

Opinion: It is the Business, Stupid, Sue Bushell

Plutonic: Impartial IT Conflict Management Services for end users and vendors, Plutonic Zoo

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