The Next Leap in Productivity: What Top Managers Really Need to Know about Information Technology

2.11. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate ...

After you have decided to move ahead with an IT project, fostering and supporting teamwork become absolutely crucial. Since an essential ingredient of teamwork is communication, top management needs to make certain that all stakeholders communicate constantly throughout the development process.

"At best, IT projects are filled with uncertainty," says Paul Johnson, president of Kelley Blue Book, the respected provider of automotive information. "So we try to manage the scope—and the variability of the scope—in our up-front planning, instead of trying to manage it from the development side."

But when market conditions change—and they always will—the project will likely change to reflect those new conditions. That is when a closely knit team proves invaluable. "Whenever possible, we try to have all the stakeholders working in the same area so that decisions can be made quickly and there's no delay in pulling together meetings," says Johnson. "You want the business owners to be available so they can answer questions in minutes or hours instead of days or weeks."

In addition to publishing its famous Blue Book of automotive prices, Kelley operates the leading web site for consumers searching for information they can use to get the best possible deals on automotive purchases. "Our web site attracts 13 million unique visitors per month and we deliver 250 million ads per month," says Johnson. "All of that is driven by IT."

When Kelley decided ...