Re: ?Computerworld? article (an extreme example of thread shift)

["Michael Naughton" <mnaughton@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I may be wrong, but I think many consultants would agree that a computer
is not an appropriate solution to a problem that has been insufficiently
defined. It doesn't seem to be uncommon to run into managers who think
that some new report, or program, or computer system will  magically show
them how to take a failing process or business and turn it around. Having
been involved in some projects that attempted to try to make that happen,
my experience was that the companies spent large amounts of time and money
and weren't very much further ahead in the end.

This sort of job can generate a lot of cash short term for a consultant,
but long term you're likely to end up with a client who either grouses
about how much he has paid for little benefit or has gone out of business.

Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>I suppose this raises the interesting question - when are computers 
>NOT an appropriate solution to a problem? Does any consultant ever 
>say to a potential client: "No, you're better off doing this manually."?
>
>;-)


Mike Naughton
Senior Programmer/Analyst
Judd Wire, Inc.
124 Turnpike Road
Turners Falls, MA  01376
413-863-4357 x444
mnaughton@xxxxxxxxxxxx