I did my best here, as a software vendor, to participate to the buoyant conversation about “fixing the wcm”.
Don’t expect an immature market to behave like a mature one.
Highly fragmented, evolving dramatically fast, based on emerging standards, concepts if not technologies, people seem to discover – rightly - there is something to be fixed in this business. Yes, don’t expect something else, unfortunately. Projects managers want new sophisticated features able to fulfil complex business requirements, users want simple tools to use, procurement wants much cheaper prices, vendors need to grow fast as generously funded by ambitious VC, if not disillusioned investors who put millions into WCM and are still waiting for ROI, big (historical) players seem to be more interested and skilled at milking the business cow - rather than innovating and beat the competition and – not a paradox - they are making therefore benefits.
What a mess, indeed.
Maybe it is already true, I just think that should be the Gold rush for skilled practitioners and consultants, they know the weaknesses and the strength of the products, the usual mistakes done during an implementation, how to advice clients. That’s trivial, fair enough, but so what?
That’s all I have to bring on the table?
Well to be frank, I am not so much convinced in anything else but relying on the right people, like in any complex and unstable situations. You don’t like consultants? Hire a skilled WCM project leader. You don’t find any? Reduce the ambition of your project. You disagree? No problem, but you have been warned, you will enter into a dangerous zone.
I have read it was everybody’s or nobody’s fault (implementers, vendors, clients: type #fixwcm into twitter). I have read everything should change, and don’t see where it will really fix the problem. It will improve the results, reduce risks, of course, but I doubt the entire proposals are likely to fix it.
I am an (arrogantly supposed) experienced mountaineer, and live near Chamonix. So I know several mountain guides. They often say mountain guides are here for two kinds of people: those too beginners to go alone in the somewhat dangerous and somewhat unpredictable complexity of the high altitude, those skilled but having too ambitious plans to be able to accomplish them on their own. There is no way to go in the mountains safely alone in these two cases. But if you are experienced mountaineer and are spending your day doing something consistent with your skills and means, you should return home in good health, and (relatively) on time. Same issue for a WCM implementation…
I am not sure if you need, or even if you can fix within soon the WCM, I just believe you should be aware it is a dangerous business, and learn how to live with this reality.
That’s it? As it is unlikely to change soon, yes, I am afraid that’s it…
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