Friday | 9 January, 2009
CIO
AT&T Wireless Self-Destructs
A major CRM system had crashed during an upgrade, and customer service representatives could not set up or access new accounts.
Christopher Koch 10 May, 2004 10:40:36

SIDEBAR: Five Lessons from AT&T Wireless's Project Failure

It did a lot wrong. Here's what you can do right

  • Have a plan B. AT&T Wireless's Siebel system upgrade involved vastly complex systems integration and testing that pushed up against, and crashed through, an immovable deadline: wireless number portability. An alternative means for accessing customer data or a plan to be able to roll back to the earlier, more stable version, if necessary, would have saved the company millions.
  • Keep testing requirements strong - even when projects fall behind. When projects run late, testing always suffers, with often disastrous results.
  • Reduce integration wherever possible. When all of AT&T Wireless's major competitors chose another company for wireless number porting, AT&T Wireless should have rethought its choice of a competing vendor, which meant extra layers of integration that ultimately failed.
  • Postpone lay-offs and offshore outsourcing until a vital systems project is completed. Morale and productivity among the AT&T Wireless IT staff were shattered by rumours of offshore outsourcing and lay-offs that swirled around the project but were left mostly unaddressed by IT leaders.
  • Keep the communication lines open and clear. If lay-offs or outsourcing are unavoidable during a project, communicate that news clearly and get the changes over with as early in the project as possible.
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