It's never to early to destroy a good thing!

You know the old cliche: A new broom sweeps clean.
It barely took a year for the new CIO to destroy a system that was generating millions of dollars in cost reductions and avoidance...
...You've heard the old joke:

The new CIO arrives to replace the departing one. The old CIO says, "Listen, I gotta go...but I left you 3 envelopes to guide you when you run into trouble. Good Luck!" Of course, the new CIO enjoys a little honeymoon and is busy over promising and under delivering. But a few months in, the CIO is in trouble until remembering the envelopes. So the CIO opens the first envelope and the message reads, "Blame your predecessor." So the CIO proceeds to demonstrate how every problem, issue, and complaint can be laid directly on the previous CIO. This works very well for about 6 months but pressure begins to build again. The CIO remembers the envelopes and decides to open the second one. "Reorganize." Great idea! So the reorgs begin and chaos reigns for another 6 months so nothing can be blamed on the current CIO -- after all, you expect a little disruption after a reorg and the new organization will be SOOOOO much better. Eventually the dust settles and complaints begin coming in from every direction. The CIO is in big trouble so opens the last envelope. "Prepare 3 envelopes."

This joke reflects reality all too often. Many studies show that the average lifespan of a CIO is about 18 months. I first observed this phenomenon over 20 years ago at a large company. where I worked. After putting in place a complete system to improve software results and reaping the benefits of demonstrable ROI, when the company hit a rough patch, he systematically dismantled everything that worked. A few months later he was gone and a few months after that other bad business decisions led to the company's demise and absorption by a competitor.

If this were an isolated story, I wouldn't bother to tell it. But I have seen it first hand and read about it over and over. Here's the most recent tale of woe. Beta Company assessed its situation and realized it needed some improvements in the way it tested software. It assigned an existing group to remedy the situation, which it did over the next two years. The results were major improvements to the bottom line. Testing effectiveness improved dramatically resulting in a significant drop in defects found in production. The difference was documented in the millions of dollars.

With effective dynamic testing firmly established, the team turned to static testing and began implementing Formal Inspections. Once again the results were dramatic. In one side-by-side comparison of two very similar projects (same Project Manager, similar scope, most of the same project team) the project with the Requirements Inspections not only came in at a dramatically lower price tag but avoided over $500,000 in defect costs. Overall, the

team's efforts demonstrated over $6 MILLION in savings.

So why doesn't this story have a happy ending? The New Broom Syndrome. In the midst of all this progress, the company got a new CIO and the economy took a nose dive. The team took some cuts like everyone else and lost a few key players...BUT it survived and continued making improvements and reporting consistent ROI and bottom-line results. The CIO of course blamed the economy and his predecessor for any and all problems. When that stopped working, he reorganized several times. The last one has these quality improvement functions reporting to the area in charge of the delinquent processes -- the fox is licking his chops as he saunters into the hen house.

The inevitable results will hit the papers just as they do in all these situations. Good people will be out on the streets. Quality will have a bad name around the company for a few years. A new CIO will enter the scene and get 3 envelopes from the departing one...

It doesn't have to be the same old story. Here's the secret: Leadership.

That's it. A leader will look at the data and the processes and manage by fact and process. A leader will face adversity and look at the true value each process contributes. A leader will make decisions strategically to fulfill a clear mission. Which are you? A strategic leader or a tactical firefighter? 18 months and 3 envelopes or...

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Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, President, Advantage Leadership, Inc.

More on Strategic Planning, establishing QA, getting great requirements: http://www.advantageleadership.com/

More on Strategic Leaderhip: http://www.conventionalwisdomcenter.com/

Listen to a free webinar on how to turn defects into dollars: http://www.iist.org/freewebinars/descriptions/Testing_Improvement_Story_Turning_Defects_RebeccaStaton.php