I want to share a cautionary tale highlighting the importance of holistic planning when implementing technologies. A past client (name withheld to protect the innocent!) sought to expand their reach through an e-commerce website. However, their lack of consideration of crucial factors beyond the enhanced e-commerce website itself ultimately led to wasted time, money, and business priorities.

Everything seemed promising. My team and I delivered a fantastic e-commerce site that showcased their products beautifully. The client was ecstatic with the result. The site launched, but over time, it was clear not enough people were coming to make purchases. I could do more to drive traffic with SEO or PPC, but the client's budget was used up on the site build.

When contracting me to do the work, they hadn't fully considered how to promote, fulfill orders, and drive the success of their online venture. It was more the "build it and they will come" approach. Despite their best efforts, down the line, they had to close their store due to, at least in part, the lack of strategic planning for all the inputs and outputs of their e-commerce plan.

Situations like this (and lessons learned from many other successful projects) have informed my process. When clients talk to me today, I aim to dig into the details who-what-where-when-why of their needs to mitigate and lower their project risk. Not only is it the right thing to do as a business tech advisor, but it also means a better chance of success.

Here are a couple of questions for you to ponder for your business:

1. Have you ever found yourself jumping into a tech implementation without considering the broader strategy and its impact on your business priorities?
2. When implementing new technologies, what steps can you take to plan all the necessary inputs and outputs strategically?
3. When considering tech budgets, have you included all the likely related costs to the effort (maintenance, staff labor, sales/marketing, later upgrades, etc.)?

Let's learn from each other! Hit reply and share your experiences with me. I reply to each one I get.

Yours in tech,

—Joshua