Boards of Directors and the Governance of Large IT Investments: They Don’t Know What They Don’t Know

Abstract

Information technology (IT) is central to most organizations’ success. As IT systems age, organizations replace them, yet many of those replacement projects fail to achieve expected outcomes. This article explores what boards of directors can do to prevent such failures, increasing the chances that these replatforming programs succeed. Boards are typically affected by seven blind spots, including misplaced optimism, an abundance of data but too little information, and too much focus on technology. This article describes all seven blind spots and provides four recommendations to overcome them: developing a shared mental model, ensuring organizational readiness, agreeing on a reporting scorecard, and focusing on benefits and pivoting when necessary. The article also includes a framework for developing a shared mental model as well as a set of key questions for board members to ask about replatforming programs.