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This method does emphasize
issues before they become too visible. Most people feel more comfortable
talking about solutions as opposed to problems. If anything, this
is much more reassuring from a psychological viewpoint. In fact,
preventing problems from happening imposes that kind of prescience
regarding potential issues. Let’s face it; if you are afraid of
problems, there are very few chances that you might ever be able
to lead a complex project from cradle to grave.
Project management principles
issued from the world of manufacturing industries also apply to
ICT innovation projects, despite specific arrangements and adaptation
to the size of the project.
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| Figure
14: Classic
project management of complex projects is a recipe for disaster |
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| Figure
15: Advanced
project management techniques often – if not always – produce
better results |
Of
Successful Marketing Projects and Hype
The ability to distinguish
hype projects from real ones is of paramount importance. Glitz
over content, design over market shave, fad or fashion over business
should keep you on your toes. Above all, one should definitely
cease to believe that just because a product/service is superior
by design, success is inevitable, and vice versa. And media coverage
does not mean a thing either, despite appearances. Donald A. Norman
explains this phenomenon in a very convincing fashion, as shown
in this paragraph concerning Apple, taken from an essay on innovation
and large enterprises: “[…]In fact,
Apple Computer, the one company that tried hardest to make products
that were easy to use, understandable, with sophisticated aesthetics
driving both graphical design on the screen and industrial design
of the products, failed. (yes, I know: Apple still exists, with
a loyal band of followers who will follow it to its death, alas,
But 4% of market share does not constitute success.[…]) ».
I have been able to confirm these numbers thanks to the statistics
taken from my website
over a large period (from January 1 till December 15, 2003) and
covering a great number of displayed web pages. As a matter of
fact, Apple’s market share seems to be even lower than what Donald
Norman estimated in 1998.
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| Figure 16: Source :
Weborama – Apple’s market share could well be below 4% |
By the way, it is worthy of
note that in consumer markets, market shares below 10% are considered
meaningless. Research carried out by Mac Generation in November
2003 pointed out that Apple’s market share had plummeted to a
mere 2%, despite the iPOD hype and high growth rate of sales of
its MP3 player and by products: “Judging by the success of the
Apple exhibition across the Channel”, Mac Generation experts wrote
in 2003, Apple is back on its feet that side of the channel. Indeed
the iPOD completely transformed our English neighbours’ perception
of Apple. Numbers are there to prove it as sales went up by 36%
in the UK. All Apple products outperformed last year’s results
by more than 10%. With a 2.5% market-share, Apple UK is now in
better shape than most Apple’s European subsidiaries, namely France,
where their market-share is now stable at around 2%”.
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