in reply to Re: IT decisions are driven by business needs
in thread IT decisions are driven by business needs

Given that almost all of us work for organizations whose purpose is either to make money or only achievable if money is brought in, then it's a good metric.

Think about this: a business is in the business of making money. It produces products and/or services in the support of that goal. If you think otherwise, you're fooling yourself.

My criteria for good software:
  1. Does it work?
  2. Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?
  • Comment on Re^2: IT decisions are driven by business needs

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Re^3: IT decisions are driven by business needs
by shmem (Chancellor) on Apr 14, 2007 at 18:48 UTC
    Think about this: a business is in the business of making money. It produces products and/or services in the support of that goal. If you think otherwise, you're fooling yourself.
    Now what fallacy is this one? Post hoc ergo propter hoc? A business in the business is making money, that's how business generally works today: making money is a necessity for business. Which doesn't mean this business is in business because its primary goal, its raison d'être is making money. Think of NASA, again.

    --shmem 

    _($_=" "x(1<<5)."?\n".q·/)Oo.  G°\        /
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[reply]
      Just because NASA doesn't sell products or services for money doesn't mean it isn't in the business of making money. It has to, every year, go forth and convince the US government to give it money in the form of a budget. It's the exact same model used by charities. Thus, the same principles of having to meet the demands of your customers apply. Your customers just happen to be different from those receiving your products/services.
      My criteria for good software:
      1. Does it work?
      2. Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?
[reply]
        But making money is none of NASA's business! Put bluntly, if you are busy making money to buy the world, you are the (private) Federal Reserve. Making money (or better, getting US taxpayers money) is something NASA has to do in order to be able to carry on with its business.

        --shmem 

        _($_=" "x(1<<5)."?\n".q·/)Oo.  G°\        /
                              /\_¯/(q    /
----------------------------  \__(m.====·.(_("always off the crowd"))."·
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[reply]

      Is NASA a business? I thought it was a government funded organisation. Ie. US tax-payer funded.

      To my way of thinking that makes NASA the very antithesis of a business, and so a very poor counter-example.

      Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
      "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
      In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
[reply]
        In the sense of a business being some establishment of an enterprise - commercial, social, whatever - NASA is business; but the idea-driven enterprise comes first; its accommodation into monetary cycles comes next, and is necessary for the enterprise to survive: it has to be of some value to society, commonly expressed through money.

        Which makes NASA a good example, for the form of ownership, organisation or ways to get at the money needed for the enterprise are irrelevant in this context.

        --shmem 

        _($_=" "x(1<<5)."?\n".q·/)Oo.  G°\        /
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");sub _{s./.($e="'Itrs `mnsgdq Gdbj O`qkdq")=~y/"-y/#-z/;$e.e && print}
[reply]

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