Software Product Management - Role of Behavioral IT®

Abstract

“The proof of the pudding is in eating it”. The product will succeed only if people have successfully implemented it and benefitted from it.

Prem not only discusses the behavioral factors responsible for success or failure of IT product life cycle, but introduces a whole new field of research/study which he calls “Behavioral IT®”. Behavioral IT is a study into the people and behavioral aspects involved in all phases of an IT product or project. He feels that this subject should be researched and taught in colleges and management courses, just as Behavioral Economics and Behavioral Finance have found a rightful place in academics and research.

Though Behavioral IT is a vast subject and beyond the scope of detailed discussion in this paper, Prem introduces the concepts and refers to more articles and papers on this subject available on his website.

This paper is a result of research and analysis done not on theoretical papers but during my practical experience of over 30 years on ground having developed and implemented business solutions in the toughest of situations as a CIO. It is based on keen observations and methods developed in my over 30 years of work, methods practically tested and tried and positive results achieved from these methods. It is based on extensive discussions and interactions with app levels of people involved in IT projects, from CEO to the lowest clerk.

Keywords: People aspects of IT, IT Product Management, Software, Information System, Software Product, Behavioral Aspects of IT, Behavioral IT, IT-Driven Change Management, Psychology of Change, IT Soft-Skills, IT for CXOs, IT for Corporate Leaders, IT Strategy, IT Disruption

JEL Classification: L29, M00, M10, M12, M14, M15, M19, M20, M29, M30, M39, M40