Many of the processes and methodologies used in software development are neither necessary nor effective. They represent a substantial waste of funds and effort. They also represent an opportunity cost in terms of the information that ineffective and unnecessary software does not capture, analyse, or manage.
At the same time, software is not being used as it should to give effect to social justice by making mission-driven organisations and governments more efficient and better able to deliver on their objectives.
IT has a major role to play in improving lives at every level of society. For it to do so, however, a different attitude and a different industry culture is needed.
The waste conundrum
To start with, the hype about IT has to be discarded. It is, after all, just a tool; an extension of humans' ability to shape the world.
The hype arose because IT is a very powerful tool in the realm of information. Information is what changes lives. The key, though, is to target the tool extremely tightly, so the information can be used in ways that are beneficial, whether in terms of profitability or social justice.
The irony, of course, is that profitability and social justice shouldn't be two different concepts. The fact that people still think they are two concepts is a vital pointer to the way in which people waste money, time, effort, and opportunity.
As just one example: it is common knowledge now that popular access to cellular telephony increases GDP in emerging economies. Cellular operators can make extremely good profit supplying mass access. So, their perspective is commercial. Governments benefit from increased GDP and see that as a public sector benefit. Ordinary people get more contact with families and friends, share information, grow small businesses, and kick-start a grassroots groundswell of wealth generation.
All the outcomes of cellular technology are tightly interwoven and mutually beneficial, but the individual players see their own role as being discrete and focused on their own area of interest.
It's in the self-interest that the waste kicks in. Companies buy large generic software systems of which they'll never use more than 30%, because they try to cover all their strategic and operational bases at once. Governments do much the same, thinking they need large systems because they address a large stakeholder base.
Interestingly, inside the self-interest that causes technology waste lies the kernel of the kind of innovation that makes technology, and the software that drives it, advance the cause of business and humanity in an extremely efficient way.
Right conversation at the right time
For instance, in order for service delivery to be effective, it has to be relevant to government stakeholders. The only way to make it relevant is to understand the stakeholders. The best way to do that is to ask stakeholders what they want. And the quickest, most affordable, and most effective way to do that is to create mini surveys, based on yes/no questions, which can be answered on people's cellphones.
The irony, of course, is that profitability and social justice shouldn't be two different concepts.
However, all the benefits of mini surveys are lost if development of the underlying software takes years. Years in which the man and woman in the street begin to protest about lack of water, electricity, houses, healthcare and other services - and political parties lose credibility.
For companies, the same need for rapid turnaround applies when it comes to, for instance, rolling out a killer app that will get them to market first with a new offering. A lengthy software development process is not just a waste of money, it will cost the company market share.
Eating the elephant
Today, the only sensible type of software development is agile or continuous delivery. It gives organisations working software in a matter of weeks, if not days, in a process that is iterative, and therefore, ideal for continuous performance improvement.
So, for a municipality, instead of waiting to have an entire water management system developed, it can at least start measuring water reservoir capacity with an automated RFID system. This helps the municipality identify where the greatest water usage or leakage is, and management focus can be prioritised.
This, in turn, influences how the municipality develops its water management software further, ensuring it is directly relevant to the needs it now begins to understand it really has - as opposed to the ones it assumed it had.
Over time, because the municipality is continuously tightening the focus of its operations, it makes substantial operational savings on water management and can move on to, say, building more roads.
Agile software development is about sustainable development - eliminating waste and ensuring organisations acquire only those resources necessary for success.
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