1. The case notes that a changing environment or business priorities can render an ongoing project obsolete even before it has been completed. What alternatives do CIOs who find themselves in this situation have with respect to dealing with the troubled project? Would you go ahead and finish it, or scrap it altogether? How would you justify either position?

2. Do you agree with the statement: “Application backlog is not a problem one solves; it’s a condition one lives with”? Why or why not? To the extent that it is true, how can IT executives manage things differently to make this situation more approachable? Provide some specific suggestions.

3. Susan Powers at World span say she addresses the backlog problem by positioning her IT organization as a resource that should be used and managed in the most effective manner, like any other resource a company may have. What do you think of this approach? Is IT really like any other resource?

4. in which way is IT different from other areas of a company like marketing or finance?

Everyone at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu wants some shiny new piece of technology. Doctors and nurses who have seen a new pharmacy management system demonstrated at a recent conference think the hospital should have it. An administrator wants his department to have PDAs for wireless access to e-mail. Someone else wants a hospital wide dietary management system but does not have the budget to fund it. All of these people want CIO and vice president of IT Ken Kudla to get it all for them.