1. Why do you think the practices described in the case led to success for these companies?
2. How do they change the structure of projects so that the likelihood of a positive outcome increases?
3. In the case of Shaw Industries, how did Scrum help?
4. Provide three specific examples from the case, and explain where and how those activities helped the company move their projects along.
5. Using examples from the case and your own understanding of how those worked, can you distill a set of recommendations that companies should follow when managing technology-based projects? Would these be universal, or would you add any limitations to their applicability?

Managed care provider Centene has just finished deploying a new financial system. CIO Don Imholz says the project, which involved multiple PeopleSoft modules as well as financial planning and reporting software from Hyperion, was completed “very quickly”— in 12 months—and on budget.