The system went live in March. Two teams still keep the spreadsheet.

A shadow spreadsheet surviving a system go-live is rarely defiance. It is usually the most precise requirements document anyone in the business has produced.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The system went live in March. Two teams still keep the spreadsheet.

Six months after go-live, the implementation is signed off, the consultants have invoiced, and two teams are still maintaining the spreadsheet they were told the new system would replace. The usual reading is a training problem, or a culture problem, or a stubborn individual who won’t let go. That reading is comforting because it is cheap to fix. It is also, most of the time, wrong. A shadow system that survives contact with a new platform is doing a job. The useful question is not why people won’t stop, but…

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