The Requirements.net series “The Economy and the Business Analyst” continues with a special edition Podcast interview with Theresa Lanowitz, CEO and Founder of voke Inc.

In this requirements.net exclusive podcast, Theresa discusses a rather unconventional report (titled: Fortune 500 Spending Required for IT Cost Savings” - get it here. ) which looks at the economy and smart moves for IT.

In this report, the voke research team makes some very interesting reminders about the fall out of the dot-com bubble bursting, and the lesson’s from IT’s reaction in 2001 and 2002.

The voke research teams make some important recommendations which tie directly to Business Analyst empowerment and investments in requirements definition as a critical element to surviving the IT downtown.

The Podcast is 40 minutes of a fact-based, fresh dialog on efficient outsourcing, IT virtualization, lifecycle management, and the importance of the BA and requirements.

Here is a teaser from the Podcast:

Keith Barrett : As you know, we are doing a Podcast series that looks at how IT spending for business analyst empowerment is becoming a critical area in the new economic reality.

Theresa Lanowitz: Yes, and thanks for having me on the Podcast. In this environment, it is essential for enterprise IT organizations to really understand the importance of getting requirements right from the beginning. Getting requirements right saves precious resources and drives time-to-market efforts.

Keith Barrett : Just before Thanksgiving, voke released a new body of research entitles “Fortune 500 Spending Required for IT Cost Savings”, which is really well timed given the uncertainty that exists. Can you tell us a little about what drove this report?

Theresa Lanowitz : The driving force behind this research is the agreement and acceptance that software truly does run the business. And, to keep the business running and being competitive, IT must continue to be engaged with the line of business AND IT must be funded. We all recall what happened during the last economic downturn in 2001/2002 – IT budgets were slashed, all spending stopped and consequently all innovation stopped. Arguably, as an industry, we are just recovering from the last economic downturn. As an industry, we have to continue to look forward, continue to innovate, and above all support the business.

Matt Morgan: One of the things that truly differentiates your research is how fact-based your sample-pools are. Would you tell us about some of the conversations that were held when you were researching your report?

Theresa Lanowitz: In the “Fortune 500 Spending” research we were able to pull from our extensive market research in different segments. Over the course of each year, we conduct market surveys and speak to a wide variety of executives, managers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, software vendors, service providers, etc. All of the data we capture during our interview process with each person is tabulated and analyzed to present solid data to the market.

One of the interesting data points we highlight in the “Fortune 500 Spending” comes from our Market Snapshot about the role of the BA. We asked people about whether or not completed projects met the needs of the user:

• 37% responded YES
• 60% responded NOT AT ALL or SOMETIMES

And anecdotally, survey participants told us that end users were “relieved” to have the project over even though their needs were not being met.

Matt Morgan: You make an interesting point about CFO’s making business and technology decisions… and how we have “seen this before” and we are still paying the price. Can you elaborate on this?

Theresa Lanowitz: During the economic downturn just after Y2K, we saw all IT spending cease. Any small amount of money that was spent by IT came under the severe and often singular scrutiny of the CFO. The CFO was the ultimate decision maker about when, where, and how any limited IT funds were spent. In most cases, the CFO did not consult with the CIO or line of business. The decision was purely based on cost, not IT or business need or innovation.

Consequently, the CFO driven spending stifled business and IT innovation. One example of CFO focused spending was the decision to move to an outsourcing model in an effort to eliminate IT vs. complement IT. This cost only decision was fraught with flaws. We cannot have this same type of isolated spending cuts. And, of course, we will have IT spending cuts, but the cuts must be strategic and examined to make sure the business will not suffer.

The Podcast is a free download - exclusively through requirements.net.

Get it here.