Problem: The Maintenance and Engineering function at your company has developed a reputation for doing things their own way and not seeking assistance from IT. Up until now this approach has been supported by the CEO. However, many of their recent undertakings at automation have cost the company dearly in dollars and time without any successes. The CEO has decided that he has had enough with this approach and assigned you the difficult task of assisting this group in selecting an application software package to manage their parts inventory.
How could you gain the confidence of this group even before starting the project?
To what level would you involve this group while taking the project through the SDLC steps?
Which steps would require special handling and why?
Do you believe this project has a chance of succeeding? Justify your answer.