The official deadline to enroll for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act passed last week, but the real deadline day has not yet arrived -- and it's unclear when it will.
That's because the Obama administration announced at the end of March that it would grant an extension to people who are having trouble securing health care through the federal marketplace. There is plenty of debate about the politics behind this announcement, but from the perspective of a technology company like Axiaware, it is clear that this news means the ACA and healthcare.gov are still experiencing technical difficulties.
And this high-profile, massive IT project, while painful for many, can provide some valuable insights into the realities of any IT project.
Did you read enough advice about New Year's Resolutions last month?
If you spend more than a few minutes online each day, you no doubt witnessed the cottage industry that materializes in late December and runs into mid-January. There are self-help gurus trying to sell their methods, advertisers who use resolutions as hooks to get you to try their goods or services, and bloggers who try to gain web traffic by riding a common search trend.
It's understandable — in fact, a year ago, I used New Year's Resolutions as a hook for a blog post. And most of what you read is well-intentioned: One of the aims of these posts is helping you achieve your goals.
Our company tries to help credit unions and banks reach their goals, so I can relate. But from the perspective of a consultative technology partner, it's apparent that there are a few things the "resolution experts" won't admit. Here's my short list of those omissions:
The last thing a financial institution embarking on a new technology project would want to do is gamble.
That said, a few lessons from America's premier gambling event apply quite well to development projects. I was reminded of this when I saw the latest World Series of Poker Main Event champion had been crowned (23-year-old Ryan Riess won the championship – and $8.4 million last November).
There are many playing styles that work for poker pros like Riess – some fold many hands before the betting turns heavy, while others fold very few. Some are aggressive and some are more conservative. But they all share some attributes that help them excel – and that make sense on a development project, as well.
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