How to make your next IT project actually succeed – Business Focus Episode 10

If you stay in business long enough, you will end up owning an IT project.

A new CRM. A move to the cloud. A sales platform rollout. A SharePoint or intranet rebuild. Whatever form it takes, there comes a point where “we’ll get to that next year” stops working and change becomes unavoidable.

In this episode of Business Focus, host Brendan Ritchie sits down with Mia Tate, Microsoft Practice Lead at First Focus, to unpack what really makes IT projects succeed – on time, on budget, and with people actually using the thing you just invested in.

This article distils that conversation into practical lessons for business leaders who may not be “tech people”, but are responsible for outcomes.

Start with the problem, not the platform

The biggest trap? Jumping straight to the tech.

“We’re moving to SharePoint.”
“We’re implementing a new CRM.”
“We’re migrating to the cloud.”

That is not a problem statement. It is a solution looking for a use case.

Mia’s starting point is simple: before you talk about tools, get clear on the problems you are trying to solve.

A smart way to do that is to ask your people directly. If you already use Microsoft 365, she suggests sending a short Microsoft Form to everyone across the business – from frontline staff to managers and execs.

Keep it simple. Three questions is enough:

• What are your current pain points at work?
• When it comes to technology here, what do you think could improve?
• What is something you would like to learn or do more easily?

Do not lead the witness. Let people use their own language. Patterns will emerge:

• “I can’t communicate easily with my team.”
• “I never know where to find the latest version of documents.”
• “Onboarding new staff is clunky and inconsistent.”

Those themes become the definition of success. If the project is successful, those pain points should be materially reduced or gone.

Get genuine buy-in (and walk the talk)

Many IT projects are technically sound and culturally doomed.

Senior leaders announce “we’re simplifying” or “we’re optimising” but then quietly keep using the old system, bad-mouthing the new one in passing. People notice. If leaders do not use the new tools, no one else will.

Buy-in has two layers:

Cultural buy-in

• Leaders must “walk the talk”.
• They model the behaviours they are asking others to adopt.
• Their tone and habits either legitimise the change or undermine it.

Project team buy-in

• The right people need to be “in the room”.
• Not just IT, but real users: data entry staff, supervisors, managers, approvers.
• Diversity of roles leads to a more holistic, realistic solution.

And remember: you do not need to be deeply technical to add value. In fact, non-technical perspectives are often vital because they keep the project grounded in day-to-day reality.

Communicate and train from the very beginning

Most organisations treat training as the thing you do at the end.

Mia argues the opposite: introduce people to the tools at the very start of the project.

When users see early what a platform can do, two things happen:

• They start to connect the tech to their own problems.
• Natural champions “self-nominate” because they can see how it will help.

This early exposure also makes later training much more effective. People are no longer seeing the system for the first time in a one-hour session; they already have context and curiosity.

Communication should be:

• Early – start at project kickoff, not at go-live.
• Ongoing – updates, demos, Q&A sessions, feedback loops.
• Honest – including what the system will not do.

That last point matters. Do not just sell the dream. Be upfront about limitations so expectations are set correctly and disappointment is avoided.

Embrace continuous improvement without letting scope creep win

IT projects never really “end”. Platforms evolve. Businesses change. New needs emerge.

The goal is to separate continuous improvement from uncontrolled scope creep.

A healthy pattern looks like this:

• Stage 1: Solve the clearly defined problems and deliver the “must haves”.
• Stage 2 & 3: Tackle additional ideas and enhancements in future phases.

As people learn what a new system can do, they will naturally say:

• “Could it also do this…?”
• “What if we added that…?”

Those ideas are gold – but they belong on a prioritised roadmap, not bolted onto the current project mid-stream.

When you start moving the goalposts repeatedly, three things happen:

• Projects run over time and over budget.
• The original problems may never actually be solved.
• Fatigue sets in and support evaporates.

Capture ideas. Log them. Celebrate them. Then consciously decide what belongs now and what belongs later.

Be clear on limitations and manage expectations

Every technology has limitations. SharePoint is not a fully custom website CMS. Power Platform is not a replacement for every line-of-business application. Your intranet will not instantly fix broken processes or poor communication habits.

If marketing, for example, is involved in a SharePoint project, they may expect pixel-perfect control and advanced web features. Unless you address this upfront, they may only discover the constraints three-quarters of the way through, leading to frustration and friction.

Part of good project governance is explicitly answering:

• What will this solution do well?
• What will it not do?
• Where are we deliberately choosing “standard” over heavy customisation?

Clarity reduces disappointment and keeps the project aligned to its original purpose.

Never, ever cut training to save money

If there is one hill Mia is prepared to die on, it is this: do not cut training.

When budgets get tight, training is often the first line item people try to trim. On paper, it looks like an easy saving. In reality, it is one of the fastest ways to guarantee:

• Low adoption
• Workarounds and shadow systems
• Grumbling and perceived “failure” of the project

Good training is not just a single “train the trainer” session:

• It includes hands-on sessions for different user groups.
• It offers follow-up support and handholding after go-live.
• It is built into onboarding for new starters via an LMS or structured programme.

People will always find a way to “get by” without training. But they often do it inefficiently and unhappily. For a relatively small investment up front, you can avoid a lot of noise and rework later.

Protect your key people and learn from every project

Finally, even the best-designed project will struggle if the people driving it are exhausted and overcommitted.

Common issues include:

• The same person being the bottleneck across multiple projects.
• No clear understanding of how much of someone’s week is already taken up with BAU work.
• Project responsibilities being added on top of a full-time role with no adjustment.

As a leader, you can improve outcomes by:

• Being realistic about capacity and workload.
• Supporting project leads with time, resources and clear backing.
• Running retrospectives after projects: what worked, what did not, and why?

Every project teaches you something. Over time, you build better sizing, better governance and better instincts about what your organisation can handle.

Bringing it all together

Successful IT projects are not about “doing tech”. They are about:

• Solving real problems that your people feel every day
• Getting genuine buy-in from leaders and users
• Communicating and training early and often
• Managing scope and expectations with discipline and honesty
• Investing in people, not just platforms

If you are planning an IT project, or you are in the middle of one and feeling the strain, this episode of Business Focus with Brendan Ritchie and Mia Tate is well worth a listen.

They go deeper into real-world examples, SharePoint and Microsoft 365 specifics, and how First Focus supports organisations through these journeys.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation:
Business Focus – How to actually nail your next IT project (with Mia Tate, Microsoft Practice Lead, First Focus)

And if you would like help scoping, rescuing or improving an IT project – especially in the Microsoft 365 space – reach out to the team at First Focus or connect with Mia on LinkedIn.