Dear Bob ...I read this week's Keep the Joint Running, "KJR Manifesto - Core Principles" (April 10, 2006), and I have a quibble.When, in Guideline #5, you say there are no IT Projects, I say maybe, but maybe not. There are certainly IT efforts that consume over n00 hours and are changes to ongoing operations. An example would be a technology refresh of DB2 for zOS from V7 to V8. If you say this Dear Bob …I read this week’s Keep the Joint Running, “KJR Manifesto – Core Principles” (April 10, 2006), and I have a quibble.When, in Guideline #5, you say there are no IT Projects, I say maybe, but maybe not. There are certainly IT efforts that consume over n00 hours and are changes to ongoing operations. An example would be a technology refresh of DB2 for zOS from V7 to V8. If you say this is all ‘support’, well then your support costs look really huge, and when the business compares you to outsourcer du jour (who doesn’t include version upgrades as part of their support) you come out looking bad. – I run IT projectsDear Runner …You raise an important issue, and it’s one we will have to wrestle to the ground. It’s a subset of the larger question of how to deal with investments in technical architecture. In just about every case I can think of, the business does end up benefitting, but not in a linear way. Instead, the benefit is in comparison to the alternative of failing to invest in architecture, which over time makes the business situation untenable. Take your situation – the DB2 upgrade. It’s an excellent example of pay-it-now-or-pay-it-later. You can skip an upgrade. You can usually skip two upgrades. Every time you do, though, you add cost, time and risk to the process of testing and modifying applications so they run properly on the new release. The business has to pay the cost, lost time and increased risk.So I’d say that in principle your example isn’t in conflict with the guideline. It is, however, harder to explain to business managers.Which is the big challenge with investing in technical architecture. Which in turn is an example of Guideline #3, Relationships Precede Process. – Bob Technology Industry