Scenario management from reactivity to proactivity

Scenarios have a far greater potential to help organizations boost preparedness, manage multiple systems, and anticipate the consequences of their actions. In the IT world, project managers react to rather than proactively counter new developments. In other areas of system development (such as education, training, and development) and system maintenance, scenario use is nearly nonexistent. When applied appropriately, scenarios can improve planning and provide training that can help reduce costly on-the-job mistakes. Instead of tossing inexperienced managers into the IT project shark tank, an organization can have them work through complex and realistic scenarios in training sessions, learn how to deal with the issues, improve their knowledge and experience, and then take on a real project. This approach can significantly lower the probability of costly on-the-job hiccups and increase the communication skills - who needs to know what and when - that managers sorely need when a project goes awry.