Burden of Truth

  Estimating   ProjectsAtWork  

AFLAC's Center of Excellence makes sure IT projects don't spin wheels.

Benjamin Disraeli didn't know a thing about IT project management, but the 19th century British statesman is credited with coining a phrase that any project manager can relate to: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." In the current economic environment—where internal IT projects are under tremendous scrutiny to deliver solid returns and tangible benefits—avoiding the kind of statistical deception deplored by Disraeli is particularly important.

At supplemental insurance giant AFLAC, that task falls on the shoulders of Joe Weider, who runs the Fortune 500 company's Center of Excellence, a two-year-old project management office that functions as the nerve center for high-dollar and sometimes high-risk IT projects. Through the Center of Excellence, AFLAC has taken a hard line on the bottom line by adopting strict guidelines on how to determine a project's worth to the company.

In order to be considered a project with a tangible benefit, new proposals either have to generate revenue or contribute to cost savings such as increased efficiency or reduction of headcount. As Weider says, "That means you pretty much have to prove you will be able to hand a check to the CEO for exactly the amount that is in your tangible benefit column."

No Pie In the Sky

"A big part …

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