The Gap between Developers and Stakeholders

It is still very common for IT projects to be defined, ran and implemented by technology-oriented teams with goals measured in number of computers, tele-centers, internet connections and number of users. As a result, 15 years into the Internet revolution, with billions of dollars invested by governments and international organizations, billions more invested by profit oriented companies and exchanging hands in competitive markets where large corporations and small business compete side by side to deliver services and products, we are still to see any significant reduction of poverty, advances in human development or real improvement in the living conditions of any large number of people.

In other cases, these teams are led by bureaucrats, social or academic researchers and consultants. But even when care is taken to observe a community’s behavior, assess its needs and ways, and document its longings and desires, much is lost when these diagnoses are done by outsiders who filter their observation through their own paradigms alien to the reality they are observing.

Until now, however, there has been little alternative. Those interested in the potential of ICT for human development, those engaged daily with the communities to be served and the beneficiaries themselves found themselves merciless to the jargon and complexities of setting up IT services and would hand themselves over to IT corporations and consultants to come up with solutions to address their needs.

But Information Technology is a wicked lady that enamors those who dare get too close and look at her in the eyes, all notion of humanity been subtly replaced by cool gadgets and features, unlimited, possibilities and infinite potential, completely alien to those still not enchanted by the tender witch of technology.

So, on one hand we have IT consultants and technical personnel who often lack the insight, skills and direction to delve into the reality of those they are meant to serve and discover the really important aspects that need to be addressed.

And on the other hand, we have stakeholders, common people, end users, beneficiaries and those targeted by IT initiatives, who usually lack the skills to contribute to the process of defining IT solutions to serve them and end up being recipients of technologies and services often alien to them and that miss the critical aspects of their reality.