A metaphor for "IT Projects"

This goes along with the Project Series posts, but is not the next post I planned to make.  But, I was very happy with this metaphor, which I am going to use to try to explain some things to management in my organisation.

Basically, my organisation deals with assets, so I started thinking about building projects and how I might be able to explain the importance of the end part of "IT projects".  The problem is that there is a perception (which is not unique to my organisation) in management that when the system is turned on the project is complete.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

So what is my metaphor?

Building a House

When you commence a project to build a house you know that the project ends when the house is complete and can be occupied.  When a project to implement a system is "complete" is a little more difficult but...

If you think of the "go live" date as the house being in lock-up stage then I'm hoping this will help the managers.  Basically, when a house gets to lock up from the outside it looks like a house, but it is really just a shell that still needs a kitchen, bathroom(s), painting, floor coverings, services connected and everything else to have it fitted out.  You don't close the project and redirect you building project manager to another build at this stage.  They are required to stay on board until a Certificate of Occupation (or some such documentation) is received for the building - that is when the project is complete.

IT Projects, or specifically projects that have an IT component, are exactly the same.  Go live is like getting a house to lock up stage.  The project still has a long way to go until completion.  The system needs to be bedded down, bugs need to be fixed, tweaks done, documentation completed, integration completed, training undertaken, support procedures put in place and a number of other minor tasks.  Whilst many of these should have been planned for and commenced during the development phase of the project, it is not possible to have them all complete and implemented by Go live.  Therefore, the Project Manager and project team still need to exist, maybe in a different configuration, until there is a sign off that the business has accepted the system, or is deemed occupied.

So that's my metaphor, I may even do a brief about it and if I do I'll put it into Slideshare and link back.