It's not knowing your process that causes trouble
I almost agree with AC 21:33. I see the real problem to be that Senior Management have a limited, rose-colored vision of what the actual processes are and, thus, are easily persuaded by even a novice sales rep about the ease with which processes and shrink-wrapped computer programs can be made to function completely in harmony. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the charlatans who promise to move existing processes into custom 1's and 0's in little or no time and expense.
SM don't like finding out all the dirty little details that comprise their smoothly running enterprise. They don't want to know that when Sherry from Shipping is out sick, nothing makes it onto the loading docks. They cannot stand the shock of learning that when Peter from Purchasing is away, orders aren't being sent out to support manufacturing. All of those Company Procedures Manuals that were created at great expense haven't been opened in aeons because the people actually doing the work have created their own processes and interfaces, and no computer system can pick up on the nuances of the actual environment. This means that entering into custom software development agreements without first thoroughly understanding and documenting existing methods and processes is a recipe for disaster. SM seem to consider collecting the necessary information to make rational decisions to be an expensive luxury and waste of time. Instead, they prefer to toss money down the crapper and then resort to lawsuits in a vain attempt to cover their own incompetence. Unfortunately, Boards of Directors are too lazy - or incompetent - to exercise their fiduciary responsibilities in matters of this type.
At the risk of prolonging this semi-rant, the other side of the coin is trying to insert computer programs into the processes in order to supplant an increasingly ignorant and lackadaisical labor pool. Then again, this point seems too obvious to require elaboration. So I won't. Prolong it..
CV: I have been employed as an engineer by one of the world's largest corporations and as SM for one of the smallest (my own). I have been in the midst of documenting processes to obtain ISO9000 certifications and making decisions about which software packages will fulfill realistic needs.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
