How does the IT environment contribute to the success or lack of success in systems development processes?

I think it is obvious that a group or office that focuses on strong communication - both in sharing ideas and listening to those ideas - as well as having a focused and organized project leader are both huge benefits. There are a lot of good programmers out there and a lot of good designers, but not a lot of people that can easily communicate ideas, needs, goals, and other parts of the development process. Making sure that people are included in the plan, encouraging support within the group, and pushing communication are the ways I see it helping drive success. The same is true for the opposite  - a project can easily crash and burn if people aren't communicating or if the project manager isn't organized and can't keep track of what people are doing. I can also see how members of a development team who want their ideas done and don't listen to others can also be a huge hindrance in projects.

What aspects of the workplace might motivate people's acceptance of change

There are a lot of factors involved in motivating acceptance of change. Effective communication is key. The team needs to understand what is changing, why it is changing, and how it will impact them and the things they are doing. If there are unanswered questions or vague answers are given, it can cause unneeded stress/panic/confusion/frustration/anger/etc. Things such as office politics, as previously discussed, can play a huge part as well. By this I mean that people need to understand that this is a policy for the greater good, not to benefit one person or one group, and if it is - why.

I think most people don't want to work harder than they need to, so it's safe to say that implementing changes that will make people's jobs easier or more efficient are likely to be safe. The problems that I have witnessed have generally been due to changes that make people's jobs harder and less efficient with no real benefits other than to the person making the changes.

How often and in what ways might internal politics factor into project success?

Internal politics can factor into project success in many ways.

Examples: Competition within a project or with other groups can cause a lot of conflicts within an office, for example. Access to resources such as money, hardware, software, etc. for a certain project. Gossip and issues with co-workers or management can cause problems with communication, morale, productivity, and more.

Ultimately, office politics is a huge reason for the failure of many projects and can severely impact a work environment if not monitored and dealt with properly.

Chad as a project

For me, college has been a (very) long, ongoing,  "project". As I am a so-called non-traditional student, my goals and needs as a student may be somewhat different than others. Before transferring to Edgewood I spent a lot of time bouncing between programs trying to find pretty much anything I could tolerate not relating to computers, only to realize a long way down the road that computers and technology were my passion and interest. 

So, for now my goals include finding a niche that I enjoy. Developing my skills and knowledge in that niche. Networking with other students and professionals in the field in order to secure internships, learn more about the industry, and figure out a potential career path. Presently I am focusing heavily on finding an internship and figuring out what I am most interested in. 

As far as a timeline goes, I am currently in my 2nd year at Edgewood but I am technically a Junior. My hope is that I will have completed the first of at least 2 internships by the end of this year (2014), and have found a niche to focus on for the future. 

I am planning on graduating in May of 2016, but earlier if possible. As mentioned before, I hope to complete at least 2 internships before then or order to further my experience and skill sets. My goals after graduation would be to find full-time employment in the field and apply to graduate school for library and information science. 

My long-term goal is to work in an academic library as a library technologist, focusing on library websites, integrating technology into the library system, and developing technology related curriculum.