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Consultant opinion
How to implement IT so IT works
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We have seen many of our customers come to us and looking for answers to how they could implement IT in such a way that both the organization and they could draw the best benefits from them. Due to the financial implications and the people issues any IT implementation brings up, much care should be awarded. In this article I will try to outline some of the barriers most commonly encountered in IT implementation projects - and some ways to deal with them.
Know your strategy. First of all, know very well why and how you plan to implement a new IT system and how this plan fits in your organization's overall strategy and business development approach. Only after that decide which system will suit you best.
Communicate your plan. Prepare to communicate the implementation at all levels of the organization. Do not assume the sole communication the new system will be implemented will drive your people crazy with pleasure. Technology usually doesn't sound that good, because it encompasses the fear for change, the fear for losing the job and the fear for not being able to fulfill the new expectations of the organization.
Prepare a detailed communication plan and outline all communication activities you will undertake. This includes communication deliverables, such as brochures, posters and official letter templates. They should all be presented to senior management and approved, before the communication actually takes place.
Train the users. Make sure you have on your radar all the users who need to be trained, along with their respective responsibilities. It makes little to no sense to train all people in using the new system, because of the considerable effort it becomes once the users exceed a certain number limit.
Pay attention to your budget. It is one thing to be out for shopping and not have enough money and a completely different thing to want to buy 16 database servers and only afford 14. Financial limitations are usually very unpleasant, so that you will need to keep a good eye on your project's financial outlooks. They generally enforce a balance between quality and time deployment. If your organization insists on a quick implementation, make sure you get the best resources available and expect costs to be higher; if your focus is on keeping costs low, at least make sure your critical areas are well-staffed, before cutting costs in other project areas (such as marketing and communications or wave deployment of training).
Maintain at all times a good relationship with your IT vendor. Many IT projects fail because of the vendor's inability to deliver on time and in budget. In an IT project, the vendor is generally expected to participate in the implementation with an own project manager and see to the deployment of one project plan only. It is highly advisable that the organization has an own project manager to coordinate all internal resources in order to make the implementation a success.
Achieving success in the User Acceptance Testing. Many IT projects don't even get to be implemented, because they fail the User Acceptance Test. It may either be that the business sets high expectations on system features that have no chance at succeeding (such as achieving 24/7 connectivity over GPRS in a remote geographical area). The items tested in the User Acceptance Testing should function at or above level for all the critical items, but don't get lost in details - or you'll make sure the implementation doesn't even start.
Prove the quantifiable benefits of the implementation. Given the overall organizational strategy, a sound business case should always emerge to make sure objectives are set SMARTly. Make sure it covers the benefits in a tangible manner - offer figures to prove that the IT implementation either helps the organization make more money, cut losses or otherwise improve the overall efficiency.
Ensure that you have the support of the top management in the implementation. Usually, due to the high level of financial resources it encompasses, any IT implementation is considered an investment project and is thus monitored through either the company's Project Management Office or the project manager reports directly to the top management about the status and results of the project. The absence of top management support can mean the lack of leverage in acquiring project resources from the involved departments, blocking the financial resources (through lack of sign-off of expenses) or even the overall stop of the project, if it doesn't pass the safety gateways of the organization.
One can ensure the support of top management by writing and supporting a sound business case and by continually keeping them informed about the status and involving them in the decision-making process within the project.
Recruit and retain talented staff. This is a critical aspect of any IT implementation - and relates mainly to the organization's own staff. More often than never, companies implementing IT forget to build up internal capacity to keep the system up and running. Many of the people already in the organization have the best knowledge available and should be helped, both by the implementation consultants and by their own management, to make the transition to an IT organization. As people often fear change and technology in particular, this transition should be supported by top management and enforced by business process training courses with the consultants and with business people. Not only does this eliminate fear and stress regarding the role and fitting in the new organization, it also brings a sense of belonging to the new - old organization.
Any IT implementation is tricky so make sure you handle it well, in such a way that people, processes and underlying systems maintain their normal functionality. Always remember though: implementing IT is not only about technology: business should drive the use of systems and not the other way around. The only sustainable value can be added by people.
Dana Timar,
Ensight Consultant
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