Pinpointing Value

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Apparently, I left you hanging at the end of my Don’t copy paste post. A lot of readers have asked that I tell the story of the happy ending.

So here it is ...

How to avoid systems implementation failures

There’s a typical thread to implementing new business systems which I call Systems Implementation 101—list what’s wrong today, interpret this list as the requirements for the new system, find a platform that could do the job, partner with people who build what you ask for, build, test and go live. I’ve seen hundreds of projects that set out this way and my response is always the same—add four steps or you’ll miss the boat.

Here’s the graduate program:

Step 1—start with a clean slate

Set aside your starting point—the current system—right at the beginning. Assemble a team that represents all parts of your business that will own the success of the project. Have the team answer two simple questions:

  1. What is our business?

  2. What should our business become?

Step 2—now dig for gold

Conduct an exhaustive search of the ways this project can materially benefit your customers and employees, and the future of your business. This can be done in a day or less. Create a brief summary of how this project can contribute to what your business should become.

Step 3—for the rest of the project, trace every decision you make back to this list

Returning to your current system, assess the easiest way to meet the objectives defined in your gold list. A wholesale replacement is sometimes necessary, but do not undertake a revolution before you have ruled out more evolutionary paths.

Test approaches with a series of constraints:

  1. What can we achieve without making any changes to our current system?

  2. What can we achieve by only adding to what we have?

  3. What can we achieve by only replacing parts of what we have?

  4. What can we achieve by replacing our current system in its entirety?

Be sure to structure your approach as a series of improvements over time so you assess what you’ve learned at each phase and proceed with this new knowledge in hand.

Step 4—don't stop until you're done

Go Live is too often regarded as the end, when everyone can take a collective sigh of relief. In reality, implementation is only phase 1 of 3, the end of the beginning.

Phase 2, which I call Stabilization, is a period of months after you go live where you’re on call for unforeseen setbacks in production, and where you measure the achievement of the outcomes from your gold list. Expect that to take time, adjusting practices as you learn from the production experience. Three months minimum, sometimes a full year business cycle.

Phase 3 is steady state. You need to get comfortable at the outset that you know how this is going to work. You’re business will continue to change—how will that be reflected in your system, and who will do the work?

And how will you know when it’s time for the next implementation phase?

And so to the happy ending

Returning to the conversation in Don’t Copy Paste, my client recognized that her team had completed Systems Implementation 101 when she really wanted the graduate program. So we agreed to collaborate on the program. “I’m really scared of Step 3—did we miss the boat?” was her only reservation. Fortunately, Steps 1 and 2 are pretty rapid. When we got to step 3, we designed a series of retro-fits that delivered the goods.

My client’s team completed the graduate program in just a few months and are now counting the wins. They’re happy.

Your assignment

When would be a useful time for your team to complete steps 1 and 2 for your next initiative?

Remember—it only takes a few days and works whether or not you’re considering a major change.

If you missed these related articles, go back and take another look:

Don’t copy paste your business
Revealing value, one step at a time
Digging for gold

And by the way, my two simple questions are adapted from Peter Drucker’s three key questions. I recommend you look that up.