Change Management, Business Transformation, Continuous Improvement, Lean Six Sigma....the 'buzz' words have changed with time, but the concept has not. In order to compete in today's global business environment, you must constantly evaluate, improve and re-evaluate. Do an internet search and you will find a variety of methods that have become common methods for managing a change project. The challenge is that every project is unique and the prescribed format of whichever method the organization has chosen to use, may not work.
Rigidity in project management may be the downfall of the project. Having a change management framework that adjusts to the nature of the project will start the project on a positive trajectory. The Six Sigma methodology of DMAIC works nicely. Don’t let the term “six sigma” frighten you. The methodology works quite well for non-statistical applications including Information Management.
D=Define: Define your project.
Goals for the project: This includes defining your ‘desired future state’.
In Scope
Out of Scope
Resources: Human and technology
Project Champions
Timeline
M=Measure: This doesn’t always mean numbers! This is defining your Current State.
Map your current processes. The nature of the process and your project goals will define what this looks like and the type of information that is included on the map.
Create an Enterprise Data/Information Map.
Perform a Governance Assessment.
Establish what is and is not working for the organization, departments, and stakeholders.
A=Analyze: Time to evaluate everything you gathered in the Measure phase.
Create a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
Benchmark against a known Information Management standard
Perform a gap assessment against your ‘desired state’
I=Improve: Define the actions required to get to your future state. To plan for implementation, keep the following in mind:
Create an Action plan. Keep track of the status of all actions.
Timeline for implementation for each element. Breaking the project down into smaller elements can keep it from becoming overwhelming.
Perform a Risk Assessment. This is critical. Better to avoid issues before they even start.
Create a Training plan.
Create a Communication plan. How does your organization best receive information? Newsletters, intranet site, digital displays, etc.
C=Control: There are 2 elements to this phase: Governance and Follow-up
Governance – To ensure the new process is followed, be sure to implement appropriate policies and procedures clearly defining how things are to be done.
Follow-up – Perform surveys at intervals after implementation to find out what ‘is’ and ‘is not’ working. You may need to ‘fine tune’ things a bit once the process is in place.
This is a framework that works for change management. You need to choose which aspects apply to your project and then use them in conjunction with how your organization best adapts to change. Never use a 'tool' just to use it. The project dictates the approach, not the other way around.
IM Visibility is here to support organizations on the change management journey. Regardless of industry, the type of information, or the location of the information, we are here provide visibility to organizations’ greatest asset….INFORMATION.
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