The Challenge
The CIO of a Fortune 500 wholesale club chain was concerned that a plan to evolve the IS organization into a more customer-focused entity had an unintended, negative effect on project and change execution.
He observed vast inconsistencies in the way different team members planned and carried out projects and system changes. He questioned the adequacy of the organization’s existing project lifecycle and change management standards, which in many cases, were no longer adhered to by team members. He enlisted Sophelle to assess the viability of the IS organization’s current project lifecycle, project management capabilities, and change management procedures.
Sophelle’s Assessment
Interviews with senior IS Management revealed that the existing project lifecycle was not consistently followed, and project managers took individual approaches to every project, resulting in various, inconsistent, and often poor project tracking, communication, and documentation methods.
In general, the organizational culture fostered an often imprudent focus on simply completing assignments as quickly as possible without fully considering all impacted parties or systems, or regard for general best practices. Ultimately, Sophelle collaborated with IS management to establish the following goals:
- Institute repeatable processes and achieve predictable outcomes
- Establish capability based on the organization, not the individual
- Optimize performance
- Increase visibility into project and change management processes
- Realize more efficient use of resources
- Achieve higher quality deliverables
Solution
To achieve the established goals, Sophelle managed a complete re-engineering of the organization’s project lifecycle and changed management procedures. With input from IS team members, and the strong backing of IS management, Sophelle clearly documented the lifecycle and changed management processes.
To facilitate the execution of projects and changes, Sophelle developed straightforward project management tools and templates, leveraging in-house technology whenever possible. Throughout the re-engineering process, Sophelle consultants conducted training sessions, guiding IS team members through the transition to a new, better project lifecycle.
Tools
- Created a comprehensive set of lifecycle templates for use in all projects including: Meeting Minutes, Meeting Agendas, Requirements Specification, Technical Design, System and User Test Plans, Project Milestone Checklists, Project Plan.
- Established centralized repositories and retention methods for all project and change related documentation, as well as lifecycle reference materials.
Technology
- Oversaw the development and introduction of a custom change management database used to track business plan projects, as well as production system changes.
Training
- Conducted regular training sessions with the entire IS organization on newly developed, tools, and technologies.
- Comprehensive lifecycle and change management documentation, as well as more focused, quick-reference “cheat sheets” made available to all IS team members.
Result
With new processes, better suited tools, and proper training, the IT organization could deliver on all fronts. Overall capabilities increased as IT executives and business users gained visibility into the progress on individual projects and the programs as a whole. Optimized processes improved staff and project efficiency while consistency throughout the organization allowed IT to offer predictable outcomes to the business – exactly what they always wanted.
Please contact Sophelle today for more information.
