Putting Together an ECM Project Team

Part 3 – The Project Team

In previous blogs on this same subject, we have discussed the role of Executive Management in the overall Project Team effort.  And what elements from the  internal organization would likely comprise an effective team.   In summary, vibrant and effective executive leadership is likely to be critical in solidifying the vision for the project.  The target of effort to achieve project acceptance and enthusiasm is cascading in that the focus of executive leadership is middle management.  The components of a project team may be different for each organization or type of organization – whatever best suites the particular organizational structure, and what special considerations there might be in the project (i.e. does it involve web content, collaboration, integration with ERP or SharePoint environments, etc.).

The Role of Line of Business Managers in the Project Team

As your project will likely either be addressing a limited requirement of a single department or two, or will be the start of an enterprise wide implementation of ECM, it is always recommended that it focus on a manageable quantity of work – normally one or two Departmental or workgroup solutions.  Enterprise wide ECM, ERM, and Business Process Management implementations usually start with one or two departments.   The Department(s) chosen for the Project are normally those where enthusiasm for improvements is high, cooperation is supportive, and where the business entity will benefit highly from the application of ECM technologies.

Starting with one or two areas that have been carefully selected based on their high potential for success and strong need for improvement, permits the rapid and clear demonstration of  ECM technology benefits – and that strong example can assist in the acceptance of the larger project to come across the enterprise.

Departmental management and supervisory involvement and strong support is crucial.  The organization’s line-of-business (LOB) managers understand the routine and cyclical “problems and challenges” of business operations.  They are operational experts within their areas of responsbilbity, know the character of the staff resources they have to work with, entity strengths and weaknesses, the potential to accept change, and what “change management” efforts should be implemented.   These LOB Managers and supervisors routinely “concentrate on organizational effectiveness through current processes” they will become the bridges that will carry the success of the ECM project forward into routine of daily work production.

The LOB Managers and other key supervisory or lead personnel need to be considered for the Project Team for either full involvement, or participation in the development of specific new process or workflow designs.

• They are most cognizent of what is done in their departments and why, what documents are received and how they are processed, the various sources of data (paper from internal and mail sources, voice mails, emails, internet provided input, etc.).
• They understand the decision criteria in the flow of work, the point where specific processes are needed, risks to successful processing, exception processing, and all the rest of the challenges that will need to be considered in a process design.
• They also know which other business areas need access to their documents and data.
• They usually have the only available insight into key details regarding operational systems, processes, and policies that support their organization’s mission.

When you apply ECM and BPM technology to an organization’s routine processes, you must have input and significant levels of planning participation from the managers and key personnel who are most familiar with operations so they can ensure that the new system will be successful in meeting objectives at all meaningful levels.  These people are needed to allow the project team to reach all objectives through consistent operational production.

From time to time this blog will continue with the subject of project team challenges, some considerations to remember, use of supporting vendor resources, and some recommended methods for implementation.

Neil W. Lindsey, ECMm, CDIA+

Project Manager / Senior Business Analyst
ImageSource, Inc.

Considerations for Architecture and Deployment of Global Capture Systems

 

The considerations for architecture and deployment of global capture systems are several fold. In our experience they include the traditional considerations and methodologies (software deployment models, conventional server models, fault tolerance considerations, human resource considerations, change management, etc.), however, in the global context there is another set of considerations that must be factored into the decision making processes. Regardless of the quality or nature of the software, there are myriad factors (independent of the software application) within any global corporation that can and will affect how that software is implemented and how it performs in any given region of the world. The ability to implement quickly and efficiently is tied directly to the organization’s communication structure, reporting structure, internal politics, policies and procedures, physical infrastructure, and the relationships that exist between the various IT support groups and the business. Any distributed applications performance can be impacted by the network, security configurations, load balancing systems, WAN Acceleration systems, and all of the rest of the traffic traversing those global backbone and regional networks. Many of these factors can and often are completely beyond the control of the customer’s project teams, and those that do control them often have completely different reporting structures within the organization.

Having a clear handle on the state and configuration of the existing environment combined with well managed Command and Change Control structure and a central hierarchy of authority that can be used for escalations is vital to the ability of ground teams to implement, troubleshoot, correct, adjust, optimize and complete rollouts in a predictable, consistent and timely manner.

Most of these factors are never fully known or understood until the teams are well into the planning stage of a given project. There are several ways that any global rollout can be approached from our perspective. Our preference is to work closely with your teams to understand the traditional factors as well as the lesser known and intangible ones so that together, we can arrive at the most effective, efficient and reliable ways to implement for each given region of the world. In our experience we have also found that being flexible as a combined team in our approach can help to ensure successful outcomes at the end of the day. We have to plan based on the information available at the time. As new information becomes available, we work together as necessary to modify the plan to achieve our stated goals and objectives for the implementation and to satisfy the needs of the users. At the end of the day, from a users perspective, it just has to work.

Gene Eckhart

Program Manager

ImageSource, Inc.

  

City of Richland – InfoWorld Top 100 IT Projects Recognition

 

The City of Richland, was recognized as a top IT project for 2009 by InfoWorld!  Every year, the InfoWorld 100 Awards celebrates 100 IT organizations that have implemented and integrated technologies in innovative ways in pursuit of concrete business goals.  

“The City of Richland streamlined its operations, launching an ECM initiative in partnership with ImageSource, integrating technology from Oracle, ABBYY, Cardiff, and ImageSource ILINX to automate workflow and transitioning the city away from paper-based processes.”

I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to have been assigned as the ImageSource Project Manager for this.

The project went smoothly from start to finish. We were fortunate to have been able to work with a project manager from the City of Richland who had been the project manager for the previously completed ECM implementation at the City of Kennewick. Having had a great working relationship and understanding of business processes already established helped move the project along efficiently and effectively. It was especially evident and proven to be most effective during the discovery and solution design stages of the project.

As in all projects there were some hurdles and obstacles to overcome. During the project execution phase the main architect of the solution had moved on to another position and we also had a new Assitant City Manager come on board. The new Assistant City Manager eventually took on the project management role for the City. The project continued on without missing a beat.

Because we use a well documented methodology, a well documented project plan, and we have exceptional people, the transition to a new systems architect and a new City project manager was near effortless. The systems engineer had a clear picture of what needed to be accomplished and the new Assistant City Manager was able to quickly grasp the solution and what business needs were being addressed.

It all goes to having excellent people around you and a great plan!

Al Senzamici, PMP
Program Manager
ImageSource, Inc.

  

ECM Best Practices – Green Support

Enterprise Content Management Solutions
– Remote and Mobile Employees

Many of today’s business discussions revolve around the fact that providing select employees with the ability to work from home, in a mobile environment, or otherwise more independently, is a positive factor towards fostering conservation and a “GREEN” initiative.  Considering the integrated component benefits of a well conceived and implemented Enterprise Content Management System (ECM), with the right employees selected for a remote work environment, this green initiative can also promote a highly efficient and productive business environment.

Employees that successfully work from home or on the road as much as they do in the office are likely characterized by desirable core competencies.  This is nothing new and these strong employee qualities have always been required of the person working independently from constant co-worker and management relationships and support. 

Successful remote employees are oriented towards achieving results, and as such, as a group they can be described as being self-motivated, self-disciplined, and as self-sufficient as their supporting infrastructure will allow them to be.   “Remote” employees very often maintain a strong client focus and spend a lot of time working at client sites, communicating with clients, and seeking new clients. 

In order to give the successful remote employee the best opportunity to be as productive as they can be, and promote an organization’s green initiative,  that organization can develop the information management and communications infrastructure that fosters collaboration and information self service.  This also prepares an organization to address the current business trend towards more remote employees.  This developed business structure can also support instances where employees are able to work, but have to do that work away from the office due to illness, convalescence, family emergency, transportation problems, etc.

In addition to the infrastructure, it is important to implement a training program so that these resources are known to the remote employees and they are well trained in making the most of them.

The following are among those driving guidelines that support effective mobile and remote employees:

• Digital information and content are increasingly pervasive and require well developed broadband technologies and services.  Remote employees must be provided with required independent information access and research needed for commercial, client, and business awareness.  ECM Benefits contributing towards a green initiative and remote employee support include:
  • ECM – Customer and business information access through web based document and image management
  • ECM – Research and document re-purposing through web based document management
  • ECM – Work and transaction processing continuation through web based workflow processing
• Group and teamwork oriented communications channels are instrumental to effective and collaboration between the remote employee, clients, co-workers, and management, and to providing effective remote presentation resources.  Integration of Collaboration Management and web based meeting services with compatible ECM systems provides a productive team environment contributing to a focused energy and natural resource conservation effort.
• Businesses (and individuals) must effectively communicate on the move and be supported by personal mobile communication technology and web services.  Personal mobile devices now provide a technology that not only communicates between people, but also communicates information to people using compatible web based Enterprise Content Management systems.
• Data submission and resolution tool resources allowing for information communication and independent problem solving must be provided to the remote employee dependent upon business type and objectives.  Digital Forms Processing and Management systems, a major component of many ECM systems, can provide effective solutions.

Neil W. Lindsey
Project Manager / Senior Business Analyst
ImageSource, Inc.

Attend the following GREEN oriented sessions at
NEXUS 2009, November 2nd, 3rd, 2009, Bellevue,
Washington

Finding the PR Value in your Green ECM Technology
Reducing Your Organization’s Cost and Carbon
Footprint Through Inter-Office Scanning
Economical & Environmental Benefits of eForms

Managing Project Teams – Guidelines for Giving and Receiving Feedback

Guidelines for Constructive Criticism/Feedback

In the course of managing our projects there comes a time in our personal interactions where the project manager will have to provide feedback and may even have to say something negative to the person they are dealing with. There may also be the case where they have to say something negative to say to you. I prefer to call it constructive criticism/feedback rather than negative but many people refer to it as negative. You may find that many people become embarrassed, distressed, and even angered by this criticism/feedback. Too often relationships can become strained and work can even be disrupted. However, there are some people who are able to transform these moments into opportunities for success. They are able to take this information and enhance their work skills, relationships and continue to advance, develop and grow professionally.

The Guidelines:

1.       Acknowledge the need for criticism/feedback

It is the main way to know what things need to improve. It is vital to the success of the project team and its members. Giving and receiving criticism/feedback should become the “culture” of the project team.

It is very important that the team should agree that giving and receiving feedback is an acceptable part of how you will work together and continuously improve as a team.

 2.       Provide both positive and negative criticism/feedback

“Catch” people doing things right as well as when something goes wrong. Reward and remember to tell people when they are doing things right. You want that to continue. People will be more receptive to your negative comments if they have also been accustomed to your positive comments. It shows that you are truly trying to work towards improvement.

 3.       Understand the context

Before proving feedback be sure you review the actions and decisions that led up to the event that you will be providing feedback on. Understand the circumstances completely.

 4.       Know when to give feedback

Determine when the moment is right. Are you ready to give the criticism? Is the person ready to hear it?

Do not give feedback when:

• You don’t know a lot about the circumstances
• You don’t care about the person or will not be around long enough to follow up on the aftermath of your feedback
• The feedback, either positive or negative, is about something the person does not have the power to change
• Your purpose is not really improvement
• The time , place, or circumstances are inappropriate, i.e. you are angry or others are around

5.       Know how to give feedback

Use a tool like:

When you [do this], I feel [this way], because [of such]. What I would like you to consider is [doing X], because I think it will accomplish [Y]. What do you think?

Example:

When you are late for meetings, I get angry because I think it is wasting the time of other team members. I would like you to consider finding a way to better planning your schedule so you can get to meetings on time. This way our meetings can be more productive and we are not wasting the time of others. What do you think?

• Be descriptive - give specific examples
• Don’t use labels – avoid labels like unprofessional, irresponsible, and immature. Describe the specific behavior and drop the label.
• Don’t exaggerate - To say “You are always late for deadlines” may not entirely accurate.
• Don’t be judgmental - Don’t use words like “good”, “better”, “bad” or “should”. You don’t want to appear to be in the role of a parent.
• Speak for yourself – Don’t refer to absent or other people. Don’t use comments like “a lot of people here don’t like it when you….”
• Talk first about yourself, not the other person - People become defensive with that usage. Use phrases like “I feel annoyed when you are late for meetings” rather than “You are frequently late for meetings”.
• Phrase the issue as a statement not a question – Use statements like “I feel annoyed when you are late to meetings” rather than “when are you going to stop being late for meetings”. Most people become defensive and angry with a question. The use of an “I” statement implies “I think we have an issue we must resolve together.”
• Restrict your feedback to things you know for certain – Speak of what you have seen and heard not what you feel and want. Don’t present opinions as facts.
• Help people hear and accept your compliments when giving positive feedback – Some people tend to feel awkward about positive feedback. Reinforce positive feedback even when the person says “it was no big deal”.

 6.       Know how to receive feedback

There may be times when you will receive feedback from someone who does not know the guidelines. Help your critic provide the feedback by asking “What did I say or do to dissatisfy you?” then take it from there.

When reacting to feedback:

• Breathe – Taking full deep breaths forces you to relax and allows the brain to stay alert.
• Listen carefully – don’t interrupt. Don’t discourage the criticism.
• Ask questions for clarity – ask for specific examples if you don’t get them.
• Acknowledge the feedback – repeat back what you heard in your own words so the person knows you understood.
• Acknowledge valid points – agree with what is true and what is possible. That does not necessarily mean you agree to change the behavior.
• Sort out what you have heard – you may need to take some time to sort out what you have heard before responding. Check with others if needed. However, don’t use this as an excuse to avoid the feedback.
• Don’t be defensive – take the feedback for just what it is feedback. Do not try to defend or justify yourself on each point. Again, just listen.

Al Senzamici, PMP
Program Manager
ImageSource, Inc.