We are starting a new series with Project Management and Information Management professional, Liselle Ramcharan-Briscoe, who is taking us on an adventure into applying the fundamentals of information and project management for effective business management and development, by sharing a few of the learnings she has had along the way

 

As an individual who studied and worked in Software Engineering, I have always been enamored with the concept that technology is for the end users – to make their lives easier – to allow them to focus on creativity instead of repetitive, time consuming activities. When I see a tool that might be likened to a “4-car garage” being used to house a tricycle, I am less than impressed.

A couple of years ago, I was interviewed about my experience in data warehousing, and it was a poignant reminder for me of how much I enjoy data and what it can do to help a business. I was inspired to share what I have learnt from my data journey thus far and started doing so via LinkedIn. Now I have been given the opportunity to share my learnings with you via ICT Pulse. Join my adventure!

Before you can begin your data journey, you need to understand who should drive that journey and who the participants need to be for it to be a success.

Learning #1: Business should always drive technology

I recall one of my projects where we were adjusting the point in the process where a product could be sold. Reports needed to be generated to assess the effectiveness of the change. The architecture that supported the existing reports, was a mismatch of systems. Data came from various systems that were not fully integrated. This also meant that developers had to manually support the process. As such, making updates to that platform to incorporate the business’s needs was quite expensive. Making the changes necessary to generate the reports in that environment was literally throwing money away that the business did not have to invest, plus based on the benefits, not worth the investment. There needed to be a larger investment in the architecture instead of another “patch” to the existing infrastructure. Further, there were other ways that the business could get the results that they needed, perhaps not as fancy, but it would be sufficient to manage the product.

Be sure to understand the end user’s actual environment before building and/or making technology recommendations for the potential solution.

Technology is to enhance business. I love technology but business should always be the driver when it comes to the adoption of technology and the appropriate application of said technology. Ensure that the recommendation truly matches what is required to avoid distraction and users feeling overwhelmed.

And who is your end user?

The end-user is the final consumer of your product or service. You need to identify the people who will use this end result – including the persons who will provide the support for it.

For example, I recently signed up for a new application that allows easy access to my child’s school records. When I went into the school office to inquire about an irregularity with the records, the local school office administrator was not exposed to the application. No training was provided to administration, nor were they shown the application as part of the application rollout. Therefore, the administrator had no context to support me with my problem. This was not an upgrade to an existing application that parents and administrators were already familiar with. Shouldn’t it be obvious that parents would ask the school office if they encountered any issues?

Even in considering your end-user, you should consider your stakeholders – who are the people who are impacted by your application either directly or indirectly. Hence, as part of the stakeholder analysis for the school records application, local school office administrators should be identified as a group of persons who would be directly impacted when the application is fully implemented. Why? Because a parent will always have the expectation that the school knows everything that affects their children.

If in analysing the stakeholders, you realise that there are people who do not directly influence how you design your service or product, make sure that you have determined whether or not they do need to see, or otherwise interact with, the end result. For the local school office administrators, they should have been identified as a group that had to see the application, understand the limitations of its use and at minimum be able to provide some level of guidance to inquiring parents or guardians. Instead, a parent can be left slightly frustrated and the administrators feeling insecure.

Parting thoughts

As much as I love technology and new ground seems to be made almost daily, if a business cannot operate optimally at its core competency and make the money that it needs to turn a profit, or at the very least be sustainable, then they cannot be expected to make a heavy investment in technology. The technology has to be appropriate to the expected benefits, and therefore, return on investment. Let’s not try something new because there is a new toy on the market. The needs of the business should drive technology. Let the innovators keep developing the new technologies, but recognise that there is not a one size fits solution to anything.

Also, keep in mind the persons who are impacted by your product or service. When it comes to data, it is always your business but remember who else is involved. Finance? Accounting? Marketing? Take the time to analyse and understand the impacts. But remember, you don’t need that 4-car garage if you are starting with a tricycle. Don’t rush, get it right.

 

Image credits:  PublicDomainImages (Pixabay);  Pixabay (Pexels)