The information systems of large organisations have uncanny parallels with life. Even when planned and longed for, systems, like people, can go off the rails, take unscheduled detours and turn out quite differently from expected.
Before embarking on your next big rollout, look out for common problems in my guide to creating information systems that work
Anticipation and birth / Preparation and launch
A couple planning to have a child is much like an organisation looking to build a new information product; a baby can complete a relationship in the way a website or database will close the strategic loop for business.
Like the happy parents-to-be preparing for the birth of their child, organisations plan, strategise and put great effort into marshalling resources for the big launch. It’s such an exciting time! There’s an almost tangible fizz about what the system will do and the problems it will solve.
Like the unborn child on whom the parents’ hopes are writ large, information products are keenly anticipated with last minute issues tolerated and managed without hassle. Champagne corks fly at the launch and, like a newborn, everything is just perfect.
Early years / Peak engagement
Ahhhh… the innocent child. In the early years, their personality emerges and they start to put the puzzle pieces of language and life in order. They push boundaries and start speaking up as they make their mark in the world.
As with the adorable child, during the first weeks and months after launch, everyone is still in love with the new information product. Colleagues are playing by the rules, content is tidy and fits the templates, nothing is too much trouble. Non-standard requests are happening, which is ok; it’s just pushing boundaries. Isn’t it?
But like the child who hits the terrible twos and starts stamping her feet, grumbles from the disaffected start to be heard in the company corridors. Customer support calls haven’t fallen like they were meant to. It’s still taking too long to make updates. And why do we have to do it your way? After the warm glow of launch, the spotlight is starting to feel a little harsh.
At school / The slow unraveling…
School for a child is a world of learning. And temptation. Her natural curiosity leads her down many alleys, some darker than others. Her learning is affected and grades start to drop.
Our shiny new information product is also starting to look unsure. Having launched with only a cursory measurement framework, management has no way of knowing why the numbers aren’t up. Is it because of the domain name change to the website? Or the new CRM system we put in at the same time?
Before too long, the customer support team has created (unofficial) social channels to plug the gaps. The warm, collegiate feelings from launch day are now long forgotten. After such a glorious start, hopes have slowly withered and the organisation has settled into a disappointing trough of acceptance.
Teenage counseling / Content therapy
Before our child becomes completely lost, an understanding teacher spends some time with her, offering guidance and counsel, and together they embark on a path to help her find her way.
More dramatically, the company leaders in charge of the information product pull the plug. They finally realized that the product needed clearer objectives and more robust guidance; that they’d failed to communicate what they wanted it to deliver, how this would happen and who would do it.
Fortunately, as with our teenage tearaway, help is at hand. The company chiefs identify colleagues from across the organisation with a vested interest in making the new system succeed, and empower them to make the necessary changes. Working closely with internal stakeholders, suppliers and vendors, the group designs a governance model that draws together loose threads, and gets the product back on track.
Within 12 months, everyone is happy: across the organisation, people know what’s happening with the product, numbers are up, calls are down. And stakeholders understand that when the digital team, like a good teacher, says no, they just mean there’s a better way.
Learn more about why you need strategy to manage content at IEn2016.
Content strategist
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