Stage 8 – Managing the implementation

the implementation phases once the preferred supplier has been selected. It has been split into six steps and builds on Stage 2 of the toolkit. At Stage 8 each agreed implementation phase needs to be planned and managed with the preferred supplier to ensure that both sides carry out their roles and responsibilities to the full, so that the requirements are met. Stage 8 also builds on Stage 4, Step 2, where a proposed implementation plan was reviewed. Stage 8 assumes that the project team has agreed to that seven- phase implementation plan.

Step 1 covers project initiation following award of contract to the preferred supplier

Step 2 covers Phases 1 and 2 of the implementation plan Step 3 covers Phase 3 of the implementation plan Step 4 covers Phases 4 and 5 of the implementation plan Step 5 covers Phase 6 of the implementation plan Step 6 covers Phase 7 of the implementation plan.

Fig 5.10

Determine your requirements for collaboration and BPM suites

Fig 5.11

Procuring the solution (JISC)

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Chapter 5

5.9.1 Stage 8, step 1 – Project initiation

Do not aim to achieve too much at the first project initiation meeting after the award of contract. This will be the first meet- ing after the formal procurement and contract stage so it provides an ideal opportunity for both sides to really meet each other and also provide additional background information to each other.

The aim is to go through the project plans and project structure, the roles and responsibilities and agree the high-level timetable for Phases 1–3 and the meetings needed to complete the key tasks.

By the end of the meeting, roles and responsibilities should be clarified and a schedule of meetings should be mapped out. A contact list should be drawn up and logistical issues resolved including where the supplier team will be based when on site, etc.

5.9.2 Stage 8, step 2 – Phases 1 and 2 Phase 1

Phase 1 will involve a series of meetings and workshops between the project team and the preferred supplier. These will provide an opportunity to go through all the requirements for the core system in the ITT, and the ‘model office’ requirements in particular, and through all the relevant responses in the supplier’s tender to agree how best to meet the requirements with the chosen platform.

The preferred supplier will have his own methodology to follow and, provided this includes all the tests and checks required, the organisation can follow this approach. Key milestones that both parties should document in the project plan should include:

Dates for workshops and meetings Date for draft specification Date for agreed specification

Date solution ready for supplier testing in their environment Date for model office solution to be brought on site Date for user training sessions

Date for user groups to trial model office and give feedback Date for formal acceptance test.

Phase 2 – Model office

Once agreed it is the responsibility of the organisation to make available the space required to set up the model office. If the organisation is purchasing the hardware specified by the supplier then the two sides need to agree the logistics of this.

It is vital that the team and the designated users are trained before being asked to participate in formal testing. The specifica- tion should detail the procedures and scripts that will be used for the test. It will specify the responsibilities of the organisation and criteria that will determine whether or not the test is acceptable.

At the end of the model office the plan should allow for feed- back sessions and both parties should agree what changes are needed to the core system specification and document them.

5.9.3 Stage 8, step 3 – Phase 3

Well in advance of the start date for the pilot, the change man- agement and communications plan needs to be initiated and the project team need to start holding workshops with the users in the pilot department and their RM support.

The staff in the pilot department must be fully informed and trained in the scope, objectives and operation of the pilot. The following should be clearly stated: the number of users to be given access to the system during the pilot; the business

processes to be covered in the pilot; whether the solution is being implemented on a ‘day-one-forward’ basis or whether it will include digitising paper relating to ‘active cases’.

There should be a clear indication of how the new solution will integrate with desktop office application software and the line of business application/s used by that department. It should also be explained what will happen at the end of the pilot – how the solution will be rolled out in the department and the support that will be available at all stages.

Dates should be set for user training and agreement should be reached with the RM support staff on how the folders in that department will be set up on the system to fit into the file plan, and the processes they will go through to capture new docu- ments, retrieve existing documents, etc.

Finally, staff in the pilot department should be given a go-live date and a plan for floorwalking support for the agreed period, followed by a switch over to helpdesk support. The plan should include provision for detailed reviews and reporting processes and should include the dates for the user acceptance test.

Dates for workshops and meetings

Dates for RM planning meetings – reviewing and defining folders on system

Date to agree business process management requirements Date for draft changes to specification

Date for agreed specification

Date solution ready for supplier testing in their environment Date for pilot solution to be brought on site

Date for testing integration with line of business system Date for any backfile conversion to be completed and data loaded on system

Date for user training sessions Go live data for pilot implementation Date for formal acceptance test Date for end of floor walking support.

Core milestones for a pilot will include the following:

Both parties need to agree how far ahead of the start of the pilot the team should go into the department to start the planning and support process, and how long after acceptance the team will need to stay to provide floorwalking support.

Provided all the core requirements were tested at the model office stage there is no need to repeat them all here. The areas that should be tested include any changes to the requirements agreed as a result of the model office tests and any requirements that are specific to the pilot – including any integration with a line of business system, any new business processes and any areas that could not be tested at the model office stage.

5.9.4 Stage 8, step 4 – Phases 4 and 5

At the end of the pilot the plan should allow for a series of feed- back sessions and both parties should agree what, if any, changes are needed to the core system specification and docu- ment these. More importantly, both parties should review the actual timetable required for the pilot, as opposed to the planned timetable, and the actual resources required to support the pilot as opposed to the planned resources.

Any significant variances should be noted and the planned timetable for the first rollout should be reviewed. The plan should also break the rollout down by department/section or process so that there is a defined number of steps. After that review has been conducted, the rollout needs to be managed as a series of steps, where each step is handled like the pilot. On a regular basis the scope of the steps planned should be reviewed.

5.9.5 Stage 8, step 5 – Phase 6

The implementation plan assumes that by the end of Phase 5 the core solution will have been rolled out to all the departments within the scope of the project, so all office-based staff should have access to the system.

At this stage the organisation will already have partially taken ownership of the system. There will be staff trained in administer- ing the system, records staff trained in conducting all the required RM functions on the system, and the bulk of staff should be trained in using the system.

Phase 6 calls for the development of a number of business process management applications on the system that can stream- line administration and provide a number of core benefits. 54-71-Cimtech07-Chapter 5.qxd 5/4/07 14:36 Page 70

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Designing and implementing a records management system

One of the first decisions will be: does the supplier need to be called back in to provide support in specifying and developing these applications or a third-party consultancy, or are there now sufficient skills and resources to do the work in-house?

The second decision will be validating or drawing up a revised list of candidate processes in scope of Phase 6. The tasks them- selves will then include those outlined below.

As part of the information gathering task the relevant stakehold- ers will need to be interviewed, the current processes documented, and the objectives and scope for improvement agreed. The team will then need to review the case for implementing each business process and agree a recommended priority for each process. A high-level business case should be made for each option.

The result should be a report for the project board outlining the options reviewed, the requirements identified, the case for improv- ing/automating each process and a recommended course of action. If the case is agreed then the team would need to draw up a plan for implementing the processes in the agreed sequence.

The team would then need to draw up a more detailed plan for each process covering the standard steps of specification, piloting and rollout. The tasks included under those headings would be as described above for earlier phases.

At the end of Phase 6 staff will be using the system to meet their specific team and departmental requirements and also using the system to play their role in core corporate business processes.

5.9.6 Stage 8, step 6 – Phase 7

The final phase that needs to be managed is when there is no fur- ther significant development needed on the project. The project closure process is reviewed in Stage 2 under project management. The support options are reviewed in Stage 4, step 2.

5.10 Stage 9 – Measuring the Results