Transformation Advisory

The case for turning your subject matter experts into project know-it-alls

A successful project outcome doesn’t just hinge on what your implementation partner or your chosen technology does. Or what you and your team do. It’s what we do together.

To reduce risk, it’s critical to ensure that everyone clearly understands their project role and responsibilities and feels confident they can step up – or know who to turn to for advice and support. We call that project readiness.

Getting project-ready is easy when you are a business solution partner. After all, we work on transformational projects every day, and of course, we know the technology we implement inside out. We continually invest in ongoing technical and project management training, reinforced by daily hands-on application of these skills.

It’s often more challenging at your end. Your internal subject matter experts (SMEs) may only go through a major implementation a handful of times over their career and can be anxious about change. As a result, being expected to learn on the job and under pressure can be detrimental to the project.

So, how can you get your SMEs up and running as project experts and keen advocates for transformation for the duration of your implementation and beyond? How can you maximise their existing knowledge and skills and ensure they understand what’s needed to be successful and embrace (rather than resist) the value the change will bring?

Recognising the direct correlation between project readiness and success, we developed our unique Client SME Enablement Program. ‘CSMEEP’ is a comprehensive training program for your SMEs comprising five modules: the implementation methodology, workshops, project toolsets, testing and training. Note: We’re only using the not-so-snappy acronym, ‘CSMEEP’, while we search for the perfect name!

These modules take your SME team through understanding the hybrid agile methodology and sprint training to ensure they understand workshop practices, DevOps training, test planning, train the trainer and much more.

Featuring a mix of pre-recorded sessions (which can be used as on-demand refreshers), self-paced learning and coaching by a Fusion5 TA or PMO (Project Management Office) expert, CSMEEP also includes evaluation check-ins to ensure compliance. Ultimately, the program will enable your SMEs to build an internal self-help group/forum to generate lasting value and knowledge.

Most importantly, your SMEs won’t feel like fish out of water. They may be in at the project's deep end, but they will know how to swim and in which direction.

Is your technical architecture out of control? We hear you.

As your enterprise implements more and more solutions, it’s likely your technology stack has become increasingly complex and costly to run. And it may be slowing down your business productivity to boot.

At this stage, these issues probably sound familiar: 

1. We have too many complaints. “Our teams are telling us we have problems impacting our overall operational efficiency, but we don’t know how to resolve them.”
2. We don’t have solution clarity: “We have core systems, add-on tools, and departments using additional systems. With no overview, it’s hard to make IT investment decisions.”
3. We’re doubling up on functionality: “We have applications with overlapping capability and functionality, all implemented by different teams. How do we identify the value and benefits they deliver – or not.”
4. We can’t decide: “We know there are many solutions out there that can solve our problems, but we don’t know which ones are the best fit for our business and our future goals.”
5. We don’t know where to start our Digital Transformation: “We know we need to transform, but we’re unsure where to start, the best strategy to go about it and how to set it up.”
6. We don’t have an enterprise architect: “We’re concerned about our solution configuration. We have solution architects but need an enterprise architect to provide guidance.”
7. We need to understand our integrations. “We need more integration knowledge to help us decide which of our preferred solutions should stay and those we can replace.”
8. We can’t turn our innovative ideas into operational systems: “We have an idea for an innovative new app, portal or service for our business, but don’t know where to from here.”

So, how do you solve these problems? What’s often needed is trusted, independent guidance and oversight from an experienced and solution-agnostic Enterprise Architect (EA) advisor. The EA role assesses your current technical architecture and its capabilities and helps you to prepare a future IT roadmap that not only reduces the ‘noise’ but shows you how to add more value using the solutions you’ve already invested in. You’ll also get advice on how (and what) solutions from different vendors can work better together.

With the right EA Advisory by your side, you’ll realise tangible benefits and value. Like an enterprise solution blueprint that helps with decision-making, saves you money, reduces implementation risks, and maximises your technology ROI.

And that’s got to be good for business, right?

The three things we are always asked about OCM.

When we talk to stakeholders about the value of getting their business ready for change and the best approach to get their people over the line in the face of a new technology implementation, we are usually asked three questions about OCM (organisational change management) services.

1. Do 60% of implementations really fail due to no OCM?

A failure rate of 60% for projects with little or no OCM is often touted as a universal truth. But in reality, there’s no fact-based research to support this.

However, what we DO know from first-hand, real-world experience is the positive impact of correctly preparing your business and people for change – and the risks that OCM can mitigate. After completing hundreds if not thousands of technology implementations of all shapes and sizes, the most successful outcomes for our customers have always been realised when their impacted users are engaged, educated, and enthused about the change.

2. Can’t we do OCM ourselves?

Yes, you could. However, readying a business and its people for value-driving change is an end-to-end discipline – much as leading project implementation methodologies like Agile, Waterfall, or Lean are. It requires buy-in from and sponsorship by senior business stakeholders to end-users who need to understand how the new solution works – and why they don’t need to be fearful. It encompasses workshops, developing training materials, delivering training, managing communications, running engagement activities that align with your business vision and strategic goals, and more.

While you may have internal resources with OCM expertise, it’s a large job which is challenging to manage singlehandedly. Sharing the load under a proven process with trained and experienced OCM consultants will give you a surety of outcome.

3. What specific benefits can we expect to realise through OCM?

In short, the ROI of OCM is the value your business derives from your employees adopting and using your solution – as opposed to the financial impact of them resisting it or trying to bypass it.

OCM enables a faster and less expensive implementation as everyone in the business is aligned – from top to bottom. There’s less organisational disruption with users willing and able to utilise the new solution from Day One due to ongoing exposure to the solution as it’s been developed, as well as readiness assessments and training. So, when your solution is ready to go live, so is your business and your people.