IS 788 [Process] Change Management

1. IS 788[Process] Change Management • Lecture / Discussion of class projects and formally modeling them • Lecture: Process analysis field work • “Otis Elevator” case presentation and discussion IS 788 5.2

2. Modeling and performance evaluation of processes • A brief discussion of the deliverables for your projects • An organizational context model per Harmon, Chapter 4. • Where does your process fit into the model? • Is it part of a value chain? • A BPMN model(s) of the process, at whatever level(s) of detail are necessary to fully understand and communicate the change you are proposing IS 788 5.2

3. Modeling and performance evaluation of processes (2) • A process benefit and output monitoring program • Measurement of key indicators of the current process – see El Sawy, Chapter 6, esp. Table 6.2 IS 788 5.2

4. El Sawy, Table 6-2 IS 788 5.2

5. Modeling and performance evaluation of processes (3) • Simulation of the proposed process • Comparison of key indicators for AS-IS and TO-BE • A monitoring plan tied into an overall business activity monitoring plan (BAM) IS 788 5.2

6. Group discussions • Briefly discuss your project process • What have you done to date? • What are your key indicators? • How will you measure them? • Do you foresee any problems? IS 788 5.2

7. Site Investigation: Ethnography • The term “ethnography” originated in anthropology: an extended, low intrusion, non-judgmental observation of a foreign (to the observer) culture • How does ethnography differ from normal IT analyst behavior? IS 788 5.2

8. From Oxford University's Ethnography Web Page • Ethnographers stress that we move within social worlds, and that to understand the behavior, values and meanings of any given individual (or group), we must take account of some kind of cultural context. In this respect, ethnography balances attention to the sometimes minute everyday detail of individual lives with wider social structures. IS 788 5.2

9. From Oxford University's Ethnography Web Page (2) • An ethnographer will try to define a particular culture by asking questions such as 'What does it mean to be a member of this group?' and 'What makes someone an insider or an outsider here?'. The ethnographer tries to make sense of what people are doing by asking 'What's going on here? How does this work? How do people do this?' and hopes to be told by those people about "the way we do things around here" (Deal 1985). IS 788 5.2

10. From Oxford University's Ethnography Web Page (3) • Answering those questions requires an openness to learning from those who inhabit that culture, and a willingness to see everything and suspend premature judgment on what should be selected as data. The usefulness of the information may not be immediately apparent, but is often collected and stored anyway. This quality of openness lies at the heart of ethnography, in its processes, purposes and ethics. IS 788 5.2

11. What’s your point? • What differences do you see between an ‘ethnographic’ approach and traditional (US) IT business analysis? • The stress on openness is much harder than it first appears. We tend to see what we expect and are trained to see (model driven perception). If we enter a department to fill in “process description form” based on ‘hard’ analysis methodology X we will see only what we need to fill in the blanks on the form ;-) IS 788 5.2

12. Even an accurate model of the objective process depends on . . . • Seeing reality, not expectations • What do you get if you ask a manager about the processes he supervises? • The procedure manual definition of the process • What do you get if you ask a ‘floor level’ process actor about about the process they participate in? IS 788 5.2

13. You get a much more accurate picture of the process including: • Work arounds • Shadow systems • Undocumented improvements to the process • Parts of the process that haven’t been done since X left the company • And a host of other surprises IS 788 5.2

14. If, in addition to asking the right people the right questions you: • Gain the confidence of process actors • Spend some time actually observing the process • You will discover aspects of the process that have become automatic – and therefore overlooked – by even process actors attempting to give an accurate description of the AS-PRACTICED process IS 788 5.2

15. Then add an openness to “softer” cultural context information: • Who do the process actors really look to for supervision? • Are people secure in their jobs? • Is the management loose or autocratic? • Any or all of these factors can derail a smooth change IS 788 5.2

16. The Ambulance Dispatch Example • 40 person days on site! • Detailed schematics of the workplace • Detailed observation of the AS-IS computer system • Extensive observation of the actual modes of communication (largely informal) between operators, supervisors and dispatchers is seen to limit the use of additional computerization – for example, the way overloaded dispatchers, through body language, ask for assistance and “load balance” IS 788 5.2

17. Basic data gathering techniques(From Ch. 2 of Sys. Dev. Case Studies, Hunter) • Interviews • Structured • Semi-structured • Unstructured • Questionnaires • Clear with managers before distributing! • Document Review • Forms, external documents, reports, procedure manuals, org charts, etc. • Observation IS 788 5.2

18. Asking the wrong questions • Most people ask about the “Sunny Day Scenario” – what do you [usually] do in the process. • But what are the exceptions? • These will not surface from an exploration of “problems” or “process errors” because they may not be so considered. • Example: rush orders to VIP customers IS 788 5.2

19. The “Rainy Day Scenario” • Some useful questions: • What was the most difficult case you’ve worked on? • Do you ever have to work overtime – and why? • Only common variants of the ‘normal’ process are candidates for IT support • Michael Hammer once said “If it doesn’t make three people angry, it isn’t a process.” Determine the cases that make people angry IS 788 5.2