In a Crisis
Bing image from prompt: “two computer systems exchanging data records in style of Vermeer”
I can parachute into problem projects. Here’s the story of a crisis project for a dying system choked by the pandemic - and how I jumped in to help.
I’d prefer to help you avoid problem projects, but if you have one going on then you can bring me in to help. I can conduct an assessment, identify issues + solutions, and help as a resource to start the turnaround.
Here’s an example when I had to do all of that, despite careful planning before the project began.
Our City’s Fleet division had to replace their work order and parts system, because the old system ran on an unsupported database and the vendor offered no upgrade path except for a very expensive re-implementation.
Over several years (delayed by retirements and a vacant supervisor position) I steered the division’s leadership to use the Fleet module of the department’s existing Asset Management system (instead of a different product) and lined up support from the vendor to implement the Fleet module with them. Whew! I thought.
The project started in February 2020. You know what happened next.
By April 2020, the project was in crisis mode. The vendor’s consultants were not communicating well with our fleet mechanics on Zoom, nor could not make sense of the old Fleet system, which had vehicle histories that we needed.
Our people had lost faith and were ready to scrap what was a small project to implement one module of an existing system. Now they wanted to begin a procurement and implementation of a new system. Given the life-support nature of their old system and the pandemic’s impact on everything, this was a BAD IDEA.
In May 2020, I took over the project. As a first step, I analyzed the old system’s data files to extract useful information on work history and our current parts inventory. I configured the Asset Management system’s interface tool to load the monthly fuel usage interface (a critical part of the process… that had been re-keyed in the old system!) and built a spreadsheet that Finance could use to dynamically pull data from the asset system for internal costing of vehicles. (Saving them hours of work re-entering this data each month.) I led the group through loading a final count of inventory to successfully convert parts records.
The project was a success. By Fall 2020 we were live on the new system and the Fleet division turned out to be the one group that was happiest with the Asset Management system.
My experience with this project led to this Blog Post about Interface and Conversions - two overlooked areas of most implementations! https://blog.tectonicspeed.com/2023/11/the-book-on-interfaces-and-conversions.html
Let’s talk. You may not need me to take over all aspects of a project, but if you have a crisis project and want someone to help right the ship, and – sticking with nautical metaphors - advise you when to burn the boats: https://blog.tectonicspeed.com/2021/07/tectonic-speed-of-government-part-6.html