Conversion Management

The easiest way to bring new software into a company is to do an installation. Containing the lowest level of vendor service and interaction, an install is used primarily for software that requires minimal training. Software that manages internal email, or a module that maintains golf club memberships, are candidates for a straight installation.

When the software becomes more complex and affects core operations, it is necessary to introduce Implementation Management. Vendor efforts are primarily focused on training and supporting the software, though the complexity increases the need for planning and participation.

As the size and scope of the implementation grows, there is more to deal with, and project management is introduced. Project focus shifts from just dealing with the software to the management of all related tasks required to integrate the new system into daily operations. Project management requires the use of management tools to coordinate the efforts of many people.

In some projects, the team is focused and motivated as they build a solution for their business operations. In other projects, people are resistant or lackadaisical, and deadlines are rarely met. When vendor participation escalates to working with organizations to develop and motivate staff, we have advanced to Conversion Management.

Conversion Management involves focusing on the people, culture and business processes of an organization during a software project. A key objective is to affect corporate change using the software conversion as a catalyst. While ultimately the implementing company must change itself, conversion management introduces human resource management, business process planning and organizational restructuring into the project.

Goto Top



Setting Project Goals

At the beginning of any project, it is necessary to set goals. A specific target encourages focused effort, and allows progress to be measured. Specific goals are more likely to be realized, though sometimes goals can become so precise that they are unachievable.

It is important to ensure that the completion of goals will also result in fulfillment of the business objectives. With the high cost of software implementation, both in dollars and resource time, the goal of simply converting software is not enough. Organizations must realize a measurable gain in productivity, communication and/or management capabilities in order to justify the project.

While some companies are satisfied with the business improvements a new software system can provide, it is possible to set goals that take the conversion to a higher level. Software conversion can become a catalyst for organizational change. By including analysis of business procedures in the project plans, more efficient operations can result. By including staff and team development objectives, an organization can realize significant enhancement of employee skills and culture.

Much of the change involved in corporate transformation is unrelated to the software. Instead, it is the core operations and culture of the organization that are being upgraded. The software conversion simply allows focus on the details of how an organization is run, and by including higher-level goals within the project structure, the net result can be more than the sum of its parts.

Goto Top



Determining Project Scope

Rome was not built in a day. The pyramids were built one brick at a time. A fine meal is served in individual courses. So why do companies try to include all possible software features for go-live?

When determining project scope, it is important to set reasonable targets in reasonable time frames. By choosing a starting point for go-live which includes basic functionality and essential business requirements, the initial tasks are minimized. The result is that the goals seem more achievable, the time frame can be shortened, and the target of go-live is more easily reached.

If a company chooses to go with the all-or-nothing approach, they have made their task much more difficult. The length of the project must be extended due to complexity, and the project becomes riskier. Companies that try to make complex business changes during initial conversion often get bogged down, and end up deferring go-live. Instead, the company could first settle into the daily use and basic operation of the software, and focus on additional improvements afterwards.

The actual go-live date should not mark the end of system enhancement. Instead, the theory of continuous improvement should be introduced. A software conversion is never really over. Once a company is live using the basic software, additional phases can add additional functionality. A company that currently does not have complex requirements should not try to introduce them for the first project milestone. Simply replicating current business needs is often enough of a challenge for the conversion.

The most difficult projects attempt to do everything at once. It is much easier to start with a foundation of simple and efficient operations, and then to add advanced business analysis in the next phase. By determining basic requirements and getting them accomplished, success is much more likely.

Goto Top



Project Team Commitment

The most important element in a conversion project is the enthusiastic participation of the project team. Without effort and desire by the people who end up using the software, nothing will happen. Though external resources may complete many tasks required for completion, in the end they walk away, and leave the new users in charge. If these users are not prepared, wide ranges of problems can occur.

Though often perceived as a technical project, a software implementation is really about the education of staff and the development of efficient business processes. Not to underplay the role of technical people, these days the installation of a new system simply happens. Yes, there are many steps to undertake, and potential issues to overcome, but ultimately the new system is in place and ready to go. However, if the users don't know how to use the system, it doesn't matter how good a job the technical people did.

Learning software and analyzing business processes takes time and effort. It is unreasonable to expect users to simply 'fit it in' with their regular jobs. In most business environments, the urgencies of the moment tend to overshadow long-term efforts, and it is very easy for a week to go by without any progress on the project. To ensure a sound implementation, it is necessary to arrange project-working time for the participants, and to ensure that this time is not spent on unrelated tasks.

Strategies for freeing time for team members include shifting daily tasks to other employees, hiring temporary staff to take over administrative tasks, or simply eliminating tasks that do not contribute to the success of the business. In order for a project to be successful, it is absolutely necessary for management to make arrangements for their team to dedicate time within their regular working hours.

Goto Top



Corporate Culture

Despite the logic behind accounting and finance, the most successful companies are not the ones that watch the bottom line. Instead, true profit and stability occurs in companies that encourage a culture of growth, efficiency, empowerment, and excellence. While it is important to grow revenue and manage expenses, it is even more important to create a company that thrives.

Positive culture reflects internally, as employees treat each other with respect, and work towards a common vision. Positive culture also has external influence, increasing customer loyalty and improving vendor relations.

Where does the corporate culture come from? Is the management of a company responsible for the culture, or created by the culture? In many companies, the skills and behavior that lead towards promotion provides the managers necessary to propagate the culture. Organizations that are driven by money or fear act and feel different than those that truly encourage service or excellence.

In my opinion, the culture is a result of a collective vision. Companies that are driven by fear-based management tend to draw the employees who desire to be in that environment. Companies that are entrepreneurial seem to be populated by entrepreneurs. Companies where everyone complains seem to draw people who like to complain. The 'wine and whine' circles usually spend more time talking about improvements than actually manifesting them.

Everyone in a company participates in the manifestation of corporate culture. However, it is the management of the organization that has the greatest tools for creating a shift. In order for culture to change, the beliefs and desires of the management must first be changed. Change should be suggested rather than dictated, as ultimately the choice belongs to each individual in an organization.

Goto Top



Project Planning

During the planning phase, a foundation is built that will serve throughout the entire project. If the foundation is strong, the project will easily adapt as requirements grow and change. If the foundation is weak, the team will spend a lot of time fixing cracks that should not be there in the first place.

Before conversion planning can begin, it is necessary to gather information. The intention is to draw a mental picture of how the company looks today. How big is the company, how many locations will be involved, and what is their main source of business? What software modules are being implemented, and is a change of computer hardware required?

The next thing to determine is motivation. Why is the company spending money and time on this project? What are their key objectives, and how important are these objectives to the health of the business? Is the organization committed to providing the resources and efforts required for success, or are they lackadaisical? Sometimes, project plans must include strategies for motivating staff.

The next topic is participation. How many users will be affected by the conversion? How many departments, and how many people in each department? By working with the numbers, it is possible to determine the necessary resources for the internal project team. It is also essential for the converting company to accept their responsibilities for required participation and ownership of the solution.

The last concept to address before detailed planning is expectations. What timelines are desired, which objectives are critical, and how does each participant see the project rolling out. During this session, it is essential for all participants to agree to a common vision. It is from this vision that detailed plans can be created.

Goto Top



Organizing a Project

There are many tools available for project organization. All of them involve making lists of things to do, and then tracking the tasks to make sure they get done. Some tracking systems involve simple use of spreadsheets, while others are highly interactive groupware delivered over the Internet.

For a project tracking system to work, it is essential for all participants to use the tool. Updates should be simple, repetitive, and consolidated. The lists must be populated with viable tasks, and responsibility clearly assigned. If managed well, project-tracking tools can become the primary source of communication about the project.

The first step in project organization is task identification. A list should be created identifying every task required for completion of the project. This list should continuously grow through the first half of the project. Even if thorough checklists are provided at the beginning, it is necessary for the converting company to take ownership of the lists. Project team members should understand and add to the requirements so that all key business objectives are met.

Once lists are underway, efforts should be focused on learning the new software, and fulfilling requirements. In any project, there are certain requirements that cannot be overlooked. These showstoppers must remain high on the list, and plans for resolution must always fit within the overall project timeframe. However, in any project there are always many requests that are less than critical.

Task Prioritization is essential for many reasons. The main goal of prioritization is to ensure that project resources spend their time on the most important issues. Prioritization also helps identify which tasks must absolutely be done, and which tasks can be deferred.
While it is important to encourage the project team to add anything to the list that crosses their minds, it is also important that they understand some requests will be postponed or deleted.

Goto Top



Building a Project Team

So now that you have spent all this money on a new computer system, who is going to make it work? While external resources greatly enhance the setup of the system, their primary role is to transfer knowledge to the project team. To ensure a successful conversion, a group of people at the converting company must be responsible for learning the new software and developing a business solution.

The size of the team depends on both the size of the company and the number of departments affected by the conversion. By looking at the software modules purchased, it can be determined which departments will be required to participate. Someone must be responsible for the conversion of each department, though there may be people in charge of more than one area.

The majority of team members should be senior enough to understand business requirements, but close enough to the front line to understand daily operations.
While the VP Sales may have a better idea of the big picture, the Order Desk manager is more likely to build a proficient order desk solution. When building a team, a combination of skills is required that best represents the detailed needs of all departments. Whether the team consists of senior or middle management depends on the structure of the company and the capabilities of the individuals.

Time Commitment is required from all active team members. This is often difficult to arrange, as it is likely that your busiest people are also the best ones for the project. In order to allow concentration on the project during business hours, it will be necessary to offload some of the daily duties of team members. This may be accomplished through hiring or through task allocation, but either way it is essential to ensure that project time is a priority.

Goto Top



Attitude is Everything

In the environment of change, the most important influence on success is the attitude of the staff and project team. If they are committed to developing a solution that works, they will. If they are enthusiastic and disciplined about learning, then they will learn. If they are methodical and persistent with problem solving, then they will solve any problems.

There are many aspects of a conversion that could invoke negative attitude. Throughout the project, the people assigned to the project team will experience a heavier workload, difficult questions, and resistance to their efforts. Staff required to relearn the computer system often oppose the change, and would rather have things remain the same. Managers will superficially recognize the importance of the project, and then pull staff away for other 'urgent matters'. Yet despite all of the distractions, some teams remain positive.

Senior management initiates much of the attitude related to the conversion project. While they may announce the benefits of change to the staff, they are measured by how they support change. If management is diligent, serious and joyful about the project, then the staff will usually act that way as well. If regular meetings are held during office hours, then the project will be perceived as important.

Motivating a team and creating an atmosphere of positive contribution is a simple task if the company already has a positive culture. However, if the team requires efforts on the human resource side, a lot more is involved. The goal of corporate transformation is always attainable, but for some companies the path may be long.

Goto Top



First Contact

Whenever I begin a new project, there is a lot of information to acquire.
Research over the Internet provides an overview of the company. I read about where they are and what they do. I look for names and backgrounds of key managers, information about corporate structure, and the mission statement. It is surprising how much you can learn about a company from their web site.

The next step is to initiate telephone conversations. This is a safe and easy way to develop a relationship with prime contacts. In addition, the discussions provide an opportunity to identify the needs and expectations of the company, and to begin positioning the conversion methodology.

When a major conversion takes place, the people with political power in an organization will have a lot of influence on the outcome. It is necessary to ensure that decision-makers will be involved with the project, at least at a senior level. It also helps to develop a relationship with the key players early rather than late, so that they can be available for the planning meeting.

During the initial call, a date for the planning meeting should be determined. Also, discussions should begin about the development of the project team. Along with the identification of project scope and timelines, the building of the team is one of the key objectives for the planning sessions. Project team requirements should be identified during the initial call so that decisions can be made at the planning meeting.

The shaping of a project begins at first contact. The conversion manager should be gathering information about the company, its operations, and its requirements. At the same time, discussions should be leading towards common agreement about the project and how it is to be done.


Goto Top



The Planning Meeting

The planning meeting usually indicates the true beginning of a project. Though there has certainly been effort and investigation prior to the purchase of new software, it is during the planning meeting that the project map is laid out. While all parties involved may have preliminary ideas about the project, it is necessary to come to mutual agreement about the plans.

The meeting should be attended by key players from all companies involved. While the entire team can be informed later of the planning decisions, it is necessary for stakeholders to take part. From the implementing company, managers dependent upon success should participate. In addition, representatives from all participating external organizations should also be present.

The first step is to identify the objectives of the project. While it is important to identify scope, discussions should not digress into the extreme details of each module. Part of the learning phase is to investigate the details and determine what can be reasonably completed in the first phase. Instead, the business areas affected should be determined, and the modules to be implemented discussed.

Next to determine are reasonable dates for project milestones. The kickoff meeting is usually held within one month of the planning meeting, once the entire project team has been identified. The completion date is negotiated based upon project scope and complexity, company size, business requirements, and the desires of participants. Finally, it is essential to schedule a mid-point review.

The resources for the project must be identified. In a software conversion, the prime resource is the project team from the implementing company. People must be identified for each business area, and the responsibility for success assigned and accepted. Additional resources to consider include hardware, software, consultants, and other external resources.

Finally, it is necessary to agree on the process for undertaking the project. During the planning meeting, all parties should agree on the basic concepts of the implementation, and how it is to be accomplished. In any team effort, all members should be following the same path. Once the objectives, milestone dates, resources and process have been determined, the project is set to begin.

Goto Top



Why Use Consultants?

It is possible for a company to implement software without external help. With most current software, adequate documentation is provided. From this documentation, with focused effort, anyone who is computer literate can learn a software package. If introductory computer knowledge is required, people can attend community adult education courses, which are inexpensive and readily available.

Employing a self-education model would take a long time. Also, many people do not have the discipline or capabilities to follow such a program. As a result, it speeds up the process by working with someone who already has the required knowledge. It is easier to learn from someone who knows than by yourself. This primary need is the basis for all consulting and educational practices.

Because of their industry knowledge, consultants can often provide ideas that you hadn't thought of. Their job requires them to work within many different business environments. As a result, consultants have observed a wider range of business practices, and have seen how companies resolve situations in different ways. In any problem-solving environment, it really helps to have more options to choose from.

Another benefit that consultants provide is experience. When someone goes through a business process repeatedly, patterns begin to stand out. It becomes easy to identify which activities are moving a project towards the desired goal, and which activities are impeding progress. A consultant can provide advice that guides a team towards successful completion.

A critical thing to remember when working with consultants is that the goal is transfer of knowledge. After the project has completed, the need for consultants should diminish, and the implementing company should become self-sufficient. Of course, further interaction with consultants can be anticipated, but these efforts should be progressive rather than just supporting daily operations.

Goto Top



Business Process Analysis

When beginning to learn new software, it is important to understand which business processes must be replicated. If an event happens on a regular basis, and there is no solution for the requirement, there will be problems. Before going live, a company should be able to accomplish all standard business requirements on the new system.

A company can ensure that processing requirements are fulfilled by undergoing Business Process Analysis. The objective of process analysis within a software conversion is to create checklists. These checklists will then be used throughout the project to identify solution requirements and basic learning objectives.

The easiest way to begin is to simply carry a clipboard and write down all tasks that require use of the current computer system. For example, the order desk would need to enter a new order, change an order, delete an order, lookup a product, lookup a price, etc.
If someone is diligent about this responsibility, a good checklist should be complete within a week.

It is possible to take business analysis to extreme detail, such as during ISO certification. ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization, which provides generic management systems for developing a processing structure within an organization.
Documentation in the 9000 series is primarily focused on standards for quality management, while the 14000 series focuses on environmental management.

Companies undertaking ISO certification go to great lengths to develop and document their internal processes. While these efforts are commendable, they go far beyond what is necessary for the average organization during a software conversion. Rather than trying to standardize processes to meet international requirements, a software conversion involves developing processes that use the new software to fulfill business requirements. By simply identifying and documenting what you do today, task lists are created that can point the conversion towards success.

Goto Top



Follow the Paper

On one of my first jobs as a software consultant, I was asked by the business owner to go and fix the printer. Being more inquisitive than technical, I went to a woman who sat near the printer and asked her what was wrong.

Apparently, the problem was that the print on the last few pages of a multi-part invoice was not clearly visible. I asked to see the invoice, and was handed a very thick document, consisting of seven sheets of paper. I immediately recognized that the problem was not a defective printer, but that the invoice was too thick. I figured that there were two possible solutions; either buy a bigger printer, or reduce the thickness of the invoice.

I went to the accounting department, and found the woman in charge of invoicing. Prompted by my questions, she explained that the top two copies were sent to the customer. One copy was for them to keep and the other was to be sent back with the payment. I asked her how many customers actually returned the copy, and she admitted that less than half did so.

After she had separated the first two copies and mailed them to the customer, the remaining five-page invoice was put in a pile. Every once in a while, someone would come by and pickup the pile, carrying it to another department. When this happened, I followed the paper to its next destination.

By following the flow of paper through the company, I determined what each person did with their copy of the invoice. Eventually, I had discovered the purpose of each page. With discussion, we made a few minor adjustments to their filing practices, and eventually we had reduced the thickness of the invoice to only four copies. At the conclusion of my visit, I returned to the business owner and reported that the printer was now fixed.

Goto Top