IWMS Implementation: Don’t bite off more than you can chew
A lot of questions that I receive from our readers have to do with IWMS implementations.
Let’s face it; implementing an Integrated Workplace Management System is just no walk in the park!
Although the IWMS itself (and to some extend the vendor) plays an important role in every implementation, the vast majority of the problems have to do with people. Miscommunication, uncertainty and unrealistic expectations often ensure the project does not meet its targets in terms of budget and time.
The most important fail factor however is wanting to do it all, just because the IWMS supports it. I have come across quite some organizations that allow their projects to be unsuccessful just because they bite off more than they can chew.
A good example of this is a large retail organization based in New York City. A close friend of mine (Rob) is employed by this organization and we have dinner every month discussing our current projects.
My friend’s track record is truly outstanding. He has led a couple of very successful (small) IT projects in his organization. This performance was also noticed by the senior management so when the IWMS project emerged, they appointed him as project manager for implementing an IWMS solution.
Because of the size of the organization, a corporate software deal was negotiated with the IWMS vendor. This corporate deal was from a procurement point of view a sweet deal however, from an implementation perspective it was a total disaster. My friend found out the hard way that buying a system and implementing a system are two different worlds.
As they had negotiated a corporate deal, his management team formulated quite aggressive targets for the implementation of the IWMS. The management team was convinced that Rob would pull it off since he was the rising star of the organization and he had an outstanding track record.
Rob started out extremely ambitious as he wanted to show that he could complete the project within time and budget. He failed miserably.
What happened?
Over the course of couple of months, I saw the man change from sheer excitement to total misery because of implementation problems. These problems included:
- Focus
One of the major problems of IWMS implementation has to do with focus, or even better the lack of it. If you try to focus on all areas of IWMS you will most likely get nothing done. Focus on a certain domain, finish it, move on.
Rob tried to do it all and he lost his focus.
- Launch Strategy
Despite my advice his management had chosen a Big Bang IWMS introduction. No gradual phased approach, but launching the IWMS at once. To me this ensures a poor project. If you look at all the verticals of IWMS it is just too much.
- Launch Date
Another problem which I mentioned during one of our dinners was the fact that the management had fixed the IWMS live date. At the start of the project it seemed that the live date was not in jeopardy however, as time passed by the live date became a stringent factor.
- Commitment
In every project management methodology commitment of stakeholders is extremely important. Implementing an IWMS on a corporate scale is a massive project which demands extreme commitments of the stakeholders.
The more functional domains are required, the more commitment you need from your stakeholders. If it’s not clear to them what the benefits to them are, the project will not be successful.
This was exactly what happened to Rob. He found himself battling with all kinds of stakeholders trying to convince them of the importance of their cooperation. Unfortunately those stakeholders didn’t share the same opinion as Rob.
- Change Management
Nobody really likes to change. Moving to a new community, changing jobs, doing poker night on Thursdays instead of Tuesdays. (George Bouris, 2008)
The above examples cause stress to people which humans tend to avoid as much as possible. Can you imagine what happens if you have to get used to a system which is implemented for every supporting process in the organization and you have to use this system as of today!
Because of the lack of focus, the launch strategy, the fixed live date and the lack of commitment from stakeholders, people in the organization just didn’t want to change and frustrated the project (and Rob) which led to a few terrible results.
Results
The project delivered approximately 15% of the targets set, exceeded the time schedule by 9 months and exceeded the budget by 400%.
And what about Rob?
After the project, Rob got fired. Despite his track record he couldn’t pull the project off. Hopefully this is a lesson for you too! Focus and don’t bite off more than you can chew.
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