Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
They had in effect written their processes only for the case when everything
went according to the original plan, nothing ever went wrong, and all
deci-
sions
that needed to be made had been made before the process was initiated.
As I dug deeper, I began to understand why they had written their processes
this way. I discovered that some mistakenly believed that process was rele-
vant only to well-defined tasks that never went off track. As a result, they
had written processes that read like “cookie-cutter” steps. Next, we examine
the consequences of writing processes this way on the organization.
6.11 An Example of Process Misunderstanding
I discovered from talking to key experienced people that many in the organi-
zation knew who the relevant stakeholders were, and when to involve them.
However, let me give you a real example of what was happening in this orga-
nization due to its rapid growth.
One of the common project types in this organization was referred to as an
“install.” An install involved the installation of a pre-defined hardware capa-
bility at a specific site. There were different levels of installs possible, with
varying hardware packages, and environmental site requirements.
While interviewing personnel responsible for conducting an install I heard
about a problem that occurred. It seemed workers had arrived at a site on the
day specified for the install to find that the required site preparations had not
all occurred. In one case, a circuit breaker was required prior to the install.
When that worker got to the site the work had not been performed.
It seems obvious that it would be normal procedure to contact the site before
a visit to ensure the preparation work had been completed. An experienced
installer said he always did this and that it was important to contact the site
to ensure all the
preparation
work had been completed. However, when I
reviewed the install process description it specified the steps to do the install
once on site with no reference to contacting site personnel ahead of time to
ensure the site was prepared for the installation.
As the organization grew so did the number of installs and they were now
conducting more installs and using new personnel in carrying out the
installs. Often the new personnel were brought in without all the necessary
training.
Because the documented process failed to mention calling the site
