NC07Things to Think About

“Things to Think About” : 

“Things to Think About” Dr Simon N Davey Managing Associate Preponderate.network www.preponderate.net ICT Hub Annual Conference, London, 2007

What today’s session is all about: 

What today’s session is all about First steps in addressing ICT problems, needs and wants from an organisational and activity perspective Answering the question - What does your organisation need? Giving you the tools to apply ‘needs analysis’ Benefits, priorities and business cases Thinking about the plan

Need or Want?: 

Need or Want? What is a need? What is a want? Distinguishing the difference

Is it worth doing?: 

Is it worth doing? "Wisdom is to recognise what can be made better and make it better, and to recognise what can only be made worse and walk away." – Glen Duncan

So how do we define needfor our organisation?: 

So how do we define need for our organisation? 1. Forget the technology 2. Answer the questions What do you want/need to do and why? How can you justify what you need? What will be the benefits? Discuss with the person next to you for 5-6 minutes

Example: I need to communicate my activities: 

Example: I need to communicate my activities Why? What am I communicating? Who with? When? How often? By what mechanism? Do they need/want this communication? Case study: Manchester BME group

Example: I need to report on my activities: 

Example: I need to report on my activities Why? What am I reporting? Who to? When? How often? By what mechanism? Do they need/want this report? Case study: West London membership organisation

Everything you do is about the PROCESS: 

Everything you do is about the PROCESS The only point of doing something is to move towards an OUTCOME (as an organisation NOT as an IT project) INFORMATION is the key to supporting the process COMMUNICATION is fundamental TECHNOLOGY is part of the tools and infrastructure (the hammer you need to build the house) Are we so blinded by the wonders of technology we forget what we’re actually here for?

It’s NOT about the technology: 

It’s NOT about the technology Your ICT projects are NEVER ICT PROJECTS They’re systems, processes and projects which use ICT as a supporting tool Bad ICT projects fail because no one ever really knew what they needed to do What will be the benefit? Be clear about what the activity, process and need is BEFORE you start developing or planning anything

I want to…: 

I want to… I want to… have a shiny new desktop computer I need… a PC which performs efficiently and effectively I want to… have an ICT strategy I need… to have the buy-in of senior managers and all staff, to have an implementable plan for how we use ICT as an effective tool, to understand our processes and activities as an organisation. I want to… have a database I need… to know what information we need to record, in what format, by whom, and what outputs are required.

Over to you… (5 min exercise): 

Over to you… (5 min exercise) Pick a project which reflects your organisational issue at the moment Communication Reporting Managing information Managing contacts Storage Scheduling What do you need and why…

Feedback: 

Feedback What do you need and why? Organisational issue Need Why? What’s the benefit? How big a priority is this?

What is ICT used for?: 

What is ICT used for? Personal productivity (doing things better) Information sharing (keeping everyone in touch) Inter-networking and communication (external relationships)

Where ICT works well: 

Where ICT works well Automation One to many communication Communication over distance and time Processing results by a known method to produce a statistical (process driven) result Storing and manipulating information ICT works best when kept as simple as possible

Know what you need to do before you need to do it: 

Know what you need to do before you need to do it What are you doing? Why? (What are the benefits?) Who with? What are you doing? Are all relevant parties on board? How will you document the process (and amendments to it)? Have you got a project observer? (distant, critical, engaging)

First steps to identify and plan what YOU need…: 

First steps to identify and plan what YOU need… What do you need to do to DO THINGS BETTER and DO BETTER THINGS? What does EFFECTIVE ICT look like in your organisation?

A simple questionaire (10 min): 

A simple questionaire (10 min) Your organisation and people Information Communication Making it easier Addressing concerns

What does Effective ICTlook like?: 

What does Effective ICT look like? Three categories Capital Revenue Time and effort How does it look for you?

And so…: 

And so… What do YOU need to do things better or do better things… Why? Where does it fit in your organisation and role? Q. What are you going to do after this seminar that will make a difference to your organisation and your clients?

In conclusion: 

In conclusion Make a plan Justify what you need and why Organise resources to manage ICT Find money to fund ICT Make the commitment to make ICT work

Preponderate.network: 

Preponderate.network “Making it easier for you to do what you do" Dr Simon N Davey Managing Associate E: simon@preponderate.net T: 07958 292990 – 020 8892 7085