Results Driven Implementation

According to Daniel Gingras of Boston University, 60% of all software implementations fail. Failures not only have financial implications, but they demoralize employees. The problem is, the traditional approach to implementation shifts a teams’ focus away from the end result and toward developing time lines, recommendation, new technologies, and partial solutions. The intent is to assemble a blueprint that lays out the plan for achieving an ultimate goal. But when a project involves many people working for an extended period of time, it’s nearly impossible to predict all the activities and work streams that will be needed.

Two Schools of Thought
There are two schools of thought, or two frameworks for implementation:

1. The “Implementation Framework” (Assess, Plan, Solve, Confirm). When defined too rigidy, it can be identified by a Gantt chart.

2. “Guiding Principal” or Results Driven Incrementalism implementation

Implementation Framework
The Implementation Frameworks, the frameworks or Implementation Guidelines we see most often, have their merits, but they fail with the introduction of 3 variables:

1. Scope Creep
2. Change
3. Adult Learning

Scope Creep
Scope creep refers to uncontrolled changes in a project’s scope. Typically, the scope increase consists of either new products or new features of already approved plans, without a corresponding increases in resources, time, or budget. As a result, a project team drifts away from its original purpose, it grows, and more tasks must be completed within the budget and schedule originally designed for a smaller set of tasks.

For example: The original scope may be to conduct Civil 3D training and begin a pilot project. However the budget and timeline will change, and scope creep will be introduced, if the necessary hardware isn’t in place.

Change
The software will change, industry requirements will change, people will change. What works for you today, may not work tomorrow, and it’s nearly impossible to budget for, but it will happen, and often at the most undesirable time.

Adult Learning
You can alleviate some issues that are the direct result of scope creep and change through training and technical support, but studies have shown adults learn in three key ways:

1. Learn by doing
2. Learn in small chunks
3. Learn gradually

Confucius said: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

The younger you are, the easier it is to learn. Younger students are more flexible, adaptable, eager and less afraid to make mistakes. There is a certain freedom to learn that comes with being young that regrettably, we lose the older we get. In an article entitled 30 things we know for sure about adult learning, Ron and Susan Zemke had some interesting observations regarding adult learning:

1. Adults learn by doing. Adults have a need for application of “how to” as the primary reason to begin a learning project. Regardless of media, straightforward how-to is the preferred content orientation.

2. Adults prefer single concept, single theory courses that focus heavily on the application of the concept to relevant problems.

3. Avoiding embarrassment – Adults have a lot more to lose in a classroom setting because of self esteem and ego. Making mistakes in front of peers is just not comfortable; adult learners seek to avoid embarrassment.

4. Adults prefer self-pace over group learning led by a professional. They select more than one medium for learning and they desire to control the pace and the start/stop times.

Results Driven Incrementalism
Robert G. Fichman and Scott A. Moses wrote a paper published in MITSloan Management Review – MIT’s journal of
management research and ideas – they nailed it:

Results Driven Incrementalism, what some refer to as the Rapid Results Oriented Approach, benefits firms by promoting organizational learning via multiple, short-horizon goals; maintaining implementation focus and momentum by providing recurring visible results; and negating the common tendency to over engineer solutions — all of which speed the realization of business results and reduce the risk of implementation failure.

In essence: RDI means solving a business issue and realizing immediate benefits. Unlike Enterprise software, Civil 3D is a tool, and some firms have many tools to aid them in the task of Civil Engineering. There isn’t a “right tool” or a “wrong tool.” There’s a tool that works for you, one that works for me, and often, one required by our clients. But make no mistake. Effectively choosing your tools and the way in which you use them is largely an exercise in creativity. To force a firm to make a change in the tools they use, and to create a timeline for the implementation of that tool has only a 40% chance of working.

In a results oriented approach, we determine a single goal, and work toward producing a measurable result as quickly as possible.

For example: You can’t define your goal as “Implementing Civil 3D.” The goal is too broad, and doesn’t resolve a business issue – don’t make change for change sake. Instead, set your sights on something like: “Increase productivity by 25% over the next 3 months.” To that end, identify something you can do today, identify personnel to lead the effort, identify outside resources to leverage for support (a credible consultant with a proven track record, YouTube, discussion groups, books, web casts, white papers, users guides, Google), keep it simple and focused, and communicate your findings to the people you surround yourself with at the office.

Implementing Civil 3D using this methodology allows you to:

1. Minimize immediate costs and down-time
2. Receive benefits as soon as the implementation process begins
3. Begin adoption without having to “know it all”
4. Learn the system at your own pace.

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