[kictanet] #140Friday talking point: How important is the human factor in IT System implementation?

[Edith Adera]

Brian,

Thanks for this excellent summary - very insightful.

There were discussions on the list about being practical and action oriented, any ideas that came from the event about an audit of what happened with the system? For corrective action and learning for the future?

In other words, what next?

Any discussion on the legal and institutional framework necessary for ensuring the integrity of public ICT systems and infrastructure
Edith

________________________________________
From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca at lists.kictanet.or.ke] on behalf of Brian Munyao Longwe [blongwe at gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2013 6:47 AM
To: Edith Adera
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: [kictanet] #140Friday talking point: How important is the human factor in IT System implementation?

#140friday<http://140friday.com> » How important is the human factor in IT system implementation?
March 18, 2013
How important is the human factor in IT system implementation?

In #140Friday over the past several days we have been discussing issues and challenges that face the implementation of IT systems, with special focus on “Public Service” IT systems. This attention has largely been triggered by the failure of Kenya’s Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Results Transmission System (RTS). Last week #140Friday had a face-to-face meeting at the Nailab which brought together a diverse group of professionals from various backgrounds to discuss the subject. As the group talked about “what went wrong” and “what could have been done better” with regards to various Public IT systems one key point that consistently came up was the importance of the human factor.

[godfinger]<http://140friday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/godfinger.jpg>Most IT system implementations apply project management techniques in order to have a higher success rate, better performance management, efficient management of time and resources and better communication amongst key stakeholders. But research and experience have shown that tools, processes and analytics only show about half of the picture, the most critical (and least obvious) is what we can call the “human factor”. All projects consist of people with needs, wants, desires, issues and time constraints. This “human factor” must be addressed in order to ensure higher levels of project success.

As more details emerge about the IEBC RTS project it becomes evident that the human factor probably contribute to most, if not all of the problems that led to the projects failure. There appear to have been a number of blunders, both big as well as small which affected the entire process from beginning to end. Ranging from personal pride (or should we call it obstinacy?) amongst key members of IEBC top management, who turned away advice and offers of assistance to address problems that became evident weeks and months prior to the election.

The lack of electricity at tallying and polling stations and the failure to take appropriate measures to ensure that electronics being used had stable power supply points to poor planning and preparation. The locations where tallying and polling stations would be located were known many months prior to the elections. It would have been a simple task to allocate a team the task of ensuring that there was reliable power in each and every room that would be used for the election, unfortunately this issue was never addressed or came to the fore too late for anything meaningful to be done about it. This is a perfect example of an oversight that comes as a result of the human factor.

It has been humorously stated that all project failures have 6 phases:

  1.  Enthusiasm
  2.  Disillusionment
  3.  Panic
  4.  Search for the guilty
  5.  Punishment of the innocent
  6.  Praise and honors for the non-participants

Interestingly enough, the IEBC RTS projects seems to be going through these phases with the entire country acting as judge, jury and executioner. While all the details are still not in the public domain, it is safe to say that this particular project shall go down in the annals of Kenyan ICT history as a classic example of how NOT to do things.

Some recommendations on how to address human factor challenges (from Kim Resch “Using The Human Factor To Launch Products”)

Management Buy-In

  1.  The larger the project the more management support is needed
  2.  Get and keep management involved in the right projects at the right time – don’t wear out your welcome
  3.  First thing, gain the clear understanding of the manager’s highest level goals and desires
  4.  On a regular basis meet one-on-one with management to up-date and ask for support
  5.  Meet with, face-to-face, each manager of each person assigned to the project – gain commitment
  6.  When priorities shift re-commit with all levels of management
  7.  Gain outward signs of approval & support from management

Team Dynamics

  1.  Get to know each person on your team, including personal likes, interests, etc. & share about yourself too
  2.  Get buy-in – sell hard when necessary
  3.  Trust the people on your team and show them you trust them
  4.  Give them a chance to shine and get recognition – ‘relinquishing power’
  5.  Define their strengths & weaknesses
  6.  Spend time explaining the importance of the project – to the bigger picture
  7.  Write thank-you notes and take time to have a snack/lunch with the team
  8.  Go out of your way to care and be personal
  9.  Never let family or the individual come second
  10. And at the same time, push them through example and challenge them beyond what they think they can do

Essential Communications

  1.  After leadership the second most important role you will play
  2.  Watch for issues, build-up and possible explosions – only way to know is via talking, seeing and sharing
  3.  E-mail is the scourge of proper and effective communications – great for documentation, horrible for getting the right out-come
  4.  Communicate often with the key team members and (on larger or fast projects, do so every day), with the larger circle of members at minimum weekly
  5.  Utilize all forms of communications
  6.  Involve upper management in formal & relaxed moments
  7.  Restate the mission, goals, business impact, etc.
  8.  At start of program develop a scope document that includes the business value and the ‘why it is important’
  9.  Handwrite thank-you notes along the way

Convert Mountains into Molehills

  1.  Obstacle remover
  2.  Work the team to bring expectations into alignment
  3.  Shut down gossip and trash-talk
  4.  Address problems head on – first to the immediate person then go up the chain
  5.  Clarify, define and bring into prospective
  6.  Feel the pain, but move beyond to the result – generate a positive outcome
  7.  When a person is blocking the project’s success, after attempts to correct the behavior, have them removed – nothing and no one is untouchable
  8.  Keep the mission visible and the end result alive
  9.  Don’t let scope creep & ‘fix all the ills of the business’, change the project’s desired result

Keep spirits up

  1.  Utilize recognition & incentives
  2.  Non-cash rewards are better
  3.  Both team and individual rewards & recognition
  4.  Reward for each milestone or important result
  5.  Say thank you, in writing and in group settings
  6.  Hold up performers
  7.  Hold a kick-off meeting followed up with an activity
  8.  Reward positive behaviors openly, handle poor behaviors privately and one-on-one (use as a learning experience)
  9.  Get management to ‘stop by’ performing individuals’ cubes/offices or meetings to say ‘I heard and wanted to say…’
  10. Create performance legends & stories
  11. The positive spirit begins with you

Velocity & Vision

  1.  Determine upfront how much or little the specific project requires – the tools, tracking and formal processes
  2.  Create a vision the team can believe in, including how fast and why
  3.  Create a sense of urgency and action (if it can be done now then do it)
  4.  Important means speed – velocity only comes with a clear understanding of where you started and where you are going
  5.  Make it real, make it tangible
  6.  The pace of the leader sets the pace of the pack!