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Expert Briefing | Association Insights Example: 5 Tips for your next technology decision Fit for the customer: •C  reate a clear simple business case which articulates the opportunity or solves a problem A large, global professional association set up a new project to map and improve their customer journey. The project buzzword = simplicity •S  hare the business case so everyone knows what is being done and why The unexpected outcome was that because they kept asking why, and challenged the existing processes they exposed poor customer processes, bottlenecks and weak links. The mapping was developed by the people involved in the activity and the IT team drew the picture that the business described The language was straightforward- eg “visit office”, not “F2F interaction”. The language was recognisable to everyone involved- i.e. not just the people who put the process together but their teams and peers. The simplicity meant that the points at which things needed to be measured were visible, to identify gaps and enable handovers. Kim Ansell Principal Consultant K2 Consulting [email protected] Katherine Grimshaw Principal Consultant K2 Consulting [email protected] Kim and Katherine are experienced strategy and development consultants with a track record of delivering value for membership, professional qualification and higher education organisations. They understanding what you want from technology to enable the business strategy. Working with UK organisations in markets around the world Kim and Kathy can help you to achieve a clear, flexible and differentiated market structure, understand the value of your products and establish the capability to identify, prioritise and manage strategic partners. •F  ind a way to priortise what the business wants and needs •D  emonstrate leadership support for the solution chosen and the implementation approach, all the way through the project, not just when the contract is signed •P  ut the best people from all parts of the organisation on the project, use it as development for them and the people who step in to backfill their roles •C  hallenge scope creep! Anything may well be possible but focus on what is necessary to solve your problem and exploit your opportunity •R  eview, plan and measure success against your strategy, not just against project milestones • Always be able to answer the ‘Why’ question. Example: UNIVERSITY Z Assessment and Feedback project Our mission is to make our students more employable. If we have a better quality of assessment we can implement and demonstrate that much more effectively. So our technology project is to review the workflow which assesses our students and records their achievements. Roger Greenhalgh Strategic ICT and Organisational Leadership Advocate Jisc [email protected] Roger helps professional education leaders embrace the strategic use of ICT in the operation and development of their organisations. He works with a wide variety of professional associations throughout the education and ICT sectors, to understand business needs and challenges and to guide the strategic adoption of technology. He has broad experience of teaching and leadership in educational establishments and skills in IT architecture and systems. References: 1. About K2 Consulting: www.k2consulting.uk.org 7. Jisc: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/project-management 2. Jisc: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/about 8. Co-design: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HWgJlwTDIRQ 3. Jisc: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/business-intelligence/ change-management 4. Jisc: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/enable-your-staff-towork-with-digital-technologies 5. Jisc: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/collaborativeonline‑tools 6. Jisc: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/understandingyour‑data www.associationsnetwork.org 9. Co-design: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=0OZsdJgoMK4 10. Co-design: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ZNtnwjN7juI 11. http://www.agilealliance.org/the-alliance/what-is-agile/ 12. https://www.axelos.com/best-practice-solutions © Associations Network 2015 | 33