Understanding Technology Project Foundations

Technology projects are notoriously fickle. Unfortunately, the success or failure of projects is not just dependent on the technology being selected. Obviously selecting a solid platform is a critical success factor. But once that is out of the way, the real success falls more squarely on the shoulders of the organization.

How can you better position your team for success? Go beyond the technology selection and make sure that other parts of your organization are ready to use your shiny new toy!

Technology

Your technology selection is fundamental and forms the foundation of your project. Take the time to document your requirements, read through customer reviews, thoroughly vet potential vendors, and consult with professionals to find the best fit. There is likely to be more than one solution that will work well for your organization

Take your time and be thoughtful – this is a decision that will impact your organization for 5 years, 10 years, or beyond.

Data

Data should be at the heart of your organization, but frequently we see data from the legacy system pushed into the new system with no real clean up. Guess what? If your data was inaccurate in the legacy system, it is going to be inaccurate in the new system as well. Duplicates will still be duplicates and records from the 1990s are probably not very useful!

When changing out systems, take the time and effort to review, clean and curate your data before it is loaded into your new technology platform.

Process

If data is your heart, then Business Process is your circulatory system. Process is how you move information through the organization and the standards you use when interacting with your technology. As with data, we see many organizations try and simply reuse their old business processes with their new system. They are often outdated and not well aligned with how the new system needs to work.

Use technology projects as an opportunity to examine and revise your business processes. Make sure to use the best practices available in your new system to take advantage of its power. Afterall, there is a reason you selected it!

Understanding Technology Project Foundations

Technology

Data

Process

Delivering technology that works for your association.