Assignment Reflection - Learning Launch

Challenge

I am a member of a team of highly experienced and result-driven technically inclined individual. I work  across different enterprise platforms and solutions that cut across the regions. My/our challenge is  related to a new deployed application which has just been agreed and released by the executive top  management in conjunction with IT Service Managers, Change Advisory and Release Board. The  problem/challenge of supporting the application (SAP) in line with customer workflow, meeting the  different enterprise projects.

The project scope includes the online time reporting by different projects/units. This report is often  done to ascertain/know if the customer/user is actually and actively involved in an ongoing project  justifying the need for such engagement and know-how on the job per time as it’s relates to other users  across the business units. We will focus on trying to uncover what my/our team members, as well as key  stakeholders within the organization and IT department, consider to be ineffective or problematic with  regard to the workflow.

Selection

My/our team has already gone through several design thinking activities/tools, so we are adopting the  learning launch tool. Broadly speaking, the leaning launch is an experiment meant to quickly ascertain  an idea and prototype.

Application

For our first learning launch, we critically looked on the structure/execution of tasks as it relates to time  reporting via SAP platform. In particular, we wanted to see how we could support the stakeholders,  users across different enterprise platforms seamlessly without impacting on their delivery in terms of  timeframe and meeting up with agreed SLAs, budget driven cost drivers etc. I/we were able to support  by letting the users know what SAP does and its different functions outside the one function known of  time-reporting. A comprehensive on-hand exposure and practical training was conducted to the support  team/members by the SAP team on how users could adequately be catered for and necessary support  given across different business units. Knowledge gained/gathered was channeled through resolving SAP  related issues but most importantly time-reporting for the users.

For our second learning, we focused on gaining clarity about our tasks and priorities. This tested our  assumption that our prioritization of on-hand approach training and exposure by the SAP team was the  main challenge of issues been experienced by the users. Our team completed an anonymous survey.  Additionally, some key stakeholders among the users also completed an anonymous survey. The surveys  included questions about our new, proposed process, understanding the process and the prioritization  of tasks as aligned by knowledge gathered, and feelings about the change, and were conducted within a  one-week timeframe and feedback was fantastic and excellent going forward on support.

Insight

By applying the learning launch tool, our team identified our assumptions and designed launches to test  these assumptions. Additionally, we thought through anticipated results, expecting to find that a more  proactive support and prompt timeframe would improve our workflow on time-reporting, and that both  our team and the key stakeholders would be fairly open to the new and adequate support and process  driven to customer satisfaction. Our actual results were slightly different from what we anticipated. The  key stakeholders among the users expressed some concerns. Going forward, the team will review this  insight and incorporate into future launch designs to a more robust focused solution support.

Approach

Given that our team has already gone through several design thinking activities and are at the stage in  the timeline.  The learning launch is the appropriate tool. As previously mentioned, our team needs to  review the insight gained from the first two launches and incorporate this insight into future launch  designs should reflect insight gained, progress made, and in proximity to compelling solution ready for  full rollout.

