Reflection

Learning Launch

Challenge  Our company was a small consulting company of two, that has slowly grown into a medium-sized company  with over 30 employees. Our financial, project management, and resource management systems were  separate spreadsheets. This was fine when the company consisted of a few consultants with a few projects,  but duplicate entry into multiple spreadsheets was causing friction by the time the company reached 20  consultants. The company did not have enough funds to invest in an expensive enterprise-level software. I  was tasked to re-design the administrative tools.

After talking to the various users (consultants, managers, and finance officers), it was clear that the problem  was not solely because the system was built on spreadsheets, but the fact that the data had to be entered  on multiple different sheets caused issues such as human error and delayed updates. I had ideas that would  remove the duplication, but I did not have buy-in from the senior management who had concerns about  redesigning systems that the core operation of the company was relying on.

Selection  I chose the Learning Launch method. The idea was to collect feedback from a few selected users and  iteratively improve the design of the new system. Equally important was to gain the buy-in from the test  users and address any concerns about migrating into a different system by demonstrations with test cases  rather than verbal assurances and guesses.

Application  Instead of re-building the entire system, I started with a working concept version, where I invited a few users  from all sections of the company to test using live data. Basic instructions were provided, and the test users  were given a fortnight to provide feedback. The feedback process turned out to be more ad hoc and  frequent than the planned timeline approach.

Insight  Perhaps the executive management initially thought of the beta testing as a pilot. Had the “pilot” failed, the  new system would not have been adopted. The idea of the Learning Launch captures the mindset of an  iterative approach – failures are allowed and assumptions are tested with low-cost samples.

Approach  Unfortunately, unless the design thinking mindset is adopted, it is likely that business will be carried out as  usual. An ICT challenge such as this would typically be approach as we do any business problems: conduct a  survey, identify issues, develop a requirements statement, engage a business IT specialist, receive  recommendations, review recommendations, and purchase a new system. Purchasing a new system is costly  and could be hard to reverse. In any option, small scale testing and iteration would vastly improve the  chances of reaching the best solution.

Perhaps in this case, the problem was not the system, but the underlying behavior. Do we need to record  and track so much information? Why is updating project-related information not a high priority for the  consultants but viewing the information is a high priority for the managers? Design thinking tools such as  Mind Mapping could help the stakeholders to see the company-level picture of the business.


Reflection Learning Launch Challenge Our company was a small consulting company of two , that has slowly grown into a medium - sized company with over 30 employees . Our financial , project management , and resource management systems were separate spreadsheets . This was fine when the company consisted of a few consultants with a few projects , but duplicate entry into multiple spreadsheets was causing friction by the time the company reached 20 consultants . The company did not have enough funds to invest in an expensive enterprise - level software . I was tasked to re - design the administrative tools . After talking to the various users ( consultants , managers , and finance officers ) , it was clear that the problem was not solely because the system was built on spreadsheets , but the fact that the data had to be entered on multiple different sheets caused issues such as human error and delayed updates . I had ideas that would remove the duplication , but I did not have buy - in from the senior management who had concerns about redesigning systems that the core operation of the company was relying on . Selection I chose the Learning Launch method . The idea was to collect feedback from a few selected users and iteratively improve the design of the new system . Equally important was to gain the buy - in from the test users and address any concerns about migrating into a different system by demonstrations with test cases rather than verbal assurances and guesses . Application Instead of re - building the entire system , I started with a working concept version , where I invited a few users from all sections of the company to test using live data . Basic instructions were provided , and the test users were given a fortnight to provide feedback . The feedback process turned out to be more ad hoc and frequent than the planned timeline approach . Insight Perhaps the executive management initially thought of the beta testing as a pilot . Had the “ pilot ” failed , the new system would not have been adopted . The idea of the Learning Launch captures the mindset of an iterative approach – failures are allowed and assumptions are tested with low - cost samples . Approach Unfortunately , unless the design thinking mindset is adopted , it is likely that business will be carried out as usual . An ICT challenge such as this would typically be approach as we do any business problems : conduct a survey , identify issues , develop a requirements statement , engage a business IT specialist , receive recommendations , review recommendations , and purchase a new system . Purchasing a new system is costly and could be hard to reverse . In any option , small scale testing and iteration would vastly improve the chances of reaching the best solution . Perhaps in this case , the problem was not the system , but the underlying behavior . Do we need to record and track so much information ? Why is updating project - related information not a high priority for the consultants but viewing the information is a high priority for the managers ? Design thinking tools such as Mind Mapping could help the stakeholders to see the company - level picture of the business .