The Four Phases of a Successful
Implementation of a New Process
Continuation from How to Succeed in Implementing BIM Part 1
Phase
1: Preparation and Evaluation
Analyze your current processes
and abilities, create a baseline to help you evaluate areas of attention as
part of the new process implementation process. A review the current operations
will assist you in recognizing and addressing area’s where improvements can be
made that have the biggest impact.
Evaluate your current technological
needs, make sure your computers and network will be able to meet the
performance requirements of any new software. Research what you need and plan
accordingly in preparation for moving forward, best to do this early on to
minimize staff’s frustration and the impact of upgrading equipment.
Engage your staff, take advantage of
resource by recognizing existing knowledge and understanding, inclusion of
staff is very important to gain their confidence and trust in the
implementation.
Phase
2: Establish Goals and Milestones
Objectives,
Stages & Milestones; specific policy objectives, intermediate capability
stages, and measurable maturity milestones separating current status from a
quantifiable future target.
To measure your progress and success
you need to establish goals and milestones, these should include both short
term and long term goals. Each organization has an ultimate ambition and
long-term goal when it comes to adopting a new process. Based on the
ultimate ambition, intermediate goals need to be defined together with
measurable progress indicators and targeted milestone. It is important to
set achievable goals and milestones, to avoid discouragement taking
over a successful adoption.
Phase
3: Define the Process
Through defining your goals and
milestones you’ll be able to use these to help you start to clearly define the
implementation process, typically the process can be broken down into three
categories including; People, Process and Technology. Breaking the
process down into these three categories will help you define the processes and
clearly outline each the steps and how they relate to each other.
People
People are crucial to the success of
implementing any kind of new process, for this to be successful you need to
gain their confidence and trust that the implementation of any new processes is
an improvement to the old. Identify when, how, who and what training is needed
to reach the next milestone.
The biggest hurdle for any
organization is the change in culture, by undertaking effective “on demand”
training combined with “hands-on” expertise to assist and reassure staff that
they have somewhere to answer questions and play a supportive role.
Training is an
investment in your team, and your
organization.
As your staff develop their skills
and an understanding of your goals and objectives, you will start to see
confidence develop.
Internally
Look for Drivers & Champions, people within your organization that are
enthusiastic and supportive of changes that make improvement. These individuals
will demonstrate a willingness to participate in the adoption and seek out
efficacy and innovation in the system and process.
If
your new process or workflow involves new software , look for competent
educators and learning resources that cover the concepts, tools and workflows.
These can be either delivered through tertiary education, vocational training, professional
development or by training sessions held by “in house” champions.
Process
Develop processes that are flexible,
manageable and can evolve alongside your organization and the developing
industry. Implement the process gradually and have key adopters take the lead
and encourage the change in culture.
Technology
Technology is the tools of our
trade, having the right tools allow us to achieve our goals. Having inadequate
tools not only limit production but also play a major factor in staff moral.
Technology plays an important role in any organization. Consider future
expansion while measuring against the immediate needs. Balance the need verses
associated costs, review accessibility and affordability of upgrading necessary
hardware and upgrades to software and network systems.
Phase
4: Implementing and Monitoring
Once a certain level of comfort
is reached, the capabilities and process should be assessed and reviewed
through developing metrics for benchmarking project outcomes and assessing the
capabilities of individuals, organizations and teams.
The team should not only have a
process to follow but also have available to them the resources to be efficient
in their tasks. Having unreliable resources, or worse yet resources your team
are unable to find, gives them permission to create their own content,
essentially disregarding any quality control and duplicating work already
completed.
Invest in the time to fully evaluate
your existing processes, what works, what doesn’t work and where gaps appear in
the processes. Through a thorough review of existing process you will be able
to clearly define the flow of operations and the impact BIM has to all aspects
of business. Review your own processes with fresh eyes to see where you can
make improvements, look at it from the standpoint of production and what
resources you would need to efficiently complete the task at hand.
Measurement & Optimization
- Make process easy to follow, keep it clear
and easily understood, don’t make a process too constraining or onerous or
you’ll find that no one will follow it.
- Make your process flexible to accommodate a
variety of situations or your staff’s needs.
- Provide information on the process in a
variety of formats, such as online, printed booklet form, pdf etc. Make it
readily accessible to everyone in formats they can relate to, too
encourages adoption.
- Having management promote and endorse the
process is the key to a successful adoption.
Adoption of a new process takes
time, continual promotion through encouraging awareness and engagement of the
processes until it becomes part of the culture. Monitor your team, provide constant
reminders that that will encourage the development of a culture that follows
the processes.
Finally, be patient and flexible.
You’ll need both to successfully implement change.
