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Problem.
A
T-21 client was in the first chaotic year of an expansion project with several remote sites and many participants.
The CEO contacted his T-21 Team Manager (TM) to see what help we might
provide to reduce misinformation, duplication, and
waste in the project.
He said, "We're operating from five different sites in
three states. People don't know who's in charge of what - or how to contact them.
We're saturated with thousands of e-Mails, miscommunications, and
just a lot of confusion and waste."
He continued, "Everyone,
including me, has spent hours reading e-Mails and trying to piece together
what's going on. I even get e-Mails, correcting prior
e-Mails. We lose track and sometimes miss important things.
Everyone is getting fed up with it,
and I can't blame them."
Action.
His TM recommended an Information Control Point (ICP) for the
expansion project as a part of a Change Control program (see
example by clicking: Change
Control). On his approval, a T-21 Team designed and built an ICP
Web Site, accessible by everyone in
the project. Then they collected all available information on
Contacts, Policies, Plans, Schedules, and Activities for posting there.
As they became available, all new or revised documents
and data were sent to the
T-21 Team that maintained and updated the ICP Web Site. The CEO commented on the project in his own column on the Web Site's Home Page.
Other subjects were linked directly from the main entry page.
As needed, rumors were addressed in a "What's New" column. The CEO directed everyone to check the Web Site at least every morning and evening, for updates, announcements, or changes.
Further, he mandated that everyone notify the ICP Coordinator with changes, delays, or
any information, helpful to others in the
project. Many employees made the T-21 ICP their default Home
Page in their Web browser, so changes would be brought to their
attention each time they entered the Internet.
Results. Gradually, the
ICP Web Site grew in size and scope.
The T-21 Team organized content into easily referenced categories, so access to all information was easy and rapid.
Every employee, in all locations, came to rely on it for the latest,
most accurate information.
Later, the T-21 Team installed a Bulletin Board service in the Web
Site, so employees could post questions that others answered.
The ICP Web Site kept everyone updated each day with changes that affected
them and provided contact information and the latest project schedules,
24/7/365. The Control
Point could be accessed, via the Internet, from anywhere, anytime.
Traveling
employees could easily stay in touch with the latest information and top
management could keep tabs on the entire operation from one place. In
a conversation with his TM, the CEO commented,
"I wasn't sure, at first, whether this thing was going to help or
not. But, the change over the last year has been
amazing. I can't begin to calculate how much money and time we've
saved by coordinating our far-flung staff. Our people seem to
really like it, since they can go to one spot and get the latest, verified
information. It's good -
very good.
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