Tying a Sensible Knot: A Practical Guide to State-Local Information Systems
Print Chapter (html)Adopt tools and techniques that can manage complexity
The manager of a state-local system project needs tools to manage people, time,
relationships, partnerships, ideas, conflicts, resources, information, and processes. He or she
needs a range of techniques to manage multiple streams of formal and informal communication and
activity. Most of the successful techniques we observed were based on a keen understanding of
the project’s goals and common sense adaptation of both traditional and newly popular
management techniques. The state-local project manager must have a considerable number of
management techniques in his or her tool kit. Among these, the most important is the ability to
select the right tool for the job at hand.
A number of tools are useful for establishing common understanding, and getting support and
buy-in for proposed project activities. Starting a project with a set of formal assumptions
about what is expected of each participant, the pace at which the project will progress, the
limitations of existing resources or systems, helps avoid misunderstandings and dispels
unrealistic expectations. Visual tools such as conceptual and project workflow diagrams and
timelines become living guides to the project that evolve over time. Starting each meeting with
a review of the workflow diagrams and timeline helps participants see progress and focus their
energies on the work ahead.
Tools that are more oriented to task management are necessary at the functional level of
project activities. Preparing for a group facilitation exercise, preparing a site for a pilot
installation, or preparing for a public showing of progress or results all require
detail-oriented task management techniques.
The following are a few of the more popular techniques in use in the projects we studied:
- Team meetings. Team meetings provide a forum for the project team to meet as a group to plan, and discuss issues, problems, or activities that affect the project as a whole. Thanks to teleconferencing and videoconferencing, meetings can be held face-to-face and electronically.
- Facilitated group meetings. For some activities it is very useful to have a professional facilitator take over the responsibilities of managing group dynamics so every member of the project team can make a substantive contribution to the discussion or decision at hand. This is particularly helpful when many voices need to be heard in the process of reaching consensus on an important decision or action.
- Committees and specialized work groups. Not every agency or individual is necessary in every step of the process. Instead, select representative members of user groups, agency types, or other stakeholders and organize them into working groups. A committee or work group is typically formed to perform a specialized task or activity, and then report its results to the larger project team. This allows work to go on in parallel on several fronts. It also helps focus the limited time of individuals on the areas where they have the most expertise.
- Status reports. Status reports provide information about current project activity and can be distributed in electronic or paper form. Most project participants we interviewed wanted regular status reports, even when there were no major changes or milestones to report. It was more important to have a steady flow of useful information than to have a sporadic one limited to big news.
- E-mail. E-mail is a very versatile communications mechanism. It can be used for one-to-one as well as group communications. E- mail distribution and discussion lists can be used to inform team members about important project activities or events, or to facilitate discussion of problems and accomplishments.
- Visual project management tools. Graphical project planning, scheduling, and reporting tools (e.g., GANT, CPM, PERT) provide useful techniques for visually communicating project information. These pictures are often the best way to show how different streams of activity interact with or depend on one another. There are software packages that create these pictures, but the most complicated is not necessarily the best, and sometimes a simple hand drawn sketch says all that is needed.
- Quality management techniques. Many of the tools and methods of the quality movement are very effective in state-local systems efforts. They are especially useful in setting goals and solving problems. Don’t worry about finding a complete set of brand-name quality management tools. The generic versions work just as well.
- Checklists. The humble checklist gets a great deal of use in planning specific activities, products and events. It puts all the pieces of work in one place along with due dates and work assignments for all to see, discuss, and understand.
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© 2012 The Research Foundation of State University of New York