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Knowledge Sharing Innovations in the Natural Resources Community: A toolkit for community-based project teams

Abstract

Preface

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - Assessing impact

Chapter 3 - Environmental Complexity

Chapter 4 – Reducing the risk of failure

Chapter 5 - Critical Success Factors

Chapter 6 - Advice

Appendix A: Project Descriptions

Appendix B: Project characteristics

Appendix C: Project Highlights

Appendix D: Teleconference Participants

Appendix E: Reflection Workshop Participants
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Chapter 5 - Critical Success Factors

Define success in terms of the goal

A common mistake made by novice and experienced project teams is to define success in terms of the creation of a new resource such as a Web site or a new database. They focus on the process of building the “thing” and fall often into trap that once available – the resource will certainly deliver the expected benefit. Research on information technology innovations shows this is often not the case. Solely focusing on the specific resource as the objective is particularly problematic when issues arise in the creation of that specific thing. If the focus is on an overall outcome – then the strategy for achieving that outcome can change depending on unexpected conditions.


Focus on the goal, not the technology
The goal of the Augusta Springs project was to help students of all ages learn about the role that forests play, particularly the National Forests, in protecting clean water. With the number of visitors to Augusta Springs increasing each year and the resources of the forest service being stretched thin, the Augusta Springs project team wanted to design a Web site that would help train student volunteers and free up time of the Forest’s environmental educator to concentrate on developing new educational opportunities. Despite difficulties with shifting personnel and priorities, and by resisting the temptation to get carried away with technology this project always kept its sights on its initial goal. In the end, they produced an informative Web site that is easily accessed and updated by its users and promises to serve that audience for years to come. The Web site itself never became the focus; it was always the Web site as a tool to meet the primary goal - preparing student volunteers.
Augusta Spring

Several of the Electronic Commons Program proposals contained project purpose statements presented in terms of the resource being produced – the system, the Web site, the training materials-rather than on the impact the new resource would have on its intended audience or user. Through guidance provided in the teleconference calls with CTG and the use of CTG’s toolkit, Marking Smart IT Choices, many of the grantees began to understand the need to shift their perspective from the “thing” to “what the thing would do and for whom.” In particular they used the service objective statement to separate out the thing they would be building from the action that users would be able to take as a result and the outcomes they expected would be realized. Once they did this it became easier for the grantees to define measures they could use to determine whether their project was creating the expected benefit.

Using the service objective statement the teams were able to emphasize the importance of first defining what role this new product would play in the user community and only then choosing a suitable technological solution. Gaining knowledge of the end-user and how the final product would be used by them became a pivotal point for many of the grantees. This allowed the discussion to turn from the technology to the purpose of the project such as dissemination of information or building a community of practice. Once this occurred creating a meaningful evaluation plan that allowed the teams to track their progress became easier.


Service Objective
A service objective is a structured way to express the goals of your project. The process of creating a commonly understood and agreed upon service objective often reveals differences in thinking, different assumptions, and conflicting perspectives that all must be discussed and resolved before the service objective statement is complete.

To provide (who) with (what) that allows them to (action) so that (outcomes).
Source: Making Smart IT Choices

Tips
  • As a team, develop a clear description of the intended value of the end product; be explicit about who it will serve, how it will help or support those users and what the outcomes will be from its use.
  • Set realistic expectations from the start.
  • Conduct current and best practices reviews of projects with related goals to learn from the experience of others.
  • Consider including prototyping or benchmarking as a part of the project plan to help evaluate the impact on users and other stakeholders.
  • Create an evaluation plan as an integral part of the overall design and project scope.