People first, then Process, before Technology

The principle of 'People first, then Process, before Technology' is critical to successful enterprise IT project delivery, with each element guiding the project as follows:

People form the foundation. Success depends on a highly competent team knowledgeable and experienced in their respective disciplines. Problems arise from role uncertainty or a mismatch between skills and requirements.

Process guides execution. A structured approach, with a clear strategy and consistent methods, leads the team through each phase. Projects can lose focus without a solid plan—including a defined scope, realistic timelines, and a well-suited delivery model—resulting in fragmented progress and uncoordinated efforts.

Technology equips the team with tools to streamline workflows. However, proficiency in these tools is not a substitute for core project and discipline competencies. Tools aid efficiency but do not replace critical thinking, problem-solving, or the strategic oversight essential for success. Relying on technology without the right skills and processes will not deliver an enterprise IT project.

By balancing these three elements, enterprise IT projects reduce risks and improve the chances of delivering value and quality.

Background

Bank of Moolah embarks on an enterprise IT project to implement a new customer relationship management system. The project aims to streamline customer interactions and enhance service delivery while targeting a diverse customer base. However, the initial phases encounter significant challenges, including delays and budget overruns.

Challenge

The project encounters three main challenges:

• People issues: The project team, composed of participants with backgrounds in smaller-scale IT and business projects, faces a mismatch between their skills and the project's requirements. When project recruiters fail to recognise the necessary competencies for specialist roles in enterprise IT, roles and responsibilities become unclear, often redefined based on individual competencies instead of project needs.
• Process challenges: The lack of a unified project strategy leads to reliance on high-level statements of needs rather than a clearly defined delivery scope. The presented schedules are visual aids for managing upwards but lack the detail needed to assess timeframe feasibility. Moreover, the delivery approach is developed by team members without the necessary qualifications and expertise in standards and best practices, resulting in inefficiencies.
• Technology decisions: The project prioritises adopting tools, such as requirements management software, without evaluating suitability or addressing participants' skill gaps. For example, a business analyst struggling to write a requirement statement on paper will not improve simply by using the tool. 

Solution

Adopting the principle of 'People first, then Process, before Technology,' Bank of Moolah restructured the project's approach:

People: To address the mismatch in skills, the project implements targeted recruitment that emphasises the necessary competencies for specialist roles in enterprise IT projects. Roles and responsibilities are defined, aligned with project needs, and communicated to the team to ensure responsibilities are understood.

Process: The project adopts a unified strategy by defining the scope and objectives from the outset. Detailed planning sessions facilitate agreement on deliverables, timelines, and methodologies, ensuring all team members have input. A standardised delivery approach based on best practices is introduced to guide project execution.

Technology: Technology decisions focus on selecting tools suitable for the project's specific needs that complement the team's existing skills. Training on these tools is provided to ensure that participants can effectively use them. Tools are assessed for their impact on workflow to avoid unnecessary overhead, ensuring they enhance rather than hinder productivity.

Outcome

The reoriented approach significantly improves the project's path. By prioritising people, processes, and technology, Bank of Moolah successfully implements the CRM system, receiving accolades for its enhanced customer engagement, streamlined operations, and overall reliability, marking a successful turnaround for the project.

Metrics and Benchmarks for ‘People First, Then Process, Before Technology’ Principle

Having explored the foundational principle of prioritising people, processes, and technology, measuring how well this principle improves enterprise IT projects is essential. Benchmarks, derived from historical data, serve as reference points for comparing these metrics, providing a framework for assessing the principle's effectiveness and driving improvements.

This responsibility could be assigned to the PMO, including tasks such as data collection, metric analysis, and reporting to evaluate the principle's impact on enterprise IT projects.

Establishing metrics and benchmarks measures the effectiveness of the 'People First, Then Process, Before Technology' principle. The following guidance outlines the metrics to track for each component:

People

• Skill alignment: Measures the percentage of tasks completed without additional training, indicating the match between participant skills and project demands.
• Team collaboration: Assesses the effectiveness of cooperation within the project, including the frequency of cross-disciplinary meetings and the percentage of collaborative tasks completed on time. 
• Team satisfaction: Gather survey data on team morale and satisfaction, as these factors influence productivity.
•  Turnover and retention rates: Monitors team stability through metrics such as turnover rate (percentage of team members leaving) and retention rate (percentage of team members staying).

Process

• Delivery model effectiveness: Evaluate the clarity and appropriateness of the delivery model based on successful deliverables and feedback from team members.
• Role clarity: Assesses how well team members understand their roles, including the percentage of members accurately describing their responsibilities.
• Feasibility of schedule: Tracks the realism of the project schedule, including the percentage of tasks completed on time and the number of schedule adjustments needed.

Technology

• Adoption rate: Measures how quickly and extensively new project tools are adopted. Metrics can include the percentage of team members using new tools, the time taken to reach full adoption, and user satisfaction ratings for the tools.
• System downtime: Tracks the downtime of project tools due to technical issues, gets the tool set up for the project, and waits for support on operating the tool. Metrics include the total downtime in hours, the frequency, and the impact on project timelines and deliverables.

These metrics and benchmarks provide valuable insights for refining project strategies and driving continuous improvement in enterprise IT projects.