For each stage we asked the question: “What one specific thing would you do differently if you had to do this again?” As the answers were descriptive text, there’s not a lot we can do in the way of pretty graphs here.
First, we’ll look at the identification stage. All respondents who were engaged in this stage responded (N=7), and six indicated that they had learned something. (For one, it was too early to have gained any learnings.)
Some learning keywords were: people, change, and time.
IT organisations did not fare well at this point, with one respondent baldly stating their learning as: “Don’t get IT involved.”
There was only one totally positive response, with the respondent happy that the system “did not need IT support”.
An unidentified decision-maker in another organisation also came in for some criticism, where the solution was “selected before the business requirements were determined.”
There was a common thread to the three remaining responses. One respondent underestimated how time-consuming the project would be, and highlighted that “this is more about organisation, people and change management than it is about technology” (emphasis mine). Another highlighted the need to “specify the criteria for success”.
Our final respondent reported the unenviable need to redo the whole project, due to changes in organisational needs and the “maturity of the market”. This learning was accompanied by a recognition of a need for “more resources to consult and do the analysis”. (Which may be good news for consultants!)
The key takeouts appear to be:
- Collaborative systems require a different approach from IT departments and business decisions makers.
- The introduction of collaborative systems takes time, and needs a strong focus on the needs of people.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
One additional take-out may also be inferred from this – don’t introduce collaborative systems as a “big-bang” project – take small steps, and allow for changes along the way!
OzCollab - The Australian Collaboration Software Report 