Think Outside the IT Box

Complimenting the traditional system development lifecycle with the best practices in product and change management enables IT stakeholders to “swim further upstream” to understand the real goals of the business and to gain a deeper understanding of the processes that a new technology is required to accommodate.

The Product Development Lifecycle
Concept and Design -> Growth -> Maturity -> Decline

The following best practices, when applied during the first phase - Concept and Design, can be repeated in each phase of the product development lifecycle to ensure an alignment of vision and to keep the lines of communication between stakeholders open throughout the life of a product ( in the case of an IT project, product = system).

Step 1: Idea Generation Brainstorming

• A pie-in-the-sky approach to getting to the real customer need.
• Participants should include product owners (that represent the customer) and key IT stakeholders (those responsible for delivering the customer needs).
• End-user Market Research should feed this process.
• Benefits: This represents the initial alignment of business (those generating the demand/need) and IT (those fulfilling the demand and assessing feasibility)

Step 2: Create a Short List

• The scope is narrowed from the brainstorm session.
• Feasibility assessment is done
• A formalized plan is developed for delivering product functionality.
• Benefits: Further alignment of IT and the business; Clear and realistic delivery expectations.

Step 3: Proper Engagement in Concept Design and Development

• Design and develop the new functionality.
• This is where the IT project hits full capacity.
• The Product Owner/Business should be engaged in each design and development iteration
• Benefits: Further alignment of IT and the business; Continued product owner engagement allows for quicker remediation of unexpected changes to requirements; Further refines delivery expectations

Step 4: Promotion

• Concurrent with design and development, the product owner/business should be promoting the new concepts/functionality to those impacted.
• Benefits: Generates awareness and excitement about changes to come; Plants the seeds early with end-users and allows them to prepare; Presents the opportunity to establish and initiate the feedback loop with the larger end-user population.

Step 5: Testing

• Formalized review and sign-off from product owner/business.
• Benefits: Confirms what is delivered from IT meets product owner/business expectations.

Step 6: Roll-out

• The new functionality is introduced outside the project team.
• The next phase of the Product Development Life Cycle (Growth) is initiated with roll-out.
• Benefits: The foundation for feeding the rest of the product development lifecycle has been established.