A Practical Approach to Implementing Workflow Change by Nicole Pelsinsky

PRACTICAL STEPS FOR PRACTICAL PEOPLE: IMPLEMENTING WORKFLOW CHANGE

April 10th, 2014Nicole Pelsinsky, MLIS

Presented to the Texas Library Association

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Agenda

Why Change?

Evaluating What You Need

Soliciting Information

Selecting What To Do

Implementation

Marketing and Launch

Measurement and Evaluation

Key Takeaways

• Mea

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Why Change?

http://www.inetu.net/about/server-smarts-blog/june-2013/trusting-the-cloud-part-1

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Disruption

http://www.lindabernardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Disruption.jpg

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Change and People?

http://www.clker.com/

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Sometimes, it really might be “Who Moved My Cheese?” but….

http://static.neatorama.com/images/2009-06/slice-cheese.jpg

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Have a clear goal and vision Be positive and have a sense of humor Try and see the big picture Remember your own individual

contributions and value Be open about what is not working Focus on what success looks like – but

keep in mind that might not look the same for everyone

Practical Ideas for Managing Change

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Evaluating What You Need

http://www.inetu.net/about/server-smarts-blog/june-2013/trusting-the-cloud-part-1

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Soliciting Information – Key Patrons

http://www.novusdigital.com/assets/images/customer-feedback-ad.png

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Soliciting Information – Focus Groups

http://www.limebridge.com.au/content/Image/Customer_Research_Program.jpg

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50 Guidelines for Conducting Focus Groups - http://www.qualitative-researcher.com/focus-group/50-guidelines-for-conducting-focus-groups/

Basics of Conducting Focus Groups - http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/focus-groups.htm

Tips for Conducting Focus Groups - http://www.insites.org/CLIP_v1_site/downloads/PDFs/TipsFocusGrps.4D.8-07.pdf

Use of a focus groups in a library’s strategic planning process -http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC64762/

Hutchins Library, Focus Group Interviews - http://faculty.berea.edu/henthorns/bieval/Focus-Group.html

Libraries for Children and Young Adults, IFLA Section –http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/libraries-for-children-and-ya/publications/guidelines-for-childrens-libraries-services_background-en.pdfhttp://www.ifla.org/files/assets/libraries-for-children-and-ya/publications/guidelines-for-childrens-libraries-services_background-en.pdf

Soliciting Information – Focus Groups

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Soliciting Information – Survey Questions

http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-question.png

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Library User Survey Templates and How-Tos: http://www.lrs.org/library-user-surveys-on-the-web/

New York State Library Survey Tutorial: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/libs/pldtools/guide/h-clst.htm

National Library of New Zealand: http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/school-libraries/building-and-managing-collection/library-surveys

New Mexico State Library: http://nmstatelibrary.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=206&Itemid=104

South Plainfield Public Library Survey: http://www.southplainfield.lib.nj.us/SURVEYQUESTIONS_2%5B1%5D.pdf

Montana State Library: http://libraries.montanastatelibrary.org/files/2013/07/Sample-Library-Surveys.pdf

Soliciting Information – Survey Questions

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Start with simple questions Be deliberate – use clear sentences and

wording patrons will understand Ask one item per question Have the questions flow from one to the next Provide enough space for open-ended

answers Provide a comprehensive range to closed-

ended ones, including a ‘neutral’ category – if appropriate

Soliciting Information – Writing Survey Questions

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• Surveys

Soliciting Information – Survey UIs

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Examples of Library Online Surveys Brewer Public Library: http://

www.rc.swls.org/www.old/formsa/prg3.htm Multnomah County Library: https://multcolib.org/survey Henderson State University: http://

hsusurvey.hsu.edu/Library/libsurspring14.htm

Free to Low-Cost Survey Tools Surveymonkey (Library Services Survey example): http://

www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=CZ6VWn6dVcW6TtjfWno_2f7A_3d_3d

Zoomerang: http://www.zoomerang.com/ Google Forms: http://www.google.com/google-d-s/createforms.html Surveyz: http://www.qualtrics.com/

Soliciting Information – Survey UIs

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• Be objective – Consider having someone in the room who

is not familiar with the process, who can ask clarifying questions

• You may need to capture workflow at several levels and across teams

• Capture the tasks distinctly, but without being pedantic

• Expect it to be messy, until it’s not

Soliciting Information – Workflow Assessment

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• Think about the process you want to focus on• Talk through all of the tasks• List out all of the tasks

– As you list them out, think in ‘yes/no’, ‘pass/fail’, ‘active/passive’, ‘something/nothing’

– Walk through each branch in the workflow logic• Expect to revise the list, because you are going to

forget stuff• Mark up notations in places where there are special

cases• Mark up places where there are perceived bottlenecks,

dependencies, or any individual points of failure

Soliciting Information – Capturing Workflow

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Soliciting Information – Incentives!

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Prioritizing from the ‘Laundry List’

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/54225110/CORE-Task-List-(Shoot-House-and-CACTF)

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What kind of budget do you have? What resources are available? Does it need to be outsourced or in-

house? What is the timeline? What do stakeholders expect? (i.e.

provost or patrons or staff)

Selecting what to do

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What is the difference between RFI and RFP?

RFI Process Pull together broad questions about a subject, like

‘discovery’, for instance Use these questions to then fuel what you’d consider

for an RFP This also allows the respondent to ask for further

clarification if needed

More Formal - RFI (and RFP)

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Does the technology meet your needs? Does the content meet your needs? Pricing? Maintenance? Support? Metrics and analytics? Do you need to build in SLAs?

More Formal – RFP Questions

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RFP 101: http://www.thestaffingstream.com/2013/03/01/rfp-101-are-you-asking-the-right-questions/

Sample RFP Questions to Ask Vendors: http://rfptemplates.technologyevaluation.com/rfp/for/Sample-RFP-Questions-to-Ask-Vendors.html

How to Improve Your RFP: http://www.rfptemplates.org/improve-your-rfp/

How to Write a Request for Proposal: http://www.internetraining.com/6art2.htm

More Formal – RFP Questions

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Less Formal

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/asv/2044509953/

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Implementation

http://blog.prolecto.com/2011/11/16/how-to-netsuite-implementations-demystified/

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What is the project scope? What method(s) will be used to complete the

project? Who is involved, and when? What are the specific tasks, and how long will

each take? Do you need to track costs as well?

What is your back-up plan and what happens if the project slips?

Implementation – Project Planning

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Milestones Provides critical points in the project

Activities Instructions tell people what they need to do

Deliverables Activity-based points in the process

Outcomes Focuses on the goals or objectives of the

project

Implementation – Process

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Example Project Plan

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Training What do you need? When do you need it? Who can supply it? And does the ‘who’ need to be

you? Repetition

Documentation What do you need? When do you need it? Who can supply it? And does the ‘who’ need to be

you? Ready access and easily available

Implementation – Training and Documentation

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Marketing and Launch

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Consider your Audience Who are you telling and why does it matter to them? How do they best receive new information? – make sure you ask

while doing your focus groups, surveys, etc.!

Marketing How much of a splash do you want to make? In person events Social Media Push Set up training sessions for people (vendor or library staff) Attend events where you can market the new whatsit Newsletters

Marketing and Launch – For Others

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Preparing Your Staff Ensure that your staff is ready to do training, if

needed Ensure that your staff is ready to do

troubleshooting Make sure you have the collateral you need Write help articles, cheat sheets Make sure all of the different access methods

are covered (mobile, portal etc.)

Marketing and Launch – For You

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The traditional measurement and evaluation…

Plus - document, document, document What’s next?

POSTMORTEM

Measurement and Evaluation

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Expect any potential change to have impacts – it’s okay! There are lots of options for evaluating what you need and soliciting

information The process can be formal or informal, depending on your library’s needs Allow time

To talk through changes; Try out different processes and be honest about where something might not work; To not be as efficient as you’ll want to be when its ‘habit’

Encourage questions, but don’t let people whine Take advantage of training and documentation! Capitalize on new *anything* by communicating broadly ‘what it is and why

it’s needed’ Reward people for their time and efforts Follow up after its all over

Make a record of how it went; What to improve on next time; What items are on the ‘laundry list’ for the future; Use your metrics, scale of measure to illustrate improvements

Key takeaways and next steps

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• Nicole Pelsinsky – MLIS• Product Management Lead• [email protected]• www.proquest.com

• With special thanks to Jennifer Robbins and John Reynolds for their assistance with this presentation!

Thank you!