Tips for Software Migrations: Part 3 - Human Element and Final Thoughts

Know when to hold ‘em

You need to pick and choose which hills you are willing to die on, the battles you choose not to fight are just as important as the battles you do, sometimes you need to follow the company strategy even if you don’t necessarily agree with it, if you are that much opposed to it then leave, otherwise suck it up and lead by example.

It is hard

Systems migrations are energy sapping, time consuming, expensive, full of unexpected challenges and can take their toll both professionally and personally.  Whilst you can do as much as possible to mitigate this (you are reading this, which is a good start…), know that it will be a rough journey with multiple highs and lows.  This is where having a good team around you is paramount, having people you can trust and lean on when things get tough makes an enormous difference. I have been lucky enough to work with numerous high calibre and talented professionals over the years who have each played their part when times were tough, this ensures that there is not a single point of failure, and each can go through their rough patches knowing that other team members are there to keep the momentum going.

Expect the unexpected

Whether that be config, code, data or businesses processes that were implemented either a long time ago before anyone was around or unintentionally implemented without a formal change process.  Know that it wasn’t anyone’s fault, it is very (very) rare to come across a scenario where an employee went to work each day just to make life harder for everyone else. People aren’t being malicious when they implement these processes or deviate from the norm, they are generally just trying to get the job done as effectively as possible (according to their own measure of effectiveness).  Use these experiences as learning exercises and if you have someone who likes to try and avert an agreed process, bring them into the camp and let them see why guardrails and governance are important.

Go easy on the CIO/CTO/IT Director/GM IT/IT Manager

It isn’t an exact science, for those that have worked in tech for a long time we can have a view on how long something will take and how much it may cost but ultimately when dealing with complex systems migrations, it is impossible to predict all of the variables and people and business process challenges that will be encountered along the way, ask if they have done everything in their power to manage the situation, if the answer is ‘yes’, trust them. If you don’t then you have a much bigger problem on your hands. Create a supportive and open environment to ensure that they feel comfortable surfacing the issues as they occur.  If you keep shooting the messenger, you will very quickly run out of messengers.

Don’t forget the service recipients

Whether that be the customer, your colleagues outside of tech or wherever they may reside, remember why you are doing what you are doing and keep them involved at all times with regular feedback loops.  Ultimately there should be a broader strategic plan that not everyone may be privy to but ensure everyone knows as much as possible about the plan and gain buy in to the project, but also remember that this isn’t a popularity contest, the organisational objectives will almost always trump personal preference.

Stay on top of the detail

Many projects start to go awry not because the team aren’t following the plan diligently or there is something wrong with the software, it is simply because market trends have shifted or the business has had to pivot on a particular area, it is times like this when the senior IT leader needs to be across as much detail as possible in all aspects of the project and the broader business strategy. This can become particularly important when trying to win conquest customers or repositioning products and services to meet a particular demand, if the project team aren’t aware this is happening you will end up with numerous orphan processes which get managed via our old friend Excel. Now I happen to think that Excel is the greatest piece of software ever developed, you can run entire businesses off it should you so wish, but these ‘off system’ solutions, whilst creative, do not offer the sustainability or innovation needed for long-term growth and effective risk management. Separate article on that at a later date.

Relationships

Have I mentioned how important the people are… As the owner of the project your relationships with colleagues, team members, executives, third parties and whoever else is a key stakeholder in the project is one of the most critical areas you need to focus on and always manage. Collaboration is key when things go wrong, which they inevitably do with large and complex software implementations, and when they do these relationships will be priceless.

And some final thoughts relevant to this topic but also more broadly:

• It’s a nice problem to have - it is easy to say that this is a ‘nice problem to have’ when trying to rationalise difficult circumstances, but a problem is still a problem and reality is relative.
• People, people, people - value people if you want to hold onto them (in your words and your actions), let them know how much they contribute and give them validation regularly. Some may say they don’t need it and already know their worth but most actually still need to hear it from others.
• Actions speak louder than words - though you may articulate yourself eloquently and tell a compelling story, the real measure is in how you treat people and whether you can effectively complete the job.
• Encourage diversity of thought - there is no such thing as normal, there is you and there is everybody else. Everyone looks at a situation through their own lens based on their own experiences and expectations, in most situations that doesn’t make them wrong or you right, just different.
• Last but not least, enjoy the journey…

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This article was crafted exclusively by human expertise, without the use of artificial intelligence.