Just listening to Mary Lee Kennedy talk at an Education Institute audio seminar about Intranet Tips for Info Pros based on a recently published book she and I put together. BTW, you can buy a copy from Information Today or Amazon! OK, so much for the sales pitch. What I really wanted to highlight was ML’s list of 8 steps to sucess. Although she was talking about intranet projects, these could apply to anything, even strategic planning which is a core of D&J consulting practice. So here they are:

1. Start with the end in mind — define, paint a picture, tell a story and engage all the major stakeholders in this critical picture — bring everyone with you, all your stakefholders, clients, etc. — create a description which authenticates what success looks like.

2. Set the scene that supports the end — communication is a key — constant but not annoying

3. Break it down — this helps to test your assumnptions, especially regaring design & technology

4. Define the interdependencies — the critical ones as all would take forever

5. Prioritize

6. Put a program in place — early buy-in, no surprises

7. End with the beginning in mind — use a checklist to take back to the those involved in the first step; scoring your work against the commitment agreed upon; sell the excitement attained through the project in creating the picture viewed in the first step

8. Begin a continuous loop — success involves a lot of listening and making sure there are many checkpoints; a community of practitioners might work well or an annual planning meeting to assure alignment and keep the connection with users/clients

Other tips — start a pilot with someone who really wants what you’re offering; use the language of the stakeholder; much change happens due to changes in technology.
Mary Lee’s slides will shortly be here.