Administrative Technology Event Planning Made Easy- 2013 Harvard IT Summit
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The document describes how Harvard Business School Information Technology Group used an online task list on SharePoint to better plan and execute administrative technology events. It summarizes the challenges with past ad hoc planning, and how the task list provided a centralized place to record all tasks, link documentation, and grant stakeholders access to monitor progress. An example implementation for the Startup 2012 event demonstrated improved collaboration and engagement. Benefits included an easily repeatable process while challenges involved changing habits and manual reminders.
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Administrative Technology Event Planning Made Easy- 2013 Harvard IT Summit
- 1. Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College Administrative Technology Events Planning Made Easy: Employing a Task List to Ensure Success Sam Dowd Technology Consultant Molly Tomlinson Associate Director Technology Consulting Services Harvard Business School Information Technology Group
- 2. Harvard Business School (HBS) Information Technology Group (ITG) 2
- 3. HBS ITG • Over 150 FTEs, with a significant number of contractors • Self-sustained infrastructure/environment • Supports roughly 1,200 staff, 250 faculty, 1,800 MBA students, and thousands of Executive Education participants annually. 3
- 4. 4
- 5. 5 The Problem Administrative Technology Events
- 6. Administrative Technology Events (ATEs) • HBS ITG supports 3 main administrative technology events throughout the academic year • Start of School (Startup) • Graduation • Admissions • Each has their own unique processes, stakeholders, and tasks • These are highly visible and critical events that must be run flawlessly 6
- 7. Cause and Effect 7 Started from scratch every time Single Points of Failure Scattered Documentation Highly visible and disruptive issues Business partners felt excluded Time and resources wasted
- 8. Task Distribution by Month 8 5 12 18 114 38 May June July August September
- 9. Task Distribution by Group 9 3 6 14 15 23 34 38 7 16 36 ITG MBA
- 11. Solution Requirements 11 Ability to display a comprehensive overview of the process Documentation repository Take advantage of existing infrastructure Flexibility for use by all 3 ATEs Real-time dashboard for updates and progress Easy and intuitive to use Key theme tracking
- 12. The Solution: An Online Task List 12 All tasks could be conveniently recorded and tracked in one area. Documentation repository Take advantage of existing infrastructure Flexibility for use by all 3 ATEs Real-time dashboard for updates and progress Easy and intuitive to use Key theme tracking
- 13. The Solution: An Online Task List 13 All tasks could be conveniently recorded and tracked in one area. Documentation could be linked very easily to a single task. Take advantage of existing infrastructure Flexibility for use by all 3 ATEs Real-time dashboard for updates and progress Easy and intuitive to use Key theme tracking
- 14. The Solution: An Online Task List 14 All tasks could be conveniently recorded and tracked in one area. Documentation could be linked very easily to a single task. Take advantage of existing infrastructure Flexibility for use by all 3 ATEs Access could be granted to all stakeholders to see status and progress any time. Easy and intuitive to use Key theme tracking
- 15. The Solution: An Online Task List 15 All tasks could be conveniently recorded and tracked in one area. Documentation could be linked very easily to a single task. SharePoint 2010 Flexibility for use by all 3 ATEs Access could be granted to all stakeholders to see status and progress any time. Easy and intuitive to use Key theme tracking
- 16. The Solution: An Online Task List 16 All tasks could be conveniently recorded and tracked in one area. Documentation could be linked very easily to a single task. SharePoint 2010 Templates could be created. Access could be granted to all stakeholders to see status and progress any time. Easy and intuitive to use Key theme tracking
- 17. The Solution: An Online Task List 17 All tasks could be conveniently recorded and tracked in one area. Documentation could be linked very easily to a single task. SharePoint 2010 Templates could be created. Access could be granted to all stakeholders to see status and progress any time. SharePoint is already a highly used and familiar solution Key theme tracking
- 18. The Solution: An Online Task List 18 All tasks could be conveniently recorded and tracked in one area. Documentation could be linked very easily to a single task. SharePoint 2010 Templates could be created. Access could be granted to all stakeholders to see status and progress any time. SharePoint is already a highly used and familiar solution Simply add an extra field/column in the list
- 20. Startup 2012 • Startup 2012 was important because • It is the largest of all three ATEs • Startup 2011 had seen major flaws and mistakes that needed to be fixed to regain the confidence of our business partners • In the case of Startup that is MBA and Doctoral • The CIO had decided that he would dedicate a task force of Senior Managers to ensure a flawless startup 20
- 21. The Process 21 Quiet Phase • Consolidate previous documentation • Convert to task list Kickoff • Introduce to groups • Explain the process • Grant access Vettings • Detailed task-level review • Business process review • Small Group Meetings Execution • Daily standups • Tasks added & updated
- 22. 22 Lessons Learned Where do we stand now?
- 23. The SharePoint Site/Task List • 4 iterations so far: • Startup 2012 • FIELD 2 Reveal 2012 • Graduation 2013 • Startup 2013 23
- 24. A Full Site Adds More Value • Allows easy template creation and reuse • Multiple data views to suit different business needs • Includes components that we found valuable: • Document library to store new documentation • Task List to track all of the discrete tasks • Wiki pages for coordination: support and communication plans • Contact list 24
- 25. Example changes: Document Storage Document Repository Linking to Documentation 25
- 26. Example changes: Usability Task List Views Task List View Descriptions 26
- 28. Benefits • Our business partners are more involved and engaged in the process • We have an easily repeatable process • We have one place for documentation to be stored and easily referenced • All members can see what their contribution is and plan ahead • Everyone has a real-time status available 24/7 28
- 29. Challenges • Getting buy-in to a new process • Especially those with little at stake • No automated task reminders • Easy to forget tasks; requires manual shepherding • Changing processes and habits • Filling in task fields • Getting documentation of old processes 29
- 30. 30 Questions?
Editor's Notes
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- Departments were working in SilosOur process didn't reflect the image we wanted to project.Partners were left out of the decision making
- We needed to find a framework that allowed us to manage both the lower times like May, and the spike of tasks in August 27 tasks in one day
- Imagine a web of communication where each of the departments or groups here communicated independently with one another. CRAZY!And so, we created a solution where there was a central means of communication to distill the web of communication into more of a funnel where everyone contributed to one place, and everyone could receive that communication in one place.
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- It had to be useful at all levelsfrom the person with 27 tasks, to the person with only oneWe wanted to share more and make the content easier to accessWe wanted a solution that could show the picture or story in one easy placeWe didn't want to invent a new solution, we wanted to use what we had.It needed to be an easily transferrable process for all 3 ATEsWe wanted people to use it!Lastly, we wanted to track areas for improvement.So, let's take a look at how our solution addresses each of these requirements.
- We didn't need to consolidate, we needed to take the scattered documentation and put some level of organization to it.
- View progress and status along the wayAnd make it shared
- We were able to track key themes by adding columns
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- It was critical to get Startup 2012 rightStartup 2011 had seen that caused us to lose groundIn short, we needed to knock Startup 2012 out of the parkNot to mention the fact that after all if we mess up it reflects poorly on our partners
- Vettings We needed to flush out the knowledge A vital part of using the task list was that it accurately reflect the work we were doingStandups Explain them before talking about them.
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- Emphasis is now on the whole site rather than just the task list – task list is only one piece of a whole.
- Changes that we have made to the site/task list:Created an InfoPath form to create an easier and more user-friendly task entry processDeveloped additional views and included instructions for users to create their own views and/or access views that were availablePlaced more of an emphasis on the site as a whole than just the task list.Contact ListSupport PlansCommunication PlansAdded the ability to color code tasks based on their status
- Other changes: streamlined InfoPath form for data entry, color-coded tasks based on status
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