Demystifying Change Management

Sometimes, IT people will mention "Change Management" when discussing deadlines and schedules relating to the IT part of web site deployment. To some, this can conjure up visions of "Mordac the Preventer of Information Services" from the Dilbert comics. It's really not like that.

Wikipedia informs us that "The objective of Change Management in this context [Information Technology] is to ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes to controlled IT infrastructure, in order to minimize the number and impact of any related incidents upon service."

Change Management isn't some top secret bureaucratic plot to keep change from happening in IT. It's all about managing change. Think of it as an editorial board for IT stuff.

A Little History

When IT departments start out, they are usually small and agile. It's easy to make changes and coordinate those changes with the other person (or two) in the office so other systems or processes aren't adversely affected. As the departments grow, coordination becomes more complicated. At some point, changes are made in one system which cause another system to malfunction. It's not done intentionally nor out of incompetence; it's just that better coordination and accountability is needed to avoid problems.

This is where change management comes in.

In many organizations, here's how the process works:

1. Someone, usually outside of the IT Department, requests changes to a process or application.
2. The IT person(s) assigned to the project make the required change in a test system.
3. The requester tests the changes in the test system. If the changes work properly, the acceptance is documented. Otherwise the process goes back to step 2.
4. The changes are presented at a change management meeting. This is done to allow others to learn about the change and speak up if they believe the new change will adversely affect other systems.
5. If there are no objections, the changes are approved in put into production on the "real" system. Otherwise, more testing is done to make sure no adverse affects will occur.
6. The requester does a final test and acceptance is documented or the process goes back to step 2.

There is usually paperwork involved which is kept on hand for a predetermined period. In some organizations those documents are reviewed by auditors on an annual or semi-annual basis.

Testing is extremely important and probably the most important part to the Marketing people. When asked, test promptly and thoroughly and respond. This will make the process go much more smoothly and changes will get done more quickly. Having a formatlize procedure in place to document testing an acceptance is good for Marketing too, because it helps ensure things aren't rushed into place before they are ready.

Change management processes vary from organization to organization. Marketing folks: get with your IT counterparts and ask them about change management in your company and how you can help them get through the process more smoothly. What you learn will benefit everyone.

Image credit: apesara

Do You Know Where Your Menu Is Going? - Stuff I Learned At PubCon South

On March 12th, Benu Aggarwal of Milestone Internet Marketing, Michael Martin of Googleandblog.com and Ted Ulle of the MEWS Group gave great presentations on the "SEO Sight Design and Deployment: Information Architecture" panel. Although all the presenters gave up some good information, I want to focus on Ted's presentation entitled "The Main Menu."

The information Ted presented really got me thinking about how we look at data structure and menu building. It was especially applicable to me. We are getting ready to redo our corporate Intranet and very much need to come up with an improved menu structure, not only for now but to anticipate future growth.

He pointed out that if you give people too many choices, they may choose nothing at all. I read that a couple years ago in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell (a good read I recommend checking out). I think that may be part of the problem people have finding content on our Intranet - too many choices in the menus. It's something worth checking out.

Specifically Ted recommended:

• only 6 items to choose from in a menu, with an absolute maximum of 7.
• not to make your menu like your org chart (though this may not apply for corporate Intranets)
• to forget the "3-Click" rule (which asserts that users will only click 3 times to find a certainly piece of information before they give up).

3 Clicks Is Gone?

The "3-Click" rule has been around a long time. The opinion is now that it's OK for content to be more than 3 clicks away, provided you let your users know they are on the right track to finding what they want. Ted said to think "Information Scent" in making sure your users know they aren't wasting their time and are headed in the right direction to find what they're looking for.

Menu Building - Old School

The part of the presentation which really got my attention was what I call "Menu

Building with Index Cards." Basically, you start by putting all of your web site's "links" or pieces of information on 3x5 cards. You then create no more than 6 "labels" which would represent your main menu choices. Then you sort all the cards into piles corresponding with the labels. After you revise and resort a couple of times, have a disinterested third party look for information you ask them to find in your cards. I have to admit, I am quite intrigued by this and I will give it a try when it comes time to do our Intranet menus.

Lastly, Ted recommended reading Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville. I got my copy on Monday and have already read through the first five chapters. I can already see where this will help me design better sites in future.

Do you know where your menu is going? Can your visitors figure it out? Are you giving them too many choices and, maybe, causing them to click off your site? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Image credits: Editor B & dweekly

Are You Showing Your True Value?

It's no secret that times are tough in today's corporate environments. It's more important than ever to demonstrate your worth to your employer to help keep you off the block if any cuts are made. One way to do this very well is by doing something we all should have learned in kindergarten: Play well with others.

A Non-Siege Mentality

When it comes to working on your corporate web sites, there is a lot of potential for empire building. Because IT people handle the technical end of things, put the site together and do the actual coding, they feel the web site is their baby. They sometimes resent someone telling them there might be a better way of doing things. The Marketing folks handle the "story" end of things, the design and the look. They often don't like being told "no" and don't understand why the IT people don't just do what they're told. Often times, both sides build a wall around their part and keep the other side out.

The truth is, though, that the web sites belong to the company. They are neither totally IT nor totally Marketing. In order to have the best web sites possible, it takes both groups coming together, combining their individual strengths to create the perfect storm of web site creation. Here are a few tips:

IT Folks: Explain why you can't do something or why it's not a good idea to do something. Often a simple reason can help the other side understand what's going on. Whenever possible, work up a compromise instead of a flat-out refusal. Unless what you're being asked for presents a real security problem or a technical nightmare there is, more often than not, a way to accomplish what the Marketing people want.

Marketing Folks: Help the IT people know and understand the story you are trying to tell. Be understanding when technical issues prevent doing exactly what you want and be willing to compromise. If you come from a print background, remember that web design doesn't work the same; sometimes you'll need to adjust a font or part of a layout because of the limitations of web browsers.

Check out my previous posts, "Geek-Speak for Marketers, Marketing Speak for IT" and "Who Owns The Web Site?" for other tips to get you started on a new era of cooperation. The biggest step to overcome is always the first - just get started!

When the time comes, don't be afraid to talk up the other group when it comes to sharing love at the end of a project. People appreciate it very much when you speak well of others instead of blowing your own horn. Promoting others always has a way of coming back to you in ways you never expect. Karma can be a wonderful thing.

Image credits: woodleywonderworks & John Spooner