Better Together

Situation/Problem: The IT Director for Northern Europe (Reckitt Benckiser) couldn’t service all the requirements for projects from internal customers to the extent that he wanted to; due to resource and/or budget constraints. The internal cost of initiating projects was substantial and so it only made sense for large initiatives. However, this led to unfulfilled requirements and uncontrolled End User Computing (EUC) applications. This was creating a negative perception of IT with some internal customers and increased risk for the organisation from EUC applications.

What Was Done:   Jason Reed was engaged by the IT Director to provide a service for internal customers that met with corporate standards. Jason reviewed the internal processes for IT projects and created a “light” streamlined approach that remained compliant with key controls. He acted as the liaison between the IT department, internal customers and developers to keep benefit realisation on track.

Outcome/Benefit: The corporate IT department had a well-controlled inexpensive alternative to EUC when an internal project wasn’t possible. This led to an increase in internal customer satisfaction and reduced the proliferation of uncontrolled EUC applications.

Jason’s Reflection and Learning: The corporate project processes, although effective in controlling risk, were not efficient.

Reckitt Benckiser had established IT project processes that effectively controlled risks associated with developing projects. However, the processes didn’t scale and were not targeted to smaller applications. The new streamlined process covered internal control points efficiently and used simplified templates. The old process was like loading up a huge container ship with a couple of boxes of valuable content versus using a speed boat. The new process was fast, agile and quick to get started and it made sense for smaller shipments!

Previously individual contractors had sometimes been engaged on an hourly rate for software solutions and had not delivered desired results. In the new process applications were built for a fixed price and scope was controlled collaboratively with the clients. The fixed price ensured that the developers were interested in creating a solution efficiently, without raking up hourly charges, while the focus remained on customer satisfaction.

One thing I found when running a small business is that big corporations often don’t want to give small companies a chance. Engaging a small business can be seen as risky and so it is easier for the corporate leader to do nothing.

In this case the corporate leader served their organisation well and was prepared to engage with a small business. This led to a number of effective, satisfying, and low-cost solutions for the internal stakeholders