Imagine if your most important photos—your child’s first birthday party, the day you brought home your new dog, that awesome vacation in Europe—were all lost forever. Your computer fell into the bathtub or the hard drive was wiped by an electrical storm, and you didn’t back up your drive. Don’t let this happen to your project documentation. Keep it accessible and functional for the life of your project as well as secure for future use, whether it’s for new end users, future implementations, or even project auditors. Consider the following and you will be on your way to doing documentation right:
You’ll want to figure out the Four W’s- Who, When, What, Where
Who? Who needs access and what level of access do they need? Do they have authority to sign off on documents, or are they just a viewer? Someone who can edit documents and share them? Define a few user groups according to their necessary level of editing rights. Use categories such as content Viewers, Team Members (creating and posting documentation) and Administrators. Also, be sure to get all individuals setup with a secure login so that they can access the information. Line up someone to be in charge of setting up and allowing new access requests for others. Be sure to designate someone that will be in charge of overall organization and version clean-up within the space. Sometimes multiple drafts of one document can get overwhelming, so you’ll want to be sure someone is tidying up along the way so that old versions aren’t confused with the latest drafts.
What? Now we’ll really need a good project tool with all of the built-in capabilities you need to ensure security, version control and ease of use. If the client company uses a Windows-based authentication system, this will work well with a number of collaboration tools, such as Microsoft® SharePoint or JIRA Confluence. These tools also make it possible for contractors, like partner company team members, to have project-specific login credentials.When? When should you set up the collaboration software or a documentation repository? It’s prudent to do this as far in advance of the project as possible so that pre-project kick-off communications or documentation can be posted to have an effective Day 1. Many companies have tools that they use to ensure a current version of the very first documentation. Dangerous gaps can form that leave crucial decisions out of the paper trail.
Don’t worry; you don’t have to have the entire organizational structure of the project down before you build your platform. This is just an address for everyone to visit and build from as you go along.
Where? You’ll need a location that is accessible to both the client and the partner team. If you host on your internal network, you might get into proprietary issues for client-side devices—and your partner team might not have the access they need. Work out any remote login logistics prior to the project start date.
Computer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and Hazards
Doing Implementation Documentation Right
1. 1synchrono.com 1synchrono.com
Life Hack 101: Doing Implementation
Documentation Right
Sarah Huhner
Senior Consultant
Demand-Driven Matters Blog Contributor
Demand-Driven Matters blog post
2. 2synchrono.com 2synchrono.com
The Who, When, What and Where for a
Solid Project Doc Strategy
Imagine if your most important photos—your child’s first
birthday party, the day you brought home your new dog,
that awesome vacation in Europe—were all lost forever.
Your computer fell into the bathtub or the hard drive was
wiped by an electrical storm, and you didn’t back up your
drive. Don’t let this happen to your project documentation.
3. 3synchrono.com 3synchrono.com
Keep it accessible and functional for the life of your
project as well as secure for future use, whether
it’s for new end users, future implementations, or
even project auditors.
Consider the following and you will be on your way
to doing documentation right:
5. 5synchrono.com 5synchrono.com
Who needs access and what level of access do they
need? Do they have authority to sign off on documents,
or are they just a viewer? Someone who can edit
documents and share them?
Define a few user groups according to their necessary
level of editing rights.
Who?
6. 6synchrono.com 6synchrono.com
Use categories such as content Viewers, Team Members
(creating and posting documentation) and
Administrators. Also, be sure to get all individuals setup
with a secure login so that they can access the
information.
Line up someone to be in charge of setting up and
allowing new access requests for others. Be sure to
designate someone that will be in charge of overall
organization and version clean-up within the space.
7. 7synchrono.com 7synchrono.com
Sometimes multiple drafts of one document can get
overwhelming, so you’ll want to be sure someone is
tidying up along the way so that old versions aren’t
confused with the latest drafts.
8. 8synchrono.com 8synchrono.com
Now we’ll really need a good project tool with all of the built-in
capabilities you need to ensure security, version control and ease of
use. If the client company uses a Windows-based authentication
system, this will work well with a number of collaboration tools, such as
Microsoft® SharePoint or JIRA Confluence.
These tools also make it possible for contractors, like partner company
team members, to have project-specific login credentials.
What?
9. 9synchrono.com 9synchrono.com
Selecting a collaboration tool within the overall corporate IT strategy
also means that the platform is supported and that retention policies
are already in place for later access.
Commonly, these collaboration tools are accessible via a secure Cloud
for safe remote access and allow you much more functionality than just
an electronic “file cabinet.”
10. 10synchrono.com 10synchrono.com
As for the “what” to store, I recommend
a certain baseline to get started, then
some guidelines to execute and finalize
the document repository:
11. 11synchrono.com 11synchrono.com
• Blank, clean versions of all required deliverables
• Meeting minutes from any meeting where decisions are made and
action items assigned
• Project management documentation (such as RACI, team contact
list, charter, statement of work)
• One final version of all required deliverables in a folder marked
“Final Deliverables”
• PDFs of final deliverables with written sign-offs from required
approvers (each page initialed and signed on the approval page)
• Archive folders of older versions of deliverables or other documents
12. 12synchrono.com 12synchrono.com
When should you set up the collaboration software or a documentation
repository? It’s prudent to do this as far in advance of the project as possible
so that pre-project kick-off communications or documentation can be posted
to have an effective Day 1. Many companies have tools that they use to
ensure a current version of the very first documentation. Dangerous gaps can
form that leave crucial decisions out of the paper trail.
When?
13. 13synchrono.com 13synchrono.com
You don’t have to have the entire organizational structure of the project
down before you build your platform. This is just an address for
everyone to visit and build from as you go along.
Don’t Worry
14. 14synchrono.com 14synchrono.com
You’ll need a location that is accessible to both the client and the
partner team. If you host on your internal network, you might get into
proprietary issues for client-side devices—and your partner team
might not have the access they need. Work out any remote login
logistics prior to the project start date.
Where?
15. 15synchrono.com 15synchrono.com
I have seen personal emails between project team members
disappear or cause serious problems in a project. Your “where”
must definitely not rely solely on one-to-one emails that
contain any project information that’s crucial to decisions or
outcomes—basically, ask your team to add all necessary
communications and information to the project collaboration
space. Make it all public knowledge so the private email
accounts of your project won’t leave gaps in your project
depository.
The Email Error
16. 16synchrono.com 16synchrono.com
Having a great place—a “where” that allows you to take
action based on the most recent decisions—allows you
to trust that your project documents represent all of the
deliverables you need to track during the project and
ensure that they’re not lost at the end of the line.
17. 17synchrono.com 17synchrono.com
One version of the truth
You can tell that the overarching rules for project
documentation are visibility and veracity. You need one
version of the truth, for the right people, at the very
beginning of a project and beyond.
18. 18synchrono.com 18synchrono.com
Sarah takes a customer-focused and results-driven approach to
project management and demand-driven manufacturing systems
implementation. With hundreds of projects under her belt, Sarah is
fearless when it comes to challenging the status quo and delving into
the details to ensure an optimal user experience. As such, her posts
reflect tips and best practice advice for managing people and
processes through projects - and getting the most out of your systems.
Sarah Huhner
20. 20synchrono.com 20synchrono.com
Stay in sync.
Synchrono® is a dynamic, growing
company – in the news and on the
move; innovating real-time demand-
driven manufacturing solutions.
We invite you to follow us and stay in
sync.
[Talking points]
Here’s the short list of what makes Synchrono unique – and how our software impacts our customers.
Our proprietary scheduling process
Combination of constraints mgmt., Lean and SixSigma principles into our sw and methodologies
We work well in environments where there is a high degree of complexity – large distributed environments with tens of thousands of SKUs
And, as you’ll see in a moment our DDMP synchronizes the workforce, method, machine, materials and information in real-time, keeping everyone on the same page
[Talking points]
Here’s the short list of what makes Synchrono unique – and how our software impacts our customers.
Our proprietary scheduling process
Combination of constraints mgmt., Lean and SixSigma principles into our sw and methodologies
We work well in environments where there is a high degree of complexity – large distributed environments with tens of thousands of SKUs
And, as you’ll see in a moment our DDMP synchronizes the workforce, method, machine, materials and information in real-time, keeping everyone on the same page
[Talking Points]
Our focus has always been clear and consistent – we enable demand-driven manufacturing. We were pioneers in developing demand-driven systems and were awarded a patent based on our innovative technology and approach.
Given today’s more competitive landscape, more and more manufacturers are making the evolution towards lean/demand-driven solutions…we’ll talk about some of our customer’s experiences throughout the presentation…
[Talking Points]
Our focus has always been clear and consistent – we enable demand-driven manufacturing. We were pioneers in developing demand-driven systems and were awarded a patent based on our innovative technology and approach.
Given today’s more competitive landscape, more and more manufacturers are making the evolution towards lean/demand-driven solutions…we’ll talk about some of our customer’s experiences throughout the presentation…
[Talking Points]
Our focus has always been clear and consistent – we enable demand-driven manufacturing. We were pioneers in developing demand-driven systems and were awarded a patent based on our innovative technology and approach.
Given today’s more competitive landscape, more and more manufacturers are making the evolution towards lean/demand-driven solutions…we’ll talk about some of our customer’s experiences throughout the presentation…
[Talking Points]
Our focus has always been clear and consistent – we enable demand-driven manufacturing. We were pioneers in developing demand-driven systems and were awarded a patent based on our innovative technology and approach.
Given today’s more competitive landscape, more and more manufacturers are making the evolution towards lean/demand-driven solutions…we’ll talk about some of our customer’s experiences throughout the presentation…
[Talking Points]
Our focus has always been clear and consistent – we enable demand-driven manufacturing. We were pioneers in developing demand-driven systems and were awarded a patent based on our innovative technology and approach.
Given today’s more competitive landscape, more and more manufacturers are making the evolution towards lean/demand-driven solutions…we’ll talk about some of our customer’s experiences throughout the presentation…
[Talking Points]
Our focus has always been clear and consistent – we enable demand-driven manufacturing. We were pioneers in developing demand-driven systems and were awarded a patent based on our innovative technology and approach.
Given today’s more competitive landscape, more and more manufacturers are making the evolution towards lean/demand-driven solutions…we’ll talk about some of our customer’s experiences throughout the presentation…
[Talking points]
Here’s the short list of what makes Synchrono unique – and how our software impacts our customers.
Our proprietary scheduling process
Combination of constraints mgmt., Lean and SixSigma principles into our sw and methodologies
We work well in environments where there is a high degree of complexity – large distributed environments with tens of thousands of SKUs
And, as you’ll see in a moment our DDMP synchronizes the workforce, method, machine, materials and information in real-time, keeping everyone on the same page
[Talking points]
Here’s the short list of what makes Synchrono unique – and how our software impacts our customers.
Our proprietary scheduling process
Combination of constraints mgmt., Lean and SixSigma principles into our sw and methodologies
We work well in environments where there is a high degree of complexity – large distributed environments with tens of thousands of SKUs
And, as you’ll see in a moment our DDMP synchronizes the workforce, method, machine, materials and information in real-time, keeping everyone on the same page