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Every time we go live with a major change I question why large corporations are moronic. The easy answer? Corporations are so caught up in “processes” and “forms” that they forget the backbone of their business.
In the past three years, I’ve watched a lot of programs launch. Most have taken years to implement. You know, two years in contract, six months figuring out the order in which products would migrate to the new system, four months approving test plans and developing “what if” situations and finally, on the last day, bringing in people who know the right questions to ask.
Today, we launched a whole new booking engine. We literally spent over two years in contract for the system. In fact, I think we’re still negotiating shit. We then spent eight months fighting over tracking and tagging capabilities. Then, we spent six months figuring out who would be the first to launch. After that, we spent eleven months in limbo and delays. Don’t ask me why.
A month ago, the training for the “real” people (aka the daily users) started. For whatever reason, I missed the first two training sessions. Why they couldn’t conference me in, the world will never know. So yes, ONE day before our “Go Live” date someone was kind enough to set up a meeting with me.
We chit chatted. Questions were asked. Questions I considered no brainers. Instead of answers, blank stares were given. Words were said. Words like, “Haha. Yea, that doesn’t work for me.” and “Nope. That definitely does not fly.” and “Yes, this needs to be rectified immediately. Why wasn’t this an issue for anyone else?” Oh yeah, and, “Why wasn’t this brought to anyone’s attention sooner?” Again, blank stares.
Sadly and surprisingly, this is not the first time this scene has played out. The Lesson? When implementing something, make sure to ask the OPERATIONAL department if what you’re doing fits their needs. More often than not, IT, legal and marketing forget the OPERATIONAL side of the equation. If you can’t make something work operationally it is 100% UTTERLY USELESS.
P.S. – The IT person that QA’d the system? Yep, they missed that the phone number went to a porn site, the “Contact Us” form didn’t work, no confirmation email was sent, our brand was spelled wrong, etc., etc., etc. Yes, you guessed correctly, I WANTED TO DIE.
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