The advent of Covid-19 has produced mixed responses from those with Practice Management System implementations in progress or on the cusp of embarking on one. Delays and postponements have certainly been happening with some firms citing lack of available bandwidth of technology and business staff due to forced rapid transformations to remote working. Others, concerned of the effect on business, have put a temporary halt on all discretionary expenditure and initiatives.
A lull in business can offer an opportunity
Some firms seem to be taking the view that any slowdown in business offers the opportunity to turn attention to improving systems and business processes. One question that is then raised is ‘Can such a major systems change be done when everyone is remote working?’.
What is there to consider?
Thomson Reuters have just announced that since the Covid-19 outbreak 11 firms have gone live after undergoing remote implementations (https://www.elite.com/press/remote-implementations-enable-eleven-firms-to-go-live-on-3e/ ). While these Firms must have been substantially through their implementation projects and therefore probably had little option than to press forward what are the considerations for Firms thinking of embarking on an implementation project in the current climate.
IT Infrastructures
Whether there are issues to address depends on the IT infrastructures that exist in the firm. With the work having been done on staff PCs and Laptops to enable remote working end users should not be a problem for many firms, particularly if the solution is 100% browser based. IT Departments or SaaS vendors also typically have no issue with being able to provision the required cloud-based servers remotely and quickly.
Business Analysis
This is perhaps one of the more difficult implementation areas to do effectively remotely. It is hard to beat having all the stakeholders and decision makers in the room when discussing difficult issues where consensus is required. This is where an implementation approach that centres around a small group of empowered decision makers for the firm can yield even more benefit, making a remote project doable.
Configuration and development
Remote technical staff is often the norm, so this should not really be an issue.
Testing
Given the right tools and approach end user testing and tracking can be done well enough with remote Test Management and Project team members. The logic of getting staff together for group end user acceptance testing is frequently more about having a way to get busy staff away from other activities and interruptions than it is about carrying out the tests themselves.
Data Conversion
Many firms have traditionally always wanted Data Conversion programmers to be on site during conversion. This was often more to do with the comfort factor of having people physically together to trouble shoot urgent, time critical, issues should they arise rather than any system security or technological risks associated with remote working. In recent years, more and more firms have successfully carried out remote conversions using 100% remote staff.
Training
Everyone learns differently and yes, classroom training and workshops with expert trainer’s present is often the best way to train core users such as Accounts staff. Like Business Analysis this can be more difficult to effect 100% remotely.
A Firm with a comprehensive implementation will include E-learning on the new systems, policies and business processes for all Fee Earners and support staff. In a remote world these can become even more central to the learning experience.
Project, Programme and Change Management
Decision making, planning, tracking, progress chasing, problem solving, issue management are all activities which require many touch points between individuals and groups over the course of the project.
Experienced Project Managers are used to structuring the necessary conversations and carrying out most of these activities without being face to face. As with Business Analysis and some Training there are instances where few would argue that face to face interactions would be far preferable to a remote conversation, even though most have now got used to the world of Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc.
Plan and execute
In summary, implementations where the Firms staff, Vendor staff, Client-side Project Managers and other Third parties are all working substantially or wholly remotely can be done. It just requires a will to grasp the opportunity and the experience and pragmatism to plan and execute according for the new normal.
ITSS Limited works with Legal and Professional services clients to implement IT solution enabled business change such as PMS systems selection, Client-side implementation and Change Management, including the adoption of Business Intelligence solutions.
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