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How can an IT OCM approach best work with other OCM approaches e.g. HR OCM?

Former Member
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Hello,

I would be really interested to hear any thoughts that people may have about how & where you think an IT lens of OCM can best work with other OCM approachs for example HR and strategy?

As you may infer this question probably relates more to larger organizations where different approaches exist and are at different levels of maturity.

The challenge is how best to align / integrate the approaches to the best mutual business outcomes.

Initial areas that jump to mind are: Role mapping, system training and post go-live user experience management.

Has anyone got any other suggestions or are you able to share any practical examples where this approach integration has worked / struggled?

Many thanks,

James

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Former Member
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Hi James,

OCM should really be looked at holistically with a focus on looking at the changes from the perspective of the impacted stakeholder groups. Questions about each stakeholder group should include: how will changes from the project impact the stakeholder group, whose roles might be changing, why would the stakeholder group want to make the change, etc. This is a different view into the project than the one you see from a process, functionality, or systems perspective.

By OCM approach, I assume that you are talking about how you execute OCM: the tasks, responsibility/accountability, timing, deliverables, etc. This type of information is found in the OCM Strategy and OCM Plan, which should be key deliverables during project planning.

When creating an OCM Strategy and Plan, if there are multiple OCM approaches / methodologies, these need to integrated and aligned during the planning phase and then reviewed with program / project leadership and the business for their input. Once the Strategy and Plan are in place and agreed to, the OCM Team can then execute on the agreed to plan, keeping in mind that it might change slightly over the course of a longer project.

As an OCM Consultant at SAP, I generally follow our SAP OCM Methodology, which is aligned with ASAP. However, I have been on a number of client projects where we used a different methodology and in some cases, multiple methodologies. The key to integrating the methodologies / approaches again is to clearly define the OCM Strategy and Plan and gain agreement on both. This is usually done at the program/project level. Developing an OCM Strategy generally starts with a standard methodology or multiple methodologies. The OCM Team then determines which tasks and deliverables best apply to this specific program / project. Again, it is important to have everyone in alignment on what you are going to do and what the deliverables are very early in the project. The OCM Plan adds information on who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed (RACI) in addition to the timing of the tasks and deliverables.

In your examples above, Role Mapping and Training are standard tasks in an OCM Plan. Role Mapping frequently requires coordination between the Project Leads, who can identify the changes, the OCM Team, which focuses on impacts on roles and people, HR, when changes are needed to roles or organizational structure, and the Business, which will need to agree to any role changes and implement them. Training frequently involves the OCM/Training team, who develop the training materials, and Business Trainers, who do the actual training. Post go-live user experience management can be trickier as the project team generally rolls off and responsibility and accountability must be turned over to the business.

Getting alignment is not always easy, but it is critical. Doing it early in the project and setting expectations with your OCM Strategy and Plan are key to getting alignment.

I hope this helps.

Caryl Barclay