Managing Enterprise Initiatives
Enterprise initiatives are infamous for causing confusion. The process of deciding on priorities, and integrating those priorities with ongoing efforts to support "the business" is fraught with competing perspectives, disorganization, miscommunication, and inconsistent implementations.
To help things go smoothly, each enterprise IT initiative should have a "home page" that is linked to in all formal communications about the initiative. The home page should, in turn, have as many of the following resources as possible:
| Asset | Purpose | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Track overall progress | Display attainment levels for objectives and key results, broken down by department then team |
| Glossary | Clearly define terminology | Precise definitions of terms and measures of success |
| Resources Directory | Maximize utilization of all available resources | Complete list of training materials, tools, and support-teams available to assist with the initiative |
| Assessment | Identify areas of risk and non-compliance | A workflow-driven series of questions designed to elicit next steps and identify risks |
| Sample Plans | Ensure scope and impact is fully accounted for across teams | Examples of successful plans from early adopters, annotated with insights (e.g. expected vs. actual costs & budgets) gained from the experience of execution |
| Sample/templated Solutions | Accelerate roll-out | Code, tests, pipelines, scripts and other assets that can be easily adapted to specific team needs |
| Training Materials | Minimize risks inherent with new tools and methods | A list of available training resources, documentation, videos, and courses |
| Historic References | Accelerate planning and estimation | Project summaries of completed initiatives of similar size and/or goals |
Each asset should be cross-linked where possible. For example, the OKRs in the dashboard should link to the definitions in the glossary.
The key is to create discoverability and build awareness of the available resources, and plan to fill in gaps when they do not exist. Without coordinating on these resources, teams can invent hundreds of ways to solve a single problem, creating huge amounts of waste in the process.
Deeper Knowledge on Managing Enterprise Initiatives
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