Link to the complete article is here.
- Promote employee acceptance of change. Cisco IT addressed change concerns through a variety of awareness and education efforts. For example, employees participated in a one-day workshop to learn about demand clearing basics. This also validated the demand clearing process and provided feedback to the operating model team. Additional workshops, presentations at team meetings, and monthly CIO update presentations also promoted employee understanding and acceptance of the new Cisco IT Operating Model.
- Use the right methodologies for the problem. The design and deployment of the IT operating model used components of multiple methodologies and process frameworks including ITIL (especially within operations and management processes) and Six Sigma/Lean methodologies for cross-functional process design. No single approach had all the answers; a combination of various methodologies gave the best overall result in designing and delivering the operating model.
- Provide reminders that an operating model involves more than governance. Discussions about a new IT operating model and the associated design of new processes can easily slip into a focus on governance because people are more knowledgeable and comfortable with that concept. Everyone involved in implementing the operating model can benefit from reminders that its focus is more on collaboration than control: collaboration among diverse Cisco business groups and IT, and collaboration across diverse IT groups, which requires a shift to a broader level of thinking about IT processes, strategies, and decisions.
- Deploy the new model in stages. Cisco IT executives know that the scope of the operating model meant its changes could not be implemented all at once. Instead, Cisco IT is following a phased implementation and assessing progress against an organizational maturity model. Using a structured approach to the operating model deployment also allows integration with other complementary organizational initiatives.
My question to you – “How do you develop an Operating Model designed for effective collaboration?”
