While managing IT-related adds, moves and changes may not seem like the most glamorous and complex job in the IT career pool, it carries some serious weight in terms of the potential for causing untold chaos and headaches for management and employees alike, if not handled and executed correctly.
One person without fully functioning voice and computer access at a new desk location can be irritating. Five or more traders without access to trading systems and dealerboards could impact the bottom line. Many companies find that choosing to outsource their adds, moves and changes to a specialist company saves them a great deal of trouble, and frees up their IT staff to focus on other projects.
However, if you are still handling your AMCs internally, whether by choice or necessity, or relying on a supplier that keeps getting it wrong, here are 3 tips for managing and smoothing the process.
Handling Your Network Adds, Moves and Changes Effectively
1. Define a Clear Task Scope
Clarify and define a clear and concise scope of tasks and deliverables, and be sure to determine and confirm that they can be achieved within a designated time frame. Establish your overall plan for executing the AMC procedure, from planning to operation.
2. Ensure All Parties are Ready to Comply and Deploy
Determine and confirm that all parties involved in the AMC procedure have agreed to the proposed plan, and ensure each participating supplier has all of the necessary staff and materials needed for a successful execution and deployment on hand. Failing to confirm these details could see you starting an AMC procedure, and then crippled by delays in material sourcing or labour.
A key element in the compliance and deployment of an AMC procedure is firstly ensuring that clear lines of communication are established with the user community, so that they understand and buy in to the proposed plan. It's also essential to ensure accurate sequencing of the work planned, especially when high numbers of moves are scheduled.
An example of this might be a sequence that begins with the decommisioning and removal of existing IT kit, all furniture is moved according to the proposed layout, all services power and IT is relocated (or provided as new) to support the new layout and then all IT is tested and commissioned in the new location.
3. Unify Your Governance Information
Produce clear and accurate information that will serve as a governance for all procedures and work scheduled to be completed during the AMC process. Once you have done so, make sure to distribute it amongst all the involved parties. This ensures compliance to procedural guidelines, as well as staff agreement, for the entire AMC process. Individual plans and strategies can play havoc with a success implementation, so a uniform plan ensure all miscommunication and autonomous behaviour is eliminated in favour of a cohesive approach.
Finding the right balance of planning, process execution and communication can ease the pain of AMCs, improving the workflow and quality of these procedures, and shortening the time needed to execute them successfully.
