Communication Makes or Breaks

This past week we started a new project, which involves 4 different companies on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. We have a small, but important role of a very large information technology implementation project. NetTECH has been hired to manage and implement a migration strategy from Microsoft Exchange to IBM Lotus Notes/Domino.

It has been very impressive seeing the professional, succinct and thoughtful communication by all members on the team. The flurry of 40-50 follow up emails, right after a couple of very productive conference calls, insured everyone was on the same page. At the bottom of his conference call reminders, the project manager writes "so no balls get dropped". It strikes me as a powerful statement. Effective communication can make or break the success of any organization.

A project of this magnitude epitomizes effective communication, with obvious professional consideration being given to include team members who are 6 hours ahead of team members in the Eastern United States.

It is equally important to insure the end users of computer technology are included in system implementation communications. Getting "buy in" from end users is directly proportional to the perceived success of any technology implementation. The earlier end users are included in communications, the less teeth gnashing will occur at the desktop level. This is especially important, when technology users have to be interrupted from their daily work, for software installations on their PC. Keeping end users in the communication loop also facilitates better understanding from them, when system outages occur.