Project X Discussions

Education Transformation

I thought I'd cross post an article I wrote on my blog regarding some thoughts on transforming education here on the PXTLD blog since it directly relates to some of the work we do.

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I've spent some time over the past few months carrying out some strategy work in the education market as a part of our Education Transformation solution offering.  The way technology is leveraged by kids has always been something I've been interested in (here are past posts), both because I have children of my own & because I am always looking for ways that organizations can extract real value from their investments in information technology.

As I have worked with my own children over the past couple of years, I've come to see more and more that this generation of children is really changing due to being a digital generation. I saw this as well when I created and operated the Youth Technology Camp program for children.

Our children are changing, the world they will enter after school is changing, so why is it that education has not changed that much?  I don't think that it has kept up with the changing nature of the world with which it has found itself (a good video that drives home the point of rapid change is this one titled Did You Know).

So how is education changing and where is it all going?  What does it mean to transform our education system into a 21st century model?  To best understand this change, we need to understand the changes as they relate to the various stakeholder, processes and objectives.  The transition from Education 1.0 to today's Education 2.0 and eventually the future Education 3.0 is causing a fundamental paradigm shift in various aspects of education.  The diagram to the left tries to capture this change.  Most importantly is the move to a customized approach for each student.  That is truly disruptive.  It is akin to the the level of customization we receive in so many other areas of our lives.  For example, banks have embraced technology to try and deliver us a more customer-intimate experience, a one-on-one relationship between the bank and its customers.  The expectation is part of the culture today and kids are growing up with that.  Education needs to strive to deliver that type of learning environment to today's youth. 

Moving at the Speed of the Slowest Participant

Is the pace of a project determined by the slowest participant?  My friend was on a canoe trip with a group of families and on a canoe trip it is important that they all stay together.  They moved very slowly because some of the paddlers were not a strong as others. 

My friend found it very frustrating because he likes a hard paddle and loves a good pace.  The only solution was to put a strong paddler with a weaker one to improve the pace. 

He also realized that depending on the objectives of the trip he needs to pick his fellow paddlers.  On a family trip, he must realize the pace will not be to his liking.  For a "real" canoe trip, he will select more capable paddlers.

I think these insights also apply to our projects.  If you have slower paddlers on the team, putting them with stronger paddlers will increase the speed of the project.

Niche Consulting Firms

Project X Ltd has now been around for just under 5 years and have evolved into a Niche Advisory and Technology Services organization.  In discussions over the weekend, I had a great conversation with someone from industry about why we are choosing to stay niche and what value this brings to our clients.

So let's frame this a bit and provide a some context for this blog post.  eHealth Ontario has come under fire lately about their use of consultants and the associated costs that have produced no return for the taxpayers.  Sadly I do not know anything other than what is published in the papers or web, so I can't comment on this.  But it was a good starting point about how big does not necessarily mean good and the staffing model at the other extreme can also not be as manageable.

When Graham and I first described what we wanted to build we modeled our company off of Gellman Hayward and Partners Ltd who we both had been exposed to.  It was a great place with some great people doing great work.  Most importantly, it provided real, tangible value to its clients. 

We then looked at the gap that frequently exists between the business and technology and how finding a select area of expertise and a mind to this issue we could help facilitate the better utilization of IT by the business.  This lead us to Actionable Strategy and then eventually Rapid Results.

Why Rapid Results?

1. Mainly because this is what the business needs to be able to address the changing landscape of their business.
2. Our large competitors are not about that and need massive projects that last years.  We wanted results in 90 to 100 days.
3. Staffing resources though good, would not have the necessary glue and accountability to bring best practices to the client to help drive value.
4. We want to empower our clients to be able to utilize the same methods and breed change agents and most of our competition should be scared of this type of thinking.
5. Be fast, be nimble and most of all be focused on the results.  Use the process as a tool not the answer.

Whether we like the name of the approach of Rapid Results or the things it gives us the ability to do.  This is one of the underpinnings of us and how we operate as a niche firm and strive to drive value.  Our clients seem to like it and our competitors don't seem to want to do it.

Driving Value from Technology

How often does the technology not deliver the value that was expected?  The challenge is to discover why does it fall short.   Frequently the delivery people are blamed for not providing what was promised.  The delivery people blame the users for not being clear on the requirement. 

I expect that the underlying issue is related to change and how the change is being managed.  Unfortunately mentioning change and management in the same sentence evokes a "change management process."   Change management is treated as an element that is separate from the project as opposed to be integral to the process. 

Most organizations realize how important the new system is and the changes required.  However often the expectation is that the new system can be implemented as one big change.  My experience is that approach gives the organization indigestion and maybe even constipation, if you will excuse the metaphor. 

I believe that a phased introduction that delivers value and benefits quickly gives the organization confidence and momentum.  The design of a phased introduction is more complex than the big bang and requires more from the project designer.  The support of key people in the business is important for a phased introduction.

I recall a project where the key business users were reluctant to make a change to a new customer master file and the change required active and persistent support from their director to get them to make the change.  He patiently met with the team weekly and made it clear he was going to persist until than moved to the new system.  We ran into resistance at each phase but the director's support made it happen.  

In the long term we have all seen the value from technology.  However I think the pain of the change can be eliminated by the correct approach to the introduction.

itunes U

I recently discovered university courses on-line free at Itunes U.  For an introduction for go to

http://www.apple.com/ca/education/mobile-learning/

There are video and audio courses from some of the best universities in the world.  You can watch professors from Harvard, Columbia, Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, and many other places give undergraduate and graduate courses.  You do not get credit for the course but you sure can expand your knowledge.  Some of the content is more impressive than others but every single site delivers value.

They also have demonstrations for many schools in the K-12 range about new ideas on how to teach subjects.  One I looked at showed Grade 4 kids going for a walk everyday with a pedometer.  Then keeping track of their progress using Excel.  The ideas presented really stimulate your imagination.  Another showed a grade 12 biology class teaching grade 5 about cell biology. 

Great find!  Have a look.  I have been wondering about the business model that makes people publish to the site.  I suspect it is another way to promote your courses and also make them available to your students for review. 

Making Technology an Asset, Not a Liability

Is technology really providing value to your organization?  So often the business depends on the IT organization to deliver value rather than using technology to support the business to deliver value.  Often the project is proposed by IT and they promise value.  However the value is not intrinsic in the application of technology, the value comes from the use of the application by the business to deliver value.

I recall so many times the IT folks came up with a great idea for a project and got agreement to proceed.  However the reluctance for the business to change and the reluctance of management to push for the change results in a project that does not the promised value.

I remember a huge inventory management project was initiated by a large mining company based on an IT Strategic Plan.  The project was intended to managed the parts inventory throughout the integrated facility.  However the project was really a big IT project using the latest software.  After two years, the project was scraped because it was not delivering the desired results.  Many theories exist as to why the project failed. My thought was that this was not an business initiated project but an IT project, without support from the people who could make it work. 

The partnership between the business and IT is really critical to the success of a project.  The leadership and determination of the business is essential for success of the project.

Our approach to this issue begins with planning and engages the business in a dialog.  The strategy work involves assessing where the business is now, what others are doing, strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities.  Based on all this data the key stakeholders work on where they want to be and set direction.  Once the direction is set, we look at the top priorities and develop action plans.  This key step is to develop actionable plans that can produce results quickly for the business.  Creating rapid results for the business, gives the organization momentum and courage to move forward.  We call this business value through rapid results.

The key principle in the planning process is assessing the readiness of the business to use IT to enable their business to be more productive, competitive and  differentiated from the competition.  Often the history of frustration with IT reduces people's readiness so creating early success is essential to create momentum.  The business must have confidence that IT can really help the business and become an asset rather than just another cost.     

I welcome comments from people who have had similar experience or contrary ideas.