Resistance to Change in IT Projects
This week you began your examination of IT project management. As noted in the Week 5 Introduction, public health professionals need to be skilled project managers when working to implement an IT project. Yet, change is difficult, and implementing change requires forethought and planning, utilizing best practices, and providing training and support to those impacted by the change.
Many of this week's readings included suggestions for increasing an IT project's chances of success. Reflect on this week's readings. Consider why managers of IT projects often encounter opposition within an organization. Reflect on your own experience and identify a time when an IT project in your organization faced opposition. This could be as complex as an entirely new computerized process, or as simple as a software upgrade from one version of Microsoft Office to the next. Recall the resistance to the new process in yourself and others. For instance, how was your work process or the work processes of others affected?
Post by Day 4 a response to these questions: (Reminder: Your initial response must be made in a single posting.)
What was the project that met with opposition? Please describe it briefly.
•What was the political climate of the company at the time of the project? Did employee opinion run for or against the project, broadly speaking?
- What strategies did the project manager use to minimize the resistance?
- How could you apply them, or how have you seen them applied?
- Was the project successful or unsuccessful, and why? How well were key success factors met?
Reading
•Course Text: Public Health Informatics and Information Systems by Patrick W. O'Carroll, William A.Yasnoff, M. Elizabeth Ward, Laura H. Ripp, and Ernest L. Martin (Eds.)
Chapter 7, "Assessing the Value of Information Systems," pp. 114-138, 149-158
Chapter 8, "Managing IT Personnel and Projects" pp. 166-178
Chapter 7 begins by reviewing how private industry has effectively used informatics systems and the business processes involved. The chapter then relates this information to the field of public health and provides strategies for information systems projects.
This section of Chapter 8 focuses on managing IT projects. How to manage stakeholder expectations is discussed, along with strategies for improving your chances for success with an IT project.