Align IT with the Real End Customer

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Organizations are becoming increasingly focused on the customer and much of this focus places technology at the center. However, the business units feel uncomfortable working with IT for customer-related projects because they don’t believe that IT understands the customer. IT struggles to understand what they should be doing different to support this growing customer-focus.
Often by the time feedback from the customer reaches IT, it has been passed through many layers of the organization, altering the message. This process of passing on feedback is typically slow, delaying changes to customer solutions.
Despite being uniquely positioned across the organization, IT is generally removed from decisions regarding the end customer. IT staff are unsure how to come forth with ideas that could benefit the end customer resulting in many good ideas going unnoticed.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Becoming aligned with the customer is doable. By taking a step-by-step, holistic approach, the CIO can build a customer-centric IT department.
Business unit heads are a key partner throughout this project. IT must engage the customer with the business.
To minimize surprises, build an iterative process called a feedback loop to continually respond to customer preferences.

Impact and Result

Being successful does not require turning your developers into sales representatives. Instead, take a process-driven approach, grounded in what you know.
IT and the business must collaborate to talk to the customer together rather than the business passing on customer feedback to IT. Changing the process is absolutely essential to the success of this project.
Develop feedback loops between IT and the customer. Balance the feedback mechanism you choose with the size of investment and the delay your organization is willing to undertake.

Align IT with the Real End Customer Research & Tools

1. Investigate the challenges and review the benefits of IT and customer alignment

Determine the motivators for IT and customer alignment and assess readiness to proceed.

2. Build the IT and customer alignment charter

Socialize and gain buy-in for the IT and customer alignment project.

3. Assess current IT and customer processes

Document a starting point for IT and customer process discussions and identify key pain points.

4. Select target IT and customer processes

Assess feedback mechanisms, select the most suitable one, and update process maps to reflect the target state.

5. Determine process modifications

Identify gaps and initiatives necessary to move from the current to the target state.

6. Refine the organizational design

Update your organizational design to ensure the smooth flow of customer information.

7. Motivate IT staff

Ensure IT metrics are aligned with new processes.

8. Communicate effectively

Outline the project vision and pinpoint impact on specific stakeholders to ensure smooth communication.

9. Train IT staff

“Break the mold” with training methods and provide IT staff with the opportunity to interact with the customer.

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Workshop: Align IT with the Real End Customer

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Investigate the Challenges and Review the Benefits of Aligning IT with the End Customer

The Purpose

Identification of the issues that arise when IT is not properly aligned with the customer.
Identification of potential benefits that will be achieved when IT is aligned with the customer.
Assessment of what is necessary to be ready to align IT with the customer.

Key Benefits Achieved

Clear conceptualization of the challenges and benefits associated with IT and customer alignment.
Readiness to proceed with the rest of the blueprint, following a step-by-step, holistic approach for aligning IT with the customer.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Identify current pain points

List of current pain points

1.2

Identify opportunities

List of opportunities

1.3

Review the readiness checklist

Go/No-Go Decision

Module 2: Build the IT and Customer Alignment Charter

The Purpose

Socialize the project and gain buy-in and support from business units.
Make certain the business is on the same page with regards to customer-centricity to ensure project success.

Key Benefits Achieved

Have a solid understanding of stakeholders and specific strategies for addressing each group.
Ability to align the project benefits with business drivers.
Identification of key success metrics and establishment of baselines and targets.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Identify and interview key stakeholders

Stakeholder interview guide and strategy

2.2

Identify business drivers

Business drivers and project fit

2.3

Tie project benefits to business drivers

Project benefits tied to business drivers

2.4

Define metrics

List of direct and intermediary metrics

Module 3: Assess Current IT and Customer Processes

The Purpose

Gain an understanding of the starting point for IT and customer processes.
Identify what is and is not working to help structure target state.

Key Benefits Achieved

Thorough and structured review and assessment of your current IT and customer processes.
Evaluation of the pain points associated with those processes.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Map current IT and customer processes

Current process flow diagram

3.2

Identify process pain points and drill down on root causes

List of process pain points and root causes

Module 4: Select Target IT and Customer Processes

The Purpose

Gain an understanding of the starting point for IT and customer processes.
Identify what is and is not working to help structure target state.

Key Benefits Achieved

Clear idea of what IT and customer processes look like in a target state.
An assessment of feedback mechanisms and their different use cases.

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Examination of the last project completed and whether or not feedback mechanisms could have alleviated pain

List of pain points that feedback mechanisms could have eliminated in the last project

4.2

Discuss feasibility and use cases of different feedback mechanisms

Idea of which feedback mechanism is best suited to your unique needs

4.3

Draft target state process flows

Target process flow diagram

Module 5: Determine Process Mofications

The Purpose

Determine what initiatives are necessary to close the gaps between the current and target state process flows.

Key Benefits Achieved

Understanding of which initiatives to implement, which to disregard, and which to save for a later implementation date.
Ability to begin thinking about the initiatives that are necessary to complete first and being to move forward with preparing for them.

Activities

Outputs

5.1

Brainstorm initiatives to close gaps between the current and target state

List of gaps that exist between current and target state

5.2

Prioritize initiatives by importance

List of initiatives necessary to close gaps

5.3

Create timeline of initiatives

Prioritization and timeline of initiatives

Module 6: Refine Organizational Design

The Purpose

Organizational design should reflect a smooth flow of customer information to match newly designed processes.

Key Benefits Achieved

Recognize the importance of designing an organization that fosters collaboration with the customer.
Conduct a thorough examination of the options for embedding IT in the business.
Define key organizational design objectives and outline organizational design initiatives.

Activities

Outputs

6.1

Establish culture

Checklist to assess culture

6.2

Define key objectives

List of key objectives

6.3

Embed IT in the business

Assessment of options for embedding IT in the business

6.4

Tailor model to fit organization

List of questions to consider when right-sizing to fit the organization

6.5

Outline organizational design initiatives

List of organizational design initiatives

Module 7: Motivate IT Staff

The Purpose

Given that the target processes for many IT staff have now changed, it is essential that the methods in which they are measured and motivated reflect this.
Motivate IT staff beyond building a system that works to one that is truly innovative.

Key Benefits Achieved

Understand the importance of updating IT staff motivation to fit with new processes.
Examine how IT staff are currently measured and motivated.
Determine desired behaviors and new metrics and motivation strategies to match.

Activities

Outputs

7.1

Examine IT’s current metrics

Inventory of IT’s current metrics

7.2

Identify new metrics based on desired behaviors

Outline of desired behaviors in IT and associated new metrics or values

7.3

Brainstorm and tie motivators to new metrics

List of motivators by employee groups and motivation strategies

7.4

Determine gaps and draft initiatives to address gaps

Draft of gaps and initiatives to address gaps

Module 8: Communicate Effectively

The Purpose

Having a shared vision is important, but stakeholders will want to know what this project means to them.
When preparing messages for each group identify the impact this change will have on their role.

Key Benefits Achieved

Define the project vision and identify the communication plan for each stakeholder group at a high level.
Recognize what should be included in the initial presentation to stakeholders.

Activities

Outputs

8.1

Define the vision

Outline of the vision

8.2

Create communication plan

Communication plan

8.3

Develop the stakeholder presentation

Stakeholder presentation

Module 9: Train IT Staff

The Purpose

Experiential training is an excellent way to “break the mold” with your training methods and provide IT staff with the opportunity to interact with the customer and to better understand their needs.

Key Benefits Achieved

Recognition of the methods of experiential training and their feasibility in the organization.
Draft a proposed training plan including activities, timeline, and other key components.

Activities

Outputs

9.1

Determine experiential training

Assessment of appropriateness for experiential training methods

9.2

Build a training plan

Training plan

Align IT with the Real End Customer visualization

Ensure IT and the business are working towards the same goal: improving customer experience.

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