Critical Considerations before implementing an LCNC solution for a large organization

• How will this new technology improve us; what is the innovation we want to achieve through the new technology?
• How drastically can the software solutions be implemented?

Similarly, Nekkanti Sea Foods also crystalized its automation needs by identifying the challenges it faced, and the goals it wanted to achieve;

Challenges

• Paper-based recording of data; highly error-prone

o  Usually took 24hrs to transfer data from regional offices to corporate headquarters

o  Lack of the ability to see real-time data

• Information Silos proliferation
• No Single source of truth about operational data
• Silos of Performance measurement & management resources

Goal

A scalable app dev and Business Process Management (BPM) tool that can rapidly automate and deploy processes across multiple sites without having to deploy on-site IT infrastructure

3. Prioritize project governance

Project Governance ensures that we know what we are accountable and responsible for. To that end, Katherine Walton of GC-SDA emphasized the importance of laying out the governance structure for the application projects under the Citizen Development program.

For instance, GC-SDA shared the governance structure it used to develop and implement its Citizen-developer apps.

• Scalable and sustainable Citizen Development with Quality Assurance
• Data and Business Process Management/Ownership by Project Manager/Business Analyst
• Security and Risk Management through ProIT

However, governance frameworks are not “one-size-fits-all.

Hence, Nekkanti Sea Foods used a different governance structure whereby every Citizen Development initiative or app passes through five people and respective teams.



1.      Process change proposer: This person identifies manual activity or process to be re-engineered. The change proposer identifies if the proposed process can be implemented via Quixy or any other automation tool. The person also prepares a process map (As-Is & To-be) and present to HoD.  

2.      Department head (HoD): The Head of Department must prepare the business case for the Citizen Development app (and the proposed process change). HoD also finalizes input for the automated workflow/UI design for the IT team (prepared in the vendor’s Low-Code platform, in this case, Quixy).

3.      IT Team: The IT team is responsible for understanding the requirements of Department Head. It also helps develop the app.

4.      Champion Resource (Business + Technology): In this governance setup, the Champion resource with business and tech exposure ensures the availability of on-demand information. However, the most crucial aspect that the I.T. team handles is maintaining the inventory of apps developed by Citizen Developers.  

1. Quixy Implementation team: The vendor team assists and advises throughout the app development process, resolution of bugs, and deployment.

According to Nekkanti Sea Foods, the organization clubbed together 3-4 high-impact use cases (process changes). It implemented them using a lifecycle approach that involved design, testing, and production rollout in eight weeks.

4. Implement project management processes

Another best practice we learned about from this webinar was the use of project management (PM) processes. For instance, typical project phases include:

• Initiation
• Planning
• Execution
• Closing

Similarly, a project manager’s approach guides us that there are several knowledge areas one should consider while implementing citizen development projects:

• Integration Management
• Scope Management
• Time Management
• Cost Management
• Quality Management
• Resource Management
• Communication Management
• Risk Management 

Hence, thinking through these project management processes helps keep Citizen Developer-led application projects on track.



5. Ask the right questions to succeed

Automation leaders from GCSDA and Nekkanti Sea Foods shared the importance of clarifying the objectives of your digital transformation projects. One way to achieve that is by asking the right questions.

For instance, for Nekkanti Sea Foods, it was essential to achieve an agile operating model at the strategic level; however, its objectives and questions helped it accomplish that. It clarified three aspects of its operational excellence initiative;

·        Robust Value Chain

·        Digital Operations Excellence

·        Better Organizational Culture

It further asked pertinent questions under each category of objectives. For instance, for a robust value chain, the leaders asked:

• ·How would a Citizen app help build the desired robustness in the value chain? (Supplier performance, digitization of supply chain, customer intelligence)
• What key performance metrics would a Citizen Developer app drive for operations performance management? (Process Digitization, performance management, and activity digitization)
• What organizational culture factors would a new application imitative impact? (Innovation, Connectivity and collaboration, and Digital Empowerment)

The webinar attendees also asked a few crucial questions. We will provide answers to these questions in our next blog article. For reference, we are reproducing the questions below and short answers that speakers gave:

1.      How to become a Citizen Development; which PM methodology you used?

a.      Traditional Agile

b.      3 Weeks sprints

c.      1 Week user feedback

2.      Which tool was used by panelists, and what were the lessons learned?

• AgilePoint
• Quixy

3.      What is the optimal governance structure or strategy?

a.      In-house IT

b.      Enterprise-Wide Dev   Infrastructure

c.      Information Security Oversight Committee   HQ and across the globe

4.      How to provide long-term support for Citizen Development apps?

a.      What if the developer leaves without documenting the apps

b.      Are the processes handed over to IT for support?

5.      How do you ensure the Quality Assurance (QA) of the system?

• Citizen Developers can test the system
• Usually, we come across implementation issues
• Agile methodology

6.      How did you implement the solution by piloting it in one go?

a.      It depends on the complexity

b.      Non-complex

c.      Complex

                   i.     PoC

                   ii.     Platform Subscription

7.      What kinds of skills are required to develop automation apps?

a.      How to design a form?

b.      How is a data-table designed?

c.      Training by LCNC provider