We work in a world where things need to be fixed , improved or changed/transformed at pace… and also a world where options need to be understood and the optimum decision made to drive credible results.

One size does not fit all.

We have problems that need fixing.

We have improvements that teams are suggesting

We have colleague and client feedback about their experiences that should be considered

How do you prioritise what needs to get done and how much research and analysis do you wrap around it.

IS IT A PROBLEM THAT NEEDS FIXING

If it’s a problem with something not working as it should – analyze the problem and fix it and fix it fast – if there is a long list of problems (a problem backlog) then have a way to assess the backlog and fix what matters most first, AND be very aware of how long that problem backlog is … as long as it’s a known problem it’s causing some form of friction somewhere in the service. And where there is friction there could be unintended consequences of the workarounds people are adopting to overcome them.

IS IT AN IMPROVEMENT FOR THE BACK OFFICE TEAM

If it’s an improvement – born out of a team reacting to situations and identifying something can be done differently to how it is currently done – anaylse the improvement areas and then again have a way to assess the improvement backlog and improve what matters first AND it’s ok to have a backlog of improvement areas especially if you are focusing on clearing a longer backlog of problems that matter more to be fixed.

IS IT AN IMPROVEMENT THAT MATTERS MOST TO THE FRONT LINE

If it’s an improvement born out of proactive research, where there is a deeper understanding of what matters most to the customer and areas that would create that seamless experience from a customer perspective .. then research the solution to best meet the customers experience needs , that will see improvements in what the customer feels, says and does when dealing with your function .. create the experience back log and prioritise it according against the problems and the team suggestions.

In my book I would lean towards :-

A) fixing problems first

B) then finding solutions that will drive better experiences born out of deeper research and customer insight to what matters most

C) and then look at what you can do in parallel to move onto to the backlog of the internal teams and back office to make things better

And in my experience – the back office of corporate IT are often sitting on a long

A) backlog of fixes

B) a load of great ideas from how to be more operationally efficient

C) and rarely are we prepared to do the research with our colleagues to deeply understand what matters to them in the provision of corporate IT services

Trust me – start talking to your colleagues – understand how your corporate IT services make them act and make them feel – find out how many workarounds they are having to invent to get things done despite your corporate services and start prioritising what they want fixed, improved and changed to make their life’s at work better.