War Time vs. Peace Time – Preparing for Implementation Role Change
In the last episode of Band of Brothers, a mini-series following the US 101st Airborne Division during World War 2, the troops from Easy Company – who have been through hell and back- struggle with their new roles.
In the last episode, the war is over — no more fighting. No more dying – or so you’d think. But, somehow, the troops continue to die – this time, instead of at the hands of the Germans, they turn on themselves.
Easy Company was a combat force built for fighting, NOT an occupation force. They spent years focusing on their goal – fighting every step of the way, and then it was over. They weren’t trained to sit around.
This transition is similar to when implementing software – except for the killing part. Every day, day in and day out, you focus exclusively on launching the tool.
Or you are releasing the product.
And training the End Users.
Getting Buy-in.
Hustling to go live.
And then, one day – you launch – and that’s it.
The thing that you focused on (fighting for) is in your rearview. And you should know there will be a massive dip at this moment.
If you are planning to be the support AFTER launching a software solution – take some time to adjust to the new role and the different goals of that role. It might save you from the Dip.
Depending on the size of your Organization, another thought regarding Digital Transformation is to consider one delivery team for War Time (Implementation) and one for Peace Time (Support/Maintenance/Iterations). The preparation of this transition and the transition itself is called Scaffolding – another term the Business World took from Academics. Scaffolding is the holistic preparation of Digital Transformation from Design and Build to Maintenance over time. Digital Transformation is not a one-time implementation but a sequence of iterations, so scaffolding is critical to total value realization.
References and Resources
For more on the Dip – read Seth Godin’s posts on the topic.
Supporting Music
I am Trying to Break Your Heart by Wilco
Note: Originally posted December 7, 2017