IT is going to change your life for the better!

Any change in routine from one work day to another can be considered an enemy of my productivity so I feel for my users when my project will make a change, however small or great, in their everyday work life.

With security increasingly an issue, IT must continue to update and upgrade ahead of the hackers, with vendor technology, and alongside corporate goals.

So communications, early and often, can make everyone’s life a little easier.  Some things to remember:

Keep dates general and progress until you have a solid timeline.  Everyone wants a date a time but realistically, your moving parts all have their own schedule not to mention guaranteed surprises along the way.  Flesh out each area then when you are certain, publish your schedule.  If you have exceptions or are waiting on an unknown, note that in your communications.

Consider users, management, leadership, vendors, suppliers, customers, and your property manager.  What? Well, maybe if you plan to give aware something free in celebration of your achievements.  The key is to consider everyone impacted.  Don’t focus only on the users you are upgrading.

Review your project with Legal, HR, and Sales early on.  Your state may have some new regulation, your application may no have exposed personal information, you may be upgrading during a major advertising campaign.  These are some gotchas you don’t what to be a part of your status report.  Meet with all departments both managers and associates to be aware of all of your impacts.

These are just a few examples of how communications or lack thereof can impact your project.  It is an assumption you don’t ever want to make.