You’ve got to run the risk of becoming unpopular

The road to developing a successful IT solution is often filled with detours, U-turns and complex questions. In this blog post Senior Business Consultant, Lene Alhed Augustenborg, explains how she has realised that you sometimes need to make yourself unpopular to ensure that the customer end up with a solution that creates real business value for real people.

Even before I arrive at a customer for the first time, I know that we will need to go through many different stages before we finally arrive at a complete IT solution. Often, it’s a process that takes time, numerous questions, frustrations and ups and downs for everyone involved. Only one thing is certain when working to find the ‘optimum IT solution’ – it doesn’t just land on your desk and report itself ready at your next coffee break.

At least, I’ve never experienced that happening in the 20 years that I’ve been working with IT and solution design. I started working as a consultant at Systematic in 2012, since when I’ve been helping to design IT systems which can be used by real people. There’s no point in having a highly tuned software system based on the latest technology if it cannot be used by employees to create value for businesses, organisations and citizens.

The best questions are not always the cleverest

When working with IT, you often find that solutions are driven by the engineers’ enthusiasm for new technologies. And then you risk forgetting to focus on the real business challenges and needs.

And that’s where I come into the picture.

My role is to help keep everyone’s focus on ensuring that the design is based on a business need. In so doing, you have to be prepared to make yourself unpopular to prevent the technology from deciding the solution. My job is to insist that the needs of the business are central to the development of the solution. It may seem obvious, but it isn’t always. Creating good IT solutions is a collaborative effort, where many different groups of experts have to contribute their respective input in order for everything to fall into place. My job can be regarded as the business’s midwife. I help to clarify the real needs of the business and use my IT expertise to build bridges between the technology and the right solution.

At the beginning of a project, I always start by studying the organisation, its values and what it really wants to achieve with a new IT solution. From there, I hone in on the needs that have to be covered by the solution design by observing and talking to the employees. It is through this dialogue that together we can learn about the actual needs of the organisation, and which options an IT solution should offer. This requires that I ask very down-to-earth questions in order to be able to identify what is required. Initially, the questions are usually very open: What does a typical work situation look like? Is there peace and quiet around you? Are you surrounded by customers? Do you sit alone, and perform your tasks without any distractions? If you approach people with an air of openness and curiosity, they are often very interested in telling you about their work. In this way I learn a great deal. I continuously group the information into small virtual boxes, which can then form the basis for a solution design. Part of my task is also to challenge whether what the business is doing today is what they will be doing tomorrow. A new IT system is often introduced, of course, with a view to automation. Therefore, I’m always thinking about how much of what I am being told can be automated. In general, it is beneficial for customers to optimise their work processes so that more time can be freed up for tasks that require expert qualitative assessment. As we come further in the design process, the questions become more specific: What do you need to have an overview of in order to make precise and safe choices? What decisions can we let the system make without experts being directly involved in the process?

It’s about being prepared to stick your neck out

OK – the above headline might suggest a little more adventure than my consultancy work actually provides. But in fact, working as a consultant for a customer does require you to stick your neck out. You have to be prepared to ask managers and employees in-depth, explanatory and annoying questions. You have to be prepared to challenge the customer about the answers and information you receive. And, most importantly, you have to be prepared to change course and make new decisions which are not easy, but which are a step towards arriving at the best solution.