INVESTIGATION CATALYST
Change Management Support

© 2004 by Starline Software Ltd.
DOCUMENTING CURRENT OPERATIONS
Introduction

Investigation Catalyst, supports the analysis aspects of Change Management efforts in two ways:

  1. - for adaptive changes to existing systems, by providing the baseline documentation of the present system operation, and by guiding the analysis for changes, and

  2. - for a replacement of existing system, by facilitating the documentation of the planned operation of the new system and its analysis to examine for feasibility and potential problems.

In both instances, the clearly stated, logically presented documentation can also provide the baseline for the follow up planning to determine the implementation progress and success of the changes.

Additionally, by using Investigation Catalyst to document incidents, the description of what happened during actual system operations and its analysis can be a compatible source of and motivator for introducing changes.

Document current system operation.

Before any analysis can be initiated, one must understand the work flows in the current system. This understanding can only be demonstrated by flow charting the dynamic task interactions required to produce the intended outputs. The Investigation Catalyst Matrix provides a convenient tool for documenting these interactions as information is gathered from the people and systems performing the operation. Manuals and operating records, observations of operations, and system designer and operator interviews are the usual sources for the data needed to describe the system operation.

Investigation Catalyst enables the cooperative participatory development and display of changes on the Matrix, with inputs to the proposed process description by any party with an interest in the change as it is being developed, By focusing on actors and actions, and displaying these interactions in the Matrix and Overlap views for all to see, this capability has been found to lead to a smoother "social" acceptance of the eventual transition from the present system operation to the new system operation by those who must change what they do.

Typically from three to five iterations of data gathering and Matrix revisions are required before a consensus can be reached among the participants that the Matrix accurately describes the current system operation. During this iterative process, some system improvements often become self-evident as designers and supervisors see what is actually happening, and discrepancies between what was designed and what is happening become visible in either the Matrix or Overlap view.

Remember, the task is to capture and document the current system operation, if it is not already flow charted. The steps are to:
  1. convene individuals with knowledge of task flows and how the system works;
  2. have each participant describe the understanding of the system operation verbally, recording the descriptions;
  3. from the recording, use the descriptions of actions to create an Investigation Catalyst Matrix
  4. add EBs to the Matrix from system operation procedures if not already there;
  5. review and expand the Matrix using data from operating records and incident reports, noting all sources of a given EB;
  6. review and add EBs the Matrix using data provided by the system designers as needed; and
  7. ask for concurrence with the upgraded Matrix description by all contributors.
Verify current system documentation.

If the current system is flow charted in the Matrix format, get concurrences from all involved that it is still valid, or upgrade it until everyone is willing to concur in it.


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