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One of our KinderTrack California customers, Child Development Resources of Ventura County, Inc. (CDR) has produced a summary of tips and tricks and lessons learned when implementing KinderTrack in their agencies. CDR is one of the larger KinderTrack agencies, with over 100 concurrent users, servicing Ventura County, California, and is a ‘power user’ of KinderTrack with exceptional experience in skill inside the agency. We thought that their feedback would be valuable for other agencies in the process of deploying KinderTrack or considering purchasing the product. So here it is: Child Development Resources of Ventura County, Inc. Tips and Lessons Learned regarding KinderTrack Implementation 1. Assign the right person as project manager – must have the time and authority 2. Same for the project team and “super-users” 3. Importance of a formal project plan – definition of key processes, events, timeline 4. Be aware that the total package will include costs for s/w licensing, deployment, vendor travel expenses, vendor training sessions, and transition support 5. Allow sufficient time for the CDE approval process – may take weeks 6. Necessity of precise articulation of business practices and customization requirements in all communications with vendor 7. Importance of documenting all communications with vendor to avoid future confusion, misunderstandings (memo/letter/email back-up/confirmation of key meetings & telcons) 8. Establish procedures for the identification, reporting, and resolution of system problems · Team management screening process to classify problems as local or operator training issues vs program bugs · Importance of keeping all users “in the loop” re problem reporting/resolution · Importance of trouble report tracking system for follow-up 9. Importance of staff morale – obtain buy-in/ownership at all levels; keep the troops informed; employ commendations/awards for recognition; celebrate with party at the end 10. Be prepared for, and deal with, staff resistance to change; discipline foot-dragging and “bad-mouthing” ASAP 11. Review current KT reports and forms for applicability to your agency 12. Ensure that customization requirements are well coordinated and discussed throughout all agency sectors – avoid preventable conflicts of interest 13. Establish realistic expectations re the entire implementation process – don’t rush or drag out longer than necessary 14. Plan well in advance for all operator training sessions, and generate own in-house capability as soon as possible 15. Early ID and resolution of any local network issues with vendor 16. Early ID of database import issues with vendor 17. Early ID of system switch-over issues with vendor 18. Importance of communicating with other KT agencies to capture lessons learned and to discuss issues of common interest 19. Importance of participating in the KT Users Consortium 20. With regard to the implementation plan, identify key personnel and tasks that could cause undue delays due to inattention/poor performance and take immediate corrective action 21. Use team problem-solving dynamics to resolve other unforeseen problem areas 22. Identify someone (database administrator) capable of creating custom SQL queries in KT |
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