Maintenance & Change Management
Importance of the phase for democratic dialogue
This phase is often omitted from presentations of the IT project life cycle. In fact, it lies at the boundary between the management of the IT project itself and the management of the entire life cycle of the software implemented.
The transition between the project life cycle (relatively short) and the application life cycle (much longer) must be organised.
Democratic dialogue must continue during this transition throughout the application’s life cycle.
A major challenge of this phase is organisational learning.
Standard presentation of the phase
APIDOR’s advice
This phase is often limited to fixing technical bugs, managing changes in technical environments (technical maintenance) and, where applicable, taking into account regulatory changes affecting activities carried out with the support of the software.
However, changing needs (at all levels, and which may concern data, processes, HMIs, etc.), linked to changes in the organisation and/or its environment, but also to the expectations and needs of users in their work (individually or collectively), must be taken into account so that the work can be carried out efficiently and under good conditions.
It is therefore essential that the maintenance and development of the application be managed.
Other names: evolutionary maintenance.
Phase objectives
The main organisational objective here is to develop the application so that it continues to be aligned with the organisation’s strategy and meets the needs of users and affected individuals.
The technical objective is to ensure that the application, taking into account changes in the operating environment, can continue to function at the required level of quality.
Note: challenges for senior management
Focused on costs. However, if it is a very large project, keeping the system aligned with the strategy can be a challenge.
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New objectives to be included: maintaining well-being and citizenship at work
The objective that, throughout its life cycle, the software guarantees the maintenance of a sufficient level of well-being and citizenship at work for its users, whether individuals or work groups, must be included in the objectives for this phase.
- New objectives to be included: organisational learning
Objectives relating to organisational learning (and its management) must be included in the objectives for this phase, concerning:
– maintaining democratic dialogue in IT projects and in the management of application developments
– and, more broadly, democratic dialogue around digital technology
In some organisations, an organisational learning objective relating to project management in general may be relevant (this is sometimes the case for certain public institutions).
Phase inputs and ouputs
Inputs
Application commissioned, used in real production.
Internal documentation.
Outputs
Application adapted to technical developments and changing requirements.
Documentation of changes made.
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Reminder: democratic dialogue logbook
A democratic dialogue logbook must be kept throughout the application’s life cycle.
It is one of the tools for organisational learning in the digital sphere.
Actors and bodies involved
Same team (or rather, in most cases, same type of team) as for implementation:
– a project manager
– one or more business analysts (equivalent to project management assistants)
– developers
– a support manager.
Note: support organisation can be very complex (particularly in the case of applications that communicate and interact with many other applications).
Support is a role in itself, in addition to that of the project owner or project manager.
An evolution committee that manages the prioritisation of evolution requests, comprising the business manager (project owner), those responsible for support, and the application manager.
- Democratic dialogue procedures: stakeholders
Stakeholders responsible for requirements about well-being and citizenship at work must be involved:
– in managing the transition between the end of the IT project and the start of the application’s life cycle
– and throughout the application’s life cycle.
- Democratic dialogue procedures: bodies
Some committees set up for project management may be maintained during the software lifecycle, even if some of their members are replaced.
Consideration should be given to creating a user committee, if one does not already exist.
Content and sequence of the phase
The content can vary greatly, depending on whether this phase is limited to technical aspects only. If it covers all aspects of development (and in particular requirements), it must be managed with all stakeholders involved in the application.
If the phase is limited to technical aspects only, it can be handled by an IT team (internal or external).
Support requests are generally classified into several levels (depending on the amount of work required): ticketing, ‘procedural’ requests (there is a procedure in place to correct them), requests that require specific development.
Ideally, this phase should include the management of user reports and requests, their prioritisation and processing, as well as the organisation of regular meetings to gather overall opinions on the changes that need to be made to the application.
The decision to launch a new IT project may be taken to complete the application, modify it in depth, etc.
- Democratic dialogue procedures, need for clarification
Procedures for managing changes to the application must be developed jointly with those responsible for the requirements about well-being and citizenship at work:
– managing change requests: escalating requests, request initiators (individuals, work groups), decision-making methods (who, how), prioritisation criteria, information on how requests are handled, history, etc.
– methods for collecting overall collective opinions on the software and how they are handled
– organising feedback on the initial objectives, or even the purposes of the application
– etc.
Information on these procedures must be easily accessible to all users of the application and those affected by it.
These procedures must be evaluated periodically as part of a democratic dialogue and modified if necessary.
- Democratic dialogue procedures: timing
The frequency of corrections/updates, the management of feedback on the software and the democratic dialogue on digital technology, etc. must be decided collectively.