Adopting a new product, service, or workflow can be time-consuming and difficult in any type of library. Learn how to get staff buy-in to the process and which milestones and methods.

1. PRACTICAL STEPS FOR
PRACTICAL PEOPLE:
IMPLEMENTING WORKFLOW
CHANGE
April 10th, 2014
Nicole Pelsinsky, MLIS
Presented to the Texas Library Association

2. Agenda
 Why Change?
 Evaluating What You Need
 Soliciting Information
 Selecting What To Do
 Implementation
 Marketing and Launch
 Measurement and Evaluation
 Key Takeaways
• Mea
4/24/2014 2

3. 4/24/2014 3
Why Change?
http://www.inetu.net/about/server-smarts-blog/june-2013/trusting-the-cloud-part-1

4. 4/24/2014 4
Disruption
http://www.lindabernardi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Disruption.jpg

5. 4/24/2014 5
Change and People?
http://www.clker.com/

6. 4/24/2014 6
Sometimes, it really might be “Who Moved
My Cheese?” but….
http://static.neatorama.com/images/2009-06/slice-cheese.jpg

7.  Have a clear goal and vision
 Be positive and have a sense of humor
 Try and see the big picture
 Remember your own individual
contributions and value
 Be open about what is not working
 Focus on what success looks like – but
keep in mind that might not look the
same for everyone
4/24/2014 7
Practical Ideas for Managing Change

8. 4/24/2014 8
Evaluating What You Need
http://www.inetu.net/about/server-smarts-blog/june-2013/trusting-the-cloud-part-1

9. 4/24/2014 9
Soliciting Information – Key Patrons
http://www.novusdigital.com/assets/images/customer-feedback-ad.png

10. 4/24/2014 10
Soliciting Information – Focus Groups
http://www.limebridge.com.au/content/Image/Customer_Research_Program.jpg

11.  50 Guidelines for Conducting Focus Groups - http://www.qualitative-
researcher.com/focus-group/50-guidelines-for-conducting-focus-
groups/
 Basics of Conducting Focus Groups -
http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/focus-groups.htm
 Tips for Conducting Focus Groups -
http://www.insites.org/CLIP_v1_site/downloads/PDFs/TipsFocusGrps.4
D.8-07.pdf
 Use of a focus groups in a library’s strategic planning process -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC64762/
 Hutchins Library, Focus Group Interviews -
http://faculty.berea.edu/henthorns/bieval/Focus-Group.html
 Libraries for Children and Young Adults, IFLA Section –
http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/libraries-for-children-and-
ya/publications/guidelines-for-childrens-libraries-services_background-
en.pdfhttp://www.ifla.org/files/assets/libraries-for-children-and-
ya/publications/guidelines-for-childrens-libraries-services_background-
en.pdf
4/24/2014 11
Soliciting Information – Focus Groups

12. 4/24/2014 12
Soliciting Information – Survey Questions
http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-question.png

13.  Library User Survey Templates and How-Tos:
http://www.lrs.org/library-user-surveys-on-the-web/
 New York State Library Survey Tutorial:
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/libs/pldtools/guide/h-clst.htm
 National Library of New Zealand:
http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/school-libraries/building-and-managing-
collection/library-surveys
 New Mexico State Library:
http://nmstatelibrary.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic
le&id=206&Itemid=104
 South Plainfield Public Library Survey:
http://www.southplainfield.lib.nj.us/SURVEYQUESTIONS_2%5B1
%5D.pdf
 Montana State Library:
http://libraries.montanastatelibrary.org/files/2013/07/Sample-
Library-Surveys.pdf
4/24/2014 13
Soliciting Information – Survey Questions

14.  Start with simple questions
 Be deliberate – use clear sentences and
wording patrons will understand
 Ask one item per question
 Have the questions flow from one to the next
 Provide enough space for open-ended
answers
 Provide a comprehensive range to closed-
ended ones, including a ‘neutral’ category – if
appropriate
4/24/2014 14
Soliciting Information – Writing Survey
Questions

15. • Surveys
4/24/2014 15
Soliciting Information – Survey UIs

16. Examples of Library Online Surveys
 Brewer Public Library:
http://www.rc.swls.org/www.old/formsa/prg3.htm
 Multnomah County Library: https://multcolib.org/survey
 Henderson State University:
http://hsusurvey.hsu.edu/Library/libsurspring14.htm
Free to Low-Cost Survey Tools
 Surveymonkey (Library Services Survey example):
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=CZ6VWn6dVcW6TtjfWn
o_2f7A_3d_3d
 Zoomerang: http://www.zoomerang.com/
 Google Forms: http://www.google.com/google-d-s/createforms.html
 Surveyz: http://www.qualtrics.com/
16
Soliciting Information – Survey UIs

17. • Be objective
– Consider having someone in the room who
is not familiar with the process, who can ask
clarifying questions
• You may need to capture workflow at several
levels and across teams
• Capture the tasks distinctly, but without being
pedantic
• Expect it to be messy, until it’s not
17
Soliciting Information – Workflow Assessment

18. • Think about the process you want to focus on
• Talk through all of the tasks
• List out all of the tasks
– As you list them out, think in ‘yes/no’, ‘pass/fail’,
‘active/passive’, ‘something/nothing’
– Walk through each branch in the workflow logic
• Expect to revise the list, because you are going to
forget stuff
• Mark up notations in places where there are special
cases
• Mark up places where there are perceived bottlenecks,
dependencies, or any individual points of failure
18
Soliciting Information – Capturing Workflow

19. 19
Soliciting Information – Incentives!

20. 4/24/2014 20
Prioritizing from the „Laundry List‟
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/54225110/CORE-Task-List-(Shoot-House-and-CACTF)

21.  What kind of budget do you have?
 What resources are available?
 Does it need to be outsourced or in-
house?
 What is the timeline?
 What do stakeholders expect? (i.e.
provost or patrons or staff)
4/24/2014 21
Selecting what to do

22. What is the difference between RFI and RFP?
RFI Process
 Pull together broad questions about a subject, like
‘discovery’, for instance
 Use these questions to then fuel what you’d consider
for an RFP
 This also allows the respondent to ask for further
clarification if needed
4/24/2014 22
More Formal - RFI (and RFP)

23.  Does the technology meet your needs?
 Does the content meet your needs?
 Pricing?
 Maintenance?
 Support?
 Metrics and analytics?
 Do you need to build in SLAs?
4/24/2014 23
More Formal – RFP Questions

24.  RFP 101:
http://www.thestaffingstream.com/2013/03/01/rfp-101-
are-you-asking-the-right-questions/
 Sample RFP Questions to Ask Vendors:
http://rfptemplates.technologyevaluation.com/rfp/for/Sam
ple-RFP-Questions-to-Ask-Vendors.html
 How to Improve Your RFP:
http://www.rfptemplates.org/improve-your-rfp/
 How to Write a Request for Proposal:
http://www.internetraining.com/6art2.htm
4/24/2014 24
More Formal – RFP Questions

25. 4/24/2014 25
Less Formal
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/asv/2044509953/

26. 4/24/2014 26
Implementation
http://blog.prolecto.com/2011/11/16/how-to-netsuite-implementations-demystified/

27.  What is the project scope?
 What method(s) will be used to complete the
project?
 Who is involved, and when?
 What are the specific tasks, and how long will
each take?
 Do you need to track costs as well?
 What is your back-up plan and what happens if
the project slips?
4/24/2014 27
Implementation – Project Planning

28. Milestones
 Provides critical points in the project
Activities
 Instructions tell people what they need to do
Deliverables
 Activity-based points in the process
Outcomes
 Focuses on the goals or objectives of the
project
4/24/2014 28
Implementation – Process

29. 4/24/2014 29
Example Project Plan

30. Training
 What do you need?
 When do you need it?
 Who can supply it? And does the ‘who’ need to be
you?
 Repetition
Documentation
 What do you need?
 When do you need it?
 Who can supply it? And does the ‘who’ need to be
you?
 Ready access and easily available
4/24/2014 30
Implementation – Training and Documentation

31. 4/24/2014 31
Marketing and Launch
http://www.fabuloussavers.com/new_wallpaper/NewYear_Celebrations_Around_Th
eWorld2012_freecomputerdesktopwallpaper_1920.jpg

32. Consider your Audience
 Who are you telling and why does it matter to them?
 How do they best receive new information? – make sure you ask
while doing your focus groups, surveys, etc.!
Marketing
 How much of a splash do you want to make?
 In person events
 Social Media Push
 Set up training sessions for people (vendor or library staff)
 Attend events where you can market the new whatsit
 Newsletters
4/24/2014 32
Marketing and Launch – For Others

33. Preparing Your Staff
 Ensure that your staff is ready to do training, if
needed
 Ensure that your staff is ready to do
troubleshooting
 Make sure you have the collateral you need
 Write help articles, cheat sheets
 Make sure all of the different access methods
are covered (mobile, portal etc.)
4/24/2014 33
Marketing and Launch – For You

34.  The traditional measurement and
evaluation…
 Plus - document, document, document
 What’s next?
POSTMORTEM
4/24/2014 34
Measurement and Evaluation

35.  Expect any potential change to have impacts – it’s okay!
 There are lots of options for evaluating what you need and soliciting
information
 The process can be formal or informal, depending on your library’s
needs
 Allow time
 To talk through changes;
 Try out different processes and be honest about where something might not work;
 To not be as efficient as you’ll want to be when its ‘habit’
 Encourage questions, but don’t let people whine 
 Take advantage of training and documentation!
 Capitalize on new *anything* by communicating broadly ‘what it is and
why it’s needed’
 Reward people for their time and efforts
 Follow up after its all over
 Make a record of how it went;
 What to improve on next time;
 What items are on the ‘laundry list’ for the future;
 Use your metrics, scale of measure to illustrate improvements
4/24/2014 35
Key takeaways and next steps

36. • Nicole Pelsinsky – MLIS
• Product Management Lead
• nicole.pelsinsky@proquest.com
• www.proquest.com
• With special thanks to Jennifer Robbins and John Reynolds for their
assistance with this presentation!
4/24/2014 36
Thank you!