The Impact of TQM on an IT Organization: The First Eighteen Months Copyright CAUSE 1994. This paper was presented at the 1993 CAUSE Annual Conference held in San Diego, California, December 7-10, and is part of the conference proceedings published by CAUSE. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, that the CAUSE copyright notice and the title and authors of the publication and its date appear, and that notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information technology in higher education. To copy or disseminate otherwise, or to republish in any form, requires written permission from CAUSE. For further information: CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301; 303449-4430; e-mail info@cause.colorado.edu Impact of TQM, Morris - 1 - The Impact of TQM on an IT Organization: The First Eighteen Months Paul Morris Tufts University 12/6/93 1. Institutional Background of Tufts * Private university, research and teaching * Decentralized: 7 Schools plus Central Administration * 4,300 undergraduate; 3,000 graduate * Budget: $270 million * Central IT budget: $9.5 million, staff of 80 * Academic, MIS, data communications, telephone 2. Problems needing solution, which led us to consider new alternatives such as TQM: * Declining real budgets * Increasing demands for IT services * TCCS not well perceived by users * Staff under stress, felt unappreciated 3. My expectations of TQM as I started TCCS down that road * Improve customer orientation * Means of motivating staff * Way of developing priorities * Empowerment of staff through participation in decision-making about their jobs * Set of tools for focusing on customer needs 4. Selfpreparation before getting started * Attended GOAL/QPC conference (12/91) (a local research, training and con-sult-ing organization) * Read Walton's "Deming Management Method" (but did not adopt the Deming set of issues) * Attended 3-day course at GOAL/QPC * Attended 6-day course at CQM (Center for Quality Management: infor-mation-sharing -con-sor-tium of local corporations using TQM) * Joined CQM University Affiliates, which provided networking with other local universities and industry practioners * (after a year) taught course in TQM 5. First TCCS (Tufts Computing & Communications Services) activities * Started talking to TCCS managers about TQM * Tried using some policylevel tools failed, due to inadequate training of myself and managers. Should have started with something simpler (like KJ's) * Focus Groups to analyze Voice of Customer (9/92) * Used KJ analysis to identify major themes * Analysis done by 14 TCCS managers and supervisors - to build their sense of ownership, and develop some faith in TQM tools 6. What the VOC analysis told us * Not meeting customers' expectations for service * TCCS does not understand customer needs * TCCS does not understand customer environment * Eight major themes for improvement (next topic) 7. Eight Task Forces The mission of these are: * Develop senior Universitywide commitment * Inform customers of services provided * Establish feedback channels for customers * Develop desktop support strategy * Develop servicelevel agreements with customers * Improve customers' access to transactions data * Improve Help Desk/Customer Service Center * Broaden skill set of staff To illustrate the sorts of things we have been doing, I shall discuss the Desktop strategy group: 8. "Desktop Support" the Problem * Taskforce: 4 senior managers (this was not a multi-level TQM-style group, because the initial issues were policy- related rather than opera-tions-related) * Identified key customer complaints * who to call * do not like talking to a machine * takes too many, different people to solve problem * service unreliable, takes too long * poor communication about what is going on 9. "Desktop Support" Progress * Developed process based on existing Help Desk * Data collection * Problem tracking * Performance reporting 10. Help Desk We have focussed on, and strengthened, the staffing, training and processes of the Help Desk: * Transferred, trained staff from other areas * Implemented Automatic Call Distribu-tion - feature of telephone system * System "knows" who is avail-able (staff "log in") * Data on volume, times, etc. automati-cally collected * Made better use of existing tracking system (running on VMS now, will move to LAN) * Monitoring and Reporting features now being used more actively * Weekly management review of trends, unsolved problems. 11. "Desktop Support" Issues Still to be Addressed * Still no agreed list of "Things We Don't Do" * Need FAQ list, solutions database as part of Help Desk resources * Desirability of same process for all experts? * We expect "Continuous Improvement", so we will always be looking for ways to do things better. 12. Central Administration's TQM Program TCCS's TQM program is happening at a time when Central Administration (of which it is part) is also experimenting. Its program is named "TQ3" for its three objectives: * Continuous improvement of services to customers * Improve the way Central Admin operates (greater efficiency) * Improve skill levels and job satisfaction for all levels of staff 13. TQ3 activities The TQ3 Steering Committee has devloped a plan, and launched a number of initial ac-tivities within Central Administration: * Senior management training * Middle management training * Communication via TQ3 Newsletter * QI Team training * QI pilot projects 14. TQ3 Pilot Projects To test our ideas, and in particular the Seven Step Problem Solving method, a number of Pilots have been launched, one in each Division of Central Administra-tion, and the last one in the Vet School: * Reduce cycle time to generate P.O. from requisition * Reduce cost of purchased vehicles by buying them used * Reduce cycle time for hiring research assistants * Reduce time required to answer payroll inquiries * Reduce number of lost or incomplete records in Animal Hospital 15. Process for QI Teams The QI teams are using the CQM methodology, assisted by Joiner's "Team Handbook": * Seven Step Problem Solving * currently at Steps 2 & 3: Data analysis, Causal analysis * KJ analysis - qualitative data, focus on identifying underlying weak-nesses 16. Results so far? In TCCS: * Customer needs now the official touchstone * Projects, priorities try to reflect customer needs * Help Desk project making encouraging progress * Internal Training Committee making progress (on broadening staff's skill set) * Management-by-fact making progress * Still a long way to go TQ3 Pilot Projects: * Enthusiasm on QI Teams so far * Results in January Lessons Learned: Warning: Anecdotal Evidence, sample size 1! 17. Cultural Change depends on New Processes Talking about TQM, and asking for attitude change, will not work unless you give staff new processes to work with: * If existing processes are not producing customer satisfaction, it really is manage-ment's fault * Don't expect staff to provide better customer service without working with them to improve processes * Focus on processes, not on individuals * Listen to staff about why they are not meeting customer expectations * Using the tools, and seeing them work, is critical to cultural change 18. Control IT Staff's Expectations *TQM is not a panacea *Change will happen slowly, over several years *Stress "participation in deciding how to do your job" *Stress not "participation in policymaking" *Staff participation means some loss of control for managers *Must tolerate other depatments who are not implementing TQM 19. Beware of Strangers In trying to interest people in TQM, I have made the following observations: * Very few people want to hear about the Japanese * Japanesestyle jargon offers an excuse for rejection * Very few people want to hear about corporate successes * Corporatestyle justifications offer an excuse for rejection * Most people want to hear that a school just like yours solved all their problems with TQM successfully, quickly and with no pain 19. A Universitywide TQM Program Needs: Based on a year's experience with the senior Central Administration managers, TQM needs: * an agreed vision by top managers * agreed expectations and objectives by top managers * a link to local industrial practitioners (to be used discreetly) * plenty of time and patience * a variety of perspectives and expertises * a balance of analytical tools and human relations skills 20. Difficulty of Bringing about Change The following are obvious, but I have encountered all of them in the past year: * Avoid unrealistic expectations on results, time, effort * Expect progress to be SLOW * Constant reinforcement needed * Words, attitudes and actions must all be embody what you preach * Not everyone will share your vision * Not everyone will trust your motives 21. An Act of Faith: TQM is Worth Doing!