Difference between Project Management Office (PMO) and Project Managers (PM)

Project Management Office (PMO) exists in the central organization to monitor all the running projects in the company. PMO controls the management of the projects, programs or the combination of both.

Thus, in a nutshell, PMO support and control Project Manager (PM). In details, the difference of PM and PMO are below:

• PM controls the resources achieve the project objectives, while PMO optimizes the resources to be shared among running projects.
• PM manages the scope, schedule, costs, and quality of the products. In line with that, PMO manages overall risk, opportunity and the relation between running projects.
• PM focuses on specific project objectives, while PMO oversees the major programs scope changes and interpret them as potential opportunities to better achieve business objectives.

Analysis and Design Phase - Pay Attention to it!

"Analysis and Design" Phase is a phase in Project Management for Application or Software. During this process, a consultant or analyst will do depth analysis on the current situation and relate them with the application, software, or system that are going to be implemented or enhanced.

Though it is one of very important phase in the project management, there seem to be ignored or not paid attention to. Below are the common reasons:

1. The Analysis and Design considered as a "boring" phase in the project. The analyst need to document all activities and gaps that we identified. The design created is sometime too general. Client or parties being interviewed are sometime just tell the problems in general without going into details. They get bored telling the problems and assuming that the consultant or analyst should pick up their own from any documentation available.

2. Lack of of time dedicated. With limited time, analyst often relies on client's documents or interview. The important part is too see or experience him/herself the current system and understand the behavior and problems of the current systems.

3. Related to point 1 and 2, the design is not detailed or not yet verified by the technical people that are going to do the enhancement. The design is supposed to be detailed with proposed print screens of the enhancement or functionalities. Clients or users does not tend to understand the detail design during approval. In their mind, they will wait until the development is finished and will do the review afterwards. But this is not how it suppose to work. Both parties should understand in details what the design is and how the end product will be to avoid arguments during product testing.

In order to avoid problem and make a good analyst and design, project manager or team leader should allocate enough time and good analyst on this phase. Analyst should understand fully about the system and create as detailed design documentation as possible. All proposed windows, functions, and button should be presented if applicable. Analysis on cases, what if, should be documented as well.

On the other hand, client or user should put more effort collaborating with analyst to inform him/her all concerns. When the design documentation if finished, client should understand completely what are in the document.

In the end, it is better to re-work on design documentations until both parties are satisfied with the design. It is more cost and time savings to re-do the design documentations instead of to re-do the development in future.

Using Website for External Communications In Project Management

As mentioned in my previous post regarding the importance of external communications in implementing new billing system, project management should take the campaigns of external communications seriously.

One way to launch external communication campaigns is through website. Project management should choose the web hosting company to put all web sites files. Sounds difficult to choice a right webhosting company? Not anymore because you can go to webhostingchoice.com to search for available hosting companies with their alternative plans and prices.

You can input the search criteria either by prices, spaces, bandwidth, etc to find the right hosting companies that will fit your needs. If you are still new to web hosting features and capabilities, make sure that you visit FAQ section to understand further about what web hosting are. You can read different types of web hosting with their advantages and disadvantages.

Take note to observe their up time because you want your website for external communications to be up most of the time. However, even though expensive web hosts offer you more functionalities and support, cheaper web host does not necessary offer "cheap" functionalities and supports.

Backing Up Your Starting Data after Conversion

When implementing new system, conversion was done during cut off period. When all data have been converted from old system into new system, the back up data of this starting data for new system should be backup and stored into separate dB that can be accessible easily.

Even thought that the data should undergone validations process and approval, it is common that after the new system go live, some people will ask for again for the starting data to check how the data were being converted. Thus, for the first year of new system in operation, it is better to put the starting data in certain dB that can be accessed easily. Not in backup tape that should need a lot of IT admin work to load the data and access it.

Once the request of starting data is lessen on the 2nd year, the starting data can be moved to another backup media for free up the dB in production or development.

Knowledge Management in Project Implementation

Project Implementation, especially in Utility System Project Implementations, requires specialist consultants to do the tasks. Each consultant has his/her role and responsibility to carry out the project implementation. Mostly, there is no overlap knowledge to minimize the cost of consultants in the project.

The situation like above creates a fragile project environment if a one consultant is absent due to any reasons. The project could be affected or worst it could be stopped temporarily if the consultant who are absent has the knowledge that could create a bottle neck in the project implementation.

This is where knowledge management should be considered in project implementation. There should be another person or consultant that could handle the task if a certain consultant is absent. Of course the result could not be maximum as the replacement consultant is a current consultant working on the project implementation handling other area. Knowledge management could be implemented by assigning a buddy consultant (from different area) to each consultant (say consultant A). The buddy consultant should attend all meetings attended by the consultant A to make sure he/she knows the progress and some tasks done by consultant A. This ways, a buddy consultant could handle temporary some tasks if consultant A is absent temporarily?

Another question is that... how if consultant A is absent permanently because of resigning? Well, a good human resource department in a company should require 1 month advance notice for a consultant to resign. This time could be enough for a company to hire another consultant with the same or similar profile.

Online Project Documentation Management

It is normal for a project documentation to have a tons of documentation. Each phase of the project often mark by documentation deliverables. Not to mention all the minutes of the meetings that needs to be documented. Due to high quantity of the documentations, proper documentation management is required. However, hard copy documentation management is not anymore a trend in project implementation. Most of the consultants and project managers are mobile, thus, most of the informations should be shared online. This is where a proper online project documentation is needed.

A project usually started online project documentation using an intranet within the organization. This way, all members in the intranet network could share the resources that were organized properly. The problem is that if the internet could not be accessed online from outside the office or network. This will be useless as project managers and most of the consultants are mobile.

UK based company created an innovation to offer Small Business Intranet UK. A web based intranet solution that allow all defined members to access the folders based on the privilege that have been set. You will be able to access your files remotely from home with the secured connection to protect all your project documentations. Small Business Intranet UK offers a 30 day free trial so that you can make sure if the customizable solutions fit your online project documentation management. Project manager can ensure to monitor all day to day activities with ease even if he/she is traveling.

Clear Responsibilities in Project Implementation

Even if during first step of the project all responsibilities have been defined for both parties (client and vendor), there will be new areas or work that need to be done and monitored. These new tasks should be make clear who are the entity that will be responsible.

It is important that during monthly meeting, these new responsibilities were declared to avoid misunderstanding in future. A chart displaying new tasks and responsibilities will be helpful.

This process should be repeated every time new tasks appear on the duration of the project implementation. It is better to anticipate and make every thing clear in term of responsibilities. Avoid blaming each other when the tasks are going wrong. You will not benefit anything from blaming other party. Instead, learn from the mistake and strategize better for the next phase.

What is Cut Over Procedure?

Cut over procedures in implementing a new system is interpreted as the process of taking the data separately during cut over period because the new system is going to be implemented and the old system is taken down already. It is part of the project implementation phases. In small system implementation where all the implementations process can be done in matter of hours, cut over procedures are not needed because all the process can be done at night where no activities or transactions are made on the system. However for huge system implementations, cut over procedures should be defined because the implementation can take 1 whole day or even more.

Each business process affected due to system down should be analyzed. Utility company can start doing some advertising that they are going to be off-line for 1 day or more to avoid customers coming at those days of implementation. But in the end, there are some process can can not be stopped. Usually this involve with the interface with other system like banking. The banks will continue to receive payments and send all payment files. Thus, specific cut over procedures should be defined.

Due to its complexity and to avoid problems with other system and customers, many utility companies choose to implement new system during major holidays to ensure that there is not interruptions in normal actitivies.

Project Management Tracking and Control

One way of Project Management Tracking and Control is using Communication Management. What are the purpose of communication management? It will:

• Identify and describe all project stakeholders
• Describe the communication needs of the project stakeholders
• Define how project stakeholders will be kept informed about the project
• Identify the communication paths within the project structure
• Ensure all information is consistent, accurate, and timely
• Common project communication methods include status reporting, correspondence, meetings, and formal presentations.

And what the methods for communication management?

• Project Status Documents
• Project Planning and Control Documents
• Inter-Office/Inter-Project Communication
• E-mail
• Meeting
• Presentations

For effective tracking and control of project management using communication management, all project audiences should be defined with their roles and responsibilities.

Then, the communication matrix should be developed to identify activities, who should receive the communication (audiences), method of communications, and suggested time frame. Example Below can be seen for the communication matrix:



Using simple communication matrix, the project can be easily controlled and tracked. Any deviations should be detected as early as possible for faster resolutions. This as to avoid the problems or hindrances grow and affect other activities of the project.

Standard Reports for Customer Management System in Utility Company

The module “Reporting or Management Information System” should provide comprehensive information concerning the Commercial activities necessary for the company’s management. The functions “Alarms” and “Inquiries” can serve this purpose.

Alarms serve to monitor selected indexes, which are important for the company’s management. The indexes have flag-shaped labels, whose colour changes depending on the reached index value according to pre-set limits. These alarms make it possible for the responsible employees to quickly establish what Commercial areas are trouble-free and, on the contrary, which ones present an unfavourable development allowing them to take the necessary measures.

Inquiries display comprehensible information about the selected Commercial management area of the Distribution Company and can be displayed in text or graphic form. Selecting information can be restricted to specific periods, query types and other conditions (the different types of queries are described later in this chapter).

To provide the necessary information, the module should use of the following queries:

1. METER READING PROGRESS
This query displays information about the service point-readings that have to be or have been processed by the readings module within the selected period. This query displays the number of service points planned for reading in the selected period, the number of service points for which a theoretical reading date has been Generated, the number of already read service points, as well as the ratio Readings – theoretical reading date, and the ratio Performed readings – total number of planned readings.

2. METER READING QUALITY
This query displays the results of the readings performed in a specific period of time. The first to appear is the total number of readings with the respectively Generated theoretical reading date. It also specifies the number of real and exceptional readings, of not-performed readings due to customer absence, and the total number of not-performed readings.

3. DAILY AND MONTHLY BILLING
This query displays the daily billing course, namely the number of billed supplies as of a specific day, billed amount usage, the advance billed amount, the ratio Supply billed by usage estimation – total billed usage.

4. MONTHLY BILLING
This query displays the following monthly billing information: number of billed supplies, total billed usage in local currency, volume of billed technical units in local currency. This query has two windows. The second one contains the billing details: the total arrears/overpayments, the usage billed amount, the billed fixed charge, the billed miscellaneous charges, the VAT included in the prices and the advance billed amount.

5. ANALYSIS OF REALISED BILLING
This query allows viewing the information once the billing has taken place. This information includes the total number of processed supplies, the number of supplies billed according to reading and according to estimation, the number of exception bills, the total billed usage, the total billed amount and the billed advances.

6. ANALYSIS BY TYPE OF BILLING OF ISSUED PD
This query displays all the information concerning the types of bill rules other than energy usage bills, indicates temporary supply bills, contract charges, frauds, miscellaneous charges, instalments, advance collection, deposits, etc. within a specific period.

7. BILLING EXCEPTIONS PROGRESS
This query display the exceptions registered in a specific period of time, their settlement and the average settlement time.

8. ANALYSIS OF REALISED PAYMENTS
This query displays the initial (at the beginning of the monitored period) amount of the outstanding bills, of the bills sent for collection in the course of the period, of the bills collected in the course of the period, as well as the outstanding bills balance at the end of the monitored period.

9. COLLECTION LENGTH
This query allows monitoring the duration of the different collection stages for the different bill types in days.

10. DEBT ANALYSIS I.
This query allows monitoring the outstanding claims (debts) in the different bad payers management stages, namely as for their number, percentile constitution or amounts in local currency within a specific period of time.

11. DEBT ANALYSIS II.
This query allows monitoring the percentile development (growth or reduction) of claims, namely as for their number and amounts in local currency within a specific period of time.

12. DELINQUENT ACCOUNT ANALYSIS
This query allows monitoring the bad payers management process and its effects, i.e. the number of disconnection notices, disconnections, reconnections, bad claims, legal recoveries and deprecations.

13. COMMERCIAL CYCLE LENGHT
This query displays the average duration of the whole “reading, billing, sending for collection and collection” Commercial cycle within a specific period of time.

14. CONTACTS ANALYSIS
This query allows monitoring the development of the number of contacts as for their settlement time, speed, type (justified and unjustified) and their duration.

15. SERVICE ORDERS PROGRESS
This query displays the number of service orders, specifying the number of unsettled orders at the beginning of the monitored period, the increase of new orders, the amount of orders settled and canceled within the period, as well as the promptness of their settlement and their duration.

16. REQUESTS PROGRESS
This query displays information concerning the supply requests within a specific period of time. The issue here is, for instance, the following information: number of unsettled requests at the beginning of the period; number of filed, settled and cancelled requests within this period; the average number of settlement days and the duration of the requests in the system, as well as the number of unsettled requests at the end of the period.

17. CONTRACTS PROGRESS MONITORING
This query displays information about the number of valid power supply contracts available in the system at the beginning of the monitored period; the number of contracts created, edited and terminated within this period, and the number of valid contracts at the end of the period.

18. STATISTICS OF BUSINESS ACTIVITY
This query provides information about the amount on-line operations performed at the different Commercial offices, monitoring the different types of Commercial activities both in absolute and percentile expression.

Reducing Commercial Cycle Duration

Reading - Billing - Collection is a normal Commercial Cycle for Utility Company. The duration to complete one full cycle is important for the cash flow of the company. The lesser it takes, the faster that the money can be collected over the consumptions used by customers.

Old fashion Utility company often forget the important of short Commercial Cycle Duration. Let us say that the electricity company produces a bill monthly. Most of the old fashion utilities company will spend the whole month reading customer's meters, resolve some anomalies/exceptions and bill all the services at the end of the months. By doing this, the company has an average of 15 days for its commercial cycle.

Why? Because the customers read on 1st day will get their bill on the 1st day of next month, while the customers read on 30th day will also get their bill on the 1st day of next month. Thus, the average will be 15 days more or less. What does 15 days commercial cycle means? It means that in average, that electric company will collect the money 15 days after the customers have consumed the electricity.

For us, it might not mean a lot. But for an electricity company whose revenue is million and million of dollars, this 15 days delay means something. Upper management of utility company should start thinking the best way to reduce the commercial cycle. One ideal set-up is to have daily cycle, where the customer is read and at night, the bill is produced and ready for delivery and collection the next day. This case, the commercial cycle will be reduced into 1 day. This is assuming that there is no anomalies or exception on that bill.

Reducing commercial cycle is not an easy task as it will affect the core business process of utility companies. In depth analysis and study should be paid attention to understand the risk of implementing the changes. Customers can be affected as well if they are not properly informed. Always put a team for change management to do this kind of task.

Report any abuses in your project implementation

Since the project implementation life cycle is mostly short, the monitoring done by the project manager often loose. Authoritarian project manager is focussed on the end product without much participation. Due to this, you will encounter many abuses by the project team members. The most common is by claiming the work that was not done by himself/herself. This could be done with or without the knowledge of the person doing the job. How unfair the world is, right?

Even if the person knows that his/her task was claimed by another team member, he/she just kept quite because he/she does not want to ruin the relationship with the team member who claimed the work. Well, if you have the same experience and afraid to report, you might try informing your boss using Anonymous Email. Be sure that you put enough evidences. I am sure your boss will appreciate that. If you do not want to make it obvious, you can link it with different cases not related to your case. The main point is to teach the lessons to the abuser, right?

Roles of IT Personnel in UNIX Related System

Customer Information System implemented in Electricity companies requires a huge platform to handle all transactions and data in the system. Some of the companies chose UNIX system to deal with better stability. Thus, Roles of IT personnel are important to keep the system running smoothly.

The fundamental role of IT with regards to UNIX related system is to provide support to ensure that the operating environment is running with sufficient reliability and availability. The operating environment includes all HW and SW components which includes PCs, operating systems, databases, servers, routers, switches, hubs, and the network (LAN/WAN) itself that connects these components together.

Backup and Recovery
IT will be responsible for the backup of SYSTEM server files, applications and databases. It is their job to ensure that in the event of machine failure or disaster, there is an up-to-date data and accurate data which SYSTEM can be restored from.

Provides Adequate Service Level to Users
Response times and system availability must be within a set tolerable limit defined by the users. IT must ensure that these service levels are being met.

Ensure Information Security
It is the job of the IT organization as a whole to ensure that the company’s information is not made accessible to unauthorized users.

New IT Positions
The implementation of SYSTEM will mean the creation of new tasks for within the IT department. The qualifications of the current company’s employees will be reviewed and these new tasks will be assigned to them based on their skills. SYSTEM will have need of the following positions:
• Technical Support Staff
• UNIX Administrator
• Network Administrator
• Database (Oracle) Administrator
• Batch Operator

The UNIX Administrator will be responsible for maintaining the environment in which the SYSTEM database and server runs on.

The Network Administrator will be responsible for maintaining network components and configurations like routers, switches, hubs and LAN/WAN connections.

The Database Administrator will be responsible for administration and maintenance of SYSTEM database. He will ensure that table statistics, table indexes, and database spaces are optimized for efficient performance. The database administrator will also be responsible for the daily backup of the SYSTEM database.

The Technical Support Staff will be responsible for maintenance of PCs, deployment of application and perform general support for the system.

Batch Operators will run and monitor the batch process, ensure that the batch process finishes and perform troubleshooting if necessary. The batch operators will be running the batch at night.

It will be necessary to have at least two (2) batch operators working alternately. Having to ensures that the other operator will be there to run the batch if one is sick or on holiday. Batch operation is not a very technical job. The operators will be trained to run the SYSTEM batch, troubleshoot common errors and report major ones to the administrators.

At least one person should be dedicated to the support and maintenance of SYSTEM, this person will need to have UNIX and Oracle administration skills, a working knowledge of networking will be helpful but not essential. The network administrator and general technical support staff need not be dedicated to the maintenance of SYSTEM. Network administration and general technical support duties are merely additional tasks to be performed by existing COMPANY IT staffs. It would also be beneficial that someone else from IT will have a working knowledge of UNIX, Oracle and SYSTEM to do temporary support in instances that the person dedicated to SYSTEM administration is sick or on holiday.

Why we called it Project? What differs Project with Operation?

Many of us have heard about the term “project”, even during our college days we often heard “mid-term project” or “final term project”. Project involves organization of people and other resources to perform work. But what makes it different with Operation? As we know that operation also involves people and resources to perform work. The main differences can bee noticed because projects are:
• Temporary
• Resulting a unique product or service

“Temporary” means that the project has a definite start time and finish time. The project starts when the initiation process has been launched. The project finishes when the project’s objectives have been achieved. The project duration can be short like matter of days. On the other hand, the project can take years as well. Take note that even the project can take year, this is because the scope of the project is huge. Small scope of the project should not take time to manage. If the project keeps on deviating from the objective or having delays in most of the time, then, the project management should think and act if the project should be terminated.

Even tough the project is temporary, the end result are mostly a permanent product. For example: project of implementing new customer information system for electricity company. The project itself is temporary to implement new system. When the project’s objective is achieved and the project closes, the system is going to be used by the company in permanent basis. The work will then become an operation work.

“Resulting a unique product or services” means that the project carries out a unique product or services. Let us continue the example of implementing customer information system for Electricity Company. One may say that the customer information system is not unique. It is a common system used by many electricity companies. So what makes it unique? The one that make it unique is because the project is implemented by different vendor. It is unique because the electricity company that is going to be implemented the system is different. It is unique because the customization of the customer information system for that electricity company is different. And many more but I think you get my point already.

As the project results into a unique product or service, the characteristics of the product or services should be defined clearly in the project scope. This is usually clearly stated in the contract if the project involves other party outside the company.

Impacts of Implementing New Customer Information (Billing) System Into Utility Company’s Human Resources

The implementation of any system means some changes in company management and is it necessary to take into account the motivation of personnel because they will be the final users and they are very important “assets” of company.

A critical factor for implementation is the participation of company’s management during all process of definition of changes and the implementation of changes to ensure the fulfillment of the planned goals. Also, the management is very important for providing direction and in transmission of information to the horizontal and vertical company structure.

Another very important activity is the organization of campaign for propaganda (publicity) of the changes that must be made in the organizational area. The objective of this will be to inform company personnel about the effects of the changes and to explain the new scope and the basic functions which will be assigned to each organizational unit and each position in unit. It will be also necessary to clarify and explain the new role of the payment point that it will have the separated functions as a delivery point for invoices and also as a collection point for payments.

From user’s training point of view, is will be necessary to give the training for each group of users on the correct usage of the functions that system will provide and relate this with the new functions of each unit until the personnel level. That it, the implementation of new processes will be incorporated in training. For some of the users will be very important learn to be confident to start working with computers because up to now their activities were done manually.

With regards to manpower, it may be necessary adjust the existing number of personnel. Initially, we can make the following deductions:
• It will probably be necessary to have more persons for customer services in Commercial office where all front office activities will be done for the following reasons: first is that these personnel will do more activities than how much they do now and second is to respond to the increasing number of clients.
• It may also be necessary to increase the number of personnel in the Call Center when the company will want to give more services to the clients by phone.
• It will be possible to eliminate the number of readers because of change in number of days for reading and the consequent re-distribution of meter reading workload. When company will start to read daily (for residential clients), that means 20 working days per month, the number of meter readers can be reduced significantly.
• It will also be necessary to have persons for the administration of system. This group of personnel must be comprised of IT personnel and commercial area personnel. It is recommended that the administration of system will be assigned to some or all COMPANY personnel who are currently working in the project.
• The necessity to have personnel that will have the responsibilities related to the resolution of anomalies of the system can be covered by personnel who are currently responsible for some billing activities which will be automated when the system is implemented.
• It will probably be necessary to have some personnel who will manage the technical center (planning of work orders, assignment of work orders, and monitoring of completion and resolution of work orders, and updating of information in the system). This group may be comprised of those who are currently managing the similar works but without the support of a computerized system.
• Temporarily, it will be necessary to have additional personnel for technical activities like operators of batch process running and monitoring of Customer Information System. The personnel that maintain the existing systems which will be replaced by the CIS may be transferred to other functions after the CIS is implemented.

Another important factor will be the availability of the personnel. Upon the Customer Information System implementation, there will be functions that must be carried out outside the regular working hours. This is related to the batch operator who can start his tasks only when the users finish their on-line activities. This will also be the case when updates of the system will be implemented. Personnel from System Administration Unit must have shifts (distributed working time) that will cover the daily operation period which may be longer than the official working time of an employee per day.

Why PMBOK is commonly used in project management?

In implementing a new system to a company, project management is the key in planning, staffing, executing and monitoring the whole process. Project implementors often use different approach to make sure that the system can be implemented with minimal risk. In general, this methodology for project management can be generalized into several steps. Most well known project management is PMBOK.

PMBOK stands for Project Management Body of Knowledge. It is combination of knowledge in the area of project management. It becomes a standard of project management because it has been proven in many project managements. It is a practice or methodology that is generally accepted. Generally accepted means that it could be applied to any projects in general. However, generally accepted means as well that in some of the projects, some methodologies are not obligatory.

PMBOK can be used by anyone interested in the project management, namely:
• Project managers
• Project team members
• Managers of project manager
• Customer of the project or project’s stockholder
• Consultant involved in the project management
• Trainers or educator in the area of project management

PMBOK can be summarized into 5 general processes:
1. Initiating Processes – in first step is to recognize that the project should begin. Commitment from all parties should be available to initiate the project.
2. Planning Processes – the process should define a workable scheme to achieve the goal of the project.
3. Executing Processes – in this process, the available human resources and other resources should be coordinated to carry out the plan.
4. Controlling Processes – measurement to detect any deviation from the goal and plan should be implemented. Necessary corrective action should be imposed to align the project into the plan.
5. Closing Processes – the project should end and acceptable by all parties. This step is related to formalize the closing of the project.

In next posts/articles, I will discuss in details about each processes and everything related to project management to ensure you do not miss the concepts of it. Make sure you sign up in our mailing list (you can find on upper left of the site) to be notified for any new post related to project management.

Organization Aspects in Utility Company

The organizational structure of each company should be created in accordance with the resources that have already been assigned to the commercial areas for realization of the basic commercial processes with the goal to obtain the satisfactory results. These satisfactory results are:
- to the clients – providing high quality level of services
- to the own company – obtain good economic (financial) results
- to the own personnel – through motivation.

Organizational strategy should be developed in consideration of these three elements (client, company, personnel) to satisfy the expectation for each of them.


Orientation to the clients

The whole organization of company should be created with the client in mind and this aspect should follow in the company’s organizational development. The organizational strategy should be oriented towards obtaining a good reaction from the client and to present the best image of the company.
The company should develop these processes which allow it to satisfy the client’s needs using the different possibilities available in the market and adhere to the high quality of these processes during implementation.
Also, based on information gathered from the client, it may be necessary to adjust or modify the commercial procedures to improve the quality of services provided.


Orientation to the results

It is true that the company cannot exist without its clients. On the other hand, it is also true that the company’s resources to realize its activities are limited. Priority should be to satisfy the clients but it is necessary to study the financial costs and gains of these activities. It is not possible to spend resources without obtaining good financial results.

A process should be established to permit management to identify and evaluate the participation of each organizational unit in the fulfillment of these goals. These organizational units should participate and be responsible for accomplishing the results set by the company. Similarly, it is necessary to do this each position in the organizational units. A balance should exist between the results which the person/position must obtain and the resources that are assigned to it.

Orientation to the processes

The company’s resources should concentrate on the basics – key processes in commercial area which generate high added value. On other side, it is necessary to eliminate processes which do not generate any added value and processes which produce only losses.
Basic commercial processes should be defined. The inputs, outputs, responsibilities and activities within in each process should be made clear. If it is possible, some criteria for measuring and evaluating the costs of different activities and the financial gains should be established.

Why External Communication is Needed in Implementing New Billing System (Customer Management System)

Communicating with external audiences is essential for the success of any organization, in businesses, governments or non-profit organizations. Increasingly, companies succeed or fail depending on their public perception.

The main objective of external communication is to inform all organizations about implementation of the new Customer management system within COMPANY. The main objective of the presentation is to improve the external image of the organization. External communication is related mostly to the different types of customers (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural) and/or communication with collection points (banks, on-line and off-line payment points). It is important to inform customers of the new services provided in commercial offices, and of new telephone numbers, etc.

Mission of External communication:

Transferring to different audiences the basic messages, corporate values and the administration style represented in the brand image that COMPANY wants to transmit continuously.

Receivers of the information:

- Customers (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, etc.)
- Suppliers (of equipment, products, services, etc.)
- Public organizations and other institutions

Problems of external communication:

The problems related to external communication can be classified into the following groups:

• Information for customers – customers do not have any information or very limited information about the changes. Customers do not know why the Company is doing the changes and how the changes would affect them.
• Information for collection points – the collection points have not sufficient information on how the changes can affect the collection processes which may lead to problems and misunderstandings.
• The information is not distributed before the implementation – Customers or collection points obtain the information when the system is already implemented.

How to solve the problems:

• Preparing the information campaign related to different types of customers (impacts or changes) and explaining with details or examples what concretely is going to be changed and how a new process should be done.
• Preparing the information for collection points including explanations of the communication changes (collaboration).
• Preparing the campaign or other material before the system implementation.
• These kind of preparations can be sub-contracted to any business consulting companies.

Internal Communication in Implementing Customer Management System (CMS)

The need of internal communication exists in every society or human group. The COMPANY current situation makes it is necessary to set up a program of internal communication that will specify the problems that can occur. Hereafter is a proposal of some measures to be taken.

Mission of internal communication:

To create and to maintain communication channels so that the information about the new business and operative measures, flows easily through the different levels of the organization.

Objectives of internal communication:

To involve people in the integration with the new actions, supporting the communication and motivation inside the Company. The key objective is the total staff commitment in the development of the new strategy.
To transmit Key messages of the Plan of Improvement within COMPANY itself.

Problems of internal communication:

• Information – quantity, quality, content, form, time (sometimes the staff has limited information or the information has not a satisfying content or the information is available very late).

• Communication channels – Companies normally have insufficient communication channels. Not all-possible channels of communication are used. Many times staff itself is not informed, the information does not flow fluently and/or it is blocked between certain levels. (i.e. the superior does not inform subordinates in the organizational unit).

• Human factor – this is the most complicated factor related to internal communication. Some people have problems to accept the changes that are carried out in the company. They try to reject the changes. Our suggestion is to focus on minimizing these aspects.

• Culture and the level of computer literacy – This reflects how deeply-rooted the old system is. With special regard to the aspects of work organization and human factor motivation. This is relevant to assess how possible a change is both in work organization and processes and whether the Company can assume a new organizational structure or a change in job’s functions.

Solution of problems:

• Information – each information item must have its “own adequate quality standard” (representing: information value and guarantee of accuracy) and must be available at the right time. The Company has to explain to its staff the strategy for the coming periods and what goals the Company wants to achieve. And, since one of the Company’s objectives is the CMS implementation, the staff must feel that it is involved in the fulfillment of the goals and must be motivated to participate. It is very important to prepare different ways and details of information depending on the target group of personnel (passing the information to managers might be different than passing it to the personnel who will operate the new system on a daily basis.). Furthermore, there are different levels of details about how to inform the different groups of people (for some groups it is enough to make a presentation of the main subjects and for others it is necessary to go into details). Besides that, the timing for communication is very important. The Company should start with the communication from the beginning of the implementation and do it over all the period of implementation.

• Communication channels – It is necessary to improve existing channels and create new ones. The Company should analyze the possible channels of communication depending on types of audience (using company magazine or newspaper, e-mail, web site of the company, meetings, specific bulletins, video, photos, etc). Suggestions are:
1. To increase the number of internal e-mail users
2. To issue the internal magazine with abundant content, written in an attractive style and high professional standard. The internal magazine should be sent to every employee monthly to the employee’s address. The magazine should feature articles about employees, departments, and future perspectives. Employees should feel in the center of interest of the Company.
3. To install a letterbox in the lobby, where employees have the possibility to drop a letter with questions about the future of the Company.
4. To hold meetings and professional consultation.
5. To establish a telephone service to answer employees’ questions about the changes, the future of the Company future, etc.
6. To create a department for communication and information that should answer employees’ calls, organize issuing and distribution of leaflets, arrange the contacts with personnel. This department would be responsible for internal communication and for transmitting the information to employees.


• Human resources – within this area it is important to establish a positive relationship between the staff and the Company, encouraging a feeling of pride for being part of the organization, and a positive outlook for the future. It is necessary to define clearly when the results will be achieved, to compare used resources and effort done. First, we recommend COMPANY to define the mission and philosophy of the organization. Then, through information channels and with the support of training and of the management, to move the mission forward to employees. Employees can identify themselves with the mission and philosophy of the Company. Motivation of the staff is essential for a better understanding of the changes the Company will carry out (for example to allow personnel to change the qualification for new job positions).

• Culture of organization – This is connected with a good image of the Company. COMPANY is an exceptional organization that started to carry out changes in commercial areas and to offer better service to customers. To achieve all this, it is necessary to define the tasks and to carry out them efficiently and with a high quality standard.
1. At the same time, we cannot forget the employees – to create good conditions and to offer them social advantages. It is important to appropriately motivate the staff, providing ways to improve their qualifications (in accordance with the implementation of CMS). Each employee has to be sure his work is important for the Company.
2. We suggest management sending a birthday card to every employee.

Communication Strategy in Implementing New System

Implementing a project as large as Customer Management System (CMS), communication becomes a key factor for its success. Thus COMPANY’s customers, suppliers and staff must understand that all the activities of the CMS are focused on achieving the continuity of COMPANY as a company, which is competent, stable and profitable.
To accomplish this, COMPANY staff, customers and suppliers need to be fully aware of the switch from the old systems to the new ones.

Considering the implementation of a new CMS, it is necessary to elaborate material for internal and external communication purposes. This material features some problems that could arise during the transitional change in the Company, as well as offering several solutions. Even though the proposed solutions do not cover the whole spectrum of the problems, these could be regarded as an initial impulse of inspiration.

COMPANY has determined to carry out a change of its internal structures. The implementation of any information system means significant changes in the whole organization or in certain organizational units. The CMS implementation is special because it addresses both internal and external changes. Internal changes refer to the organization’s staff and external changes are related to different types of COMPANY customers.

Basically, the CMS implementation is not free of distrust (internal and external). The reasons could be the following:

• Company’s staff has no information about the implementation of the system or has only limited information that is not enough for a proper understanding.
• Staff dislikes new technologies (this is related to job positions where people are not used to work with computers or where the use of computers is limited
• Customers have no information of what the strategy of the Company is, why the Company is implementing a new system and how this implementation is going to affect them.

Therefore, from the beginning of the implementation of the CMS, it is very important to do activities in order to overcome all these hurdles. The staff has to grasp what the expected changes are about. The most useful way to persuade them is communication, “We can desire and accept only what we understand“.

The staff has no information about “Why” or “Whom” are these changes for? How will the Company be in future? What organization structure will it have? What will be the philosophy of the Company? These are the reasons to create an effective communication plan, focused on an accurate transmission of information to managers and employees. Firstly, it is necessary to communicate the basic ideas of the project, inputs and outputs that are expected to be made straightforwardly and at the appropriate time.