Staying on TOP of your IP Asset Management Database System Project: Part IV – Process

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth and final post in this series examining our lessons learned from managing IP Asset Management database system migration projects. 

As I noted in the first post in this series, there are three critical building blocks to position your organization to stay on TOP of your migration to a new IPAM solution:

• Technology – Selecting the right technology and technology solution partners. 
• Organization – Anticipating the impact to your organization and proactively developing and implementing a successful change management program. 
• Process – Assembling the right project team and developing a practical project plan to position your organization for a successful implementation. 

In this posting I will elaborate on the “Process” component. This is another challenging element of any large project. Key aspects of this element include assembling a project team; empowering them and positioning them for success; and investing the time to develop a realistic project plan. Specific best practices relative to the Process building block include:

1. Understand that you will undoubtedly underestimate the resource and schedule requirements for all systems projects. It is also very easy to underestimate the extent of legacy data migration and system integration challenges – especially if there have been multiple generations / versions of your current software solution. This is generally not complex but requires attention to detail and careful follow-through.

2. Manage expectations for your project team to be accountable for the project beyond the initial implementation to ensure that all your key project goals are achieved. It is extremely difficult not to get distracted and return to “business as usual” (i.e. your normal day job) after the initial implementation of a major technology solution.

3. Ensure that your project team has accountability for all aspects of your system migration. Key roles to consider include:

a. Program Manager: Responsible for project schedule, technical architecture, software and hardware platforms selection, project communications, change management

b. Process Manager: Responsible for planning and updating your key operational processes in alignment with changes, constraints, and opportunities provided by your new IPAM solution

c. Data Manager: Oversee the legacy data migration into the new system and the new data standards that you will implement to take full advantage of your new system

4. Be proactive in your vendor communications with proactive communications to continue to align perceptions, expectations, goals, and objectives to ensure a success outcome for both parties.

How successful has your organization planning and executing systems implementations within your institution? Have you documented and taken action on your lessons learned? What lessons learned have surprised you?

Staying on TOP of your IP Asset Management Database System Project: Part III – Organization

Editor’s Note: This is the third post in a four-part series examining our lessons learned from managing IP Asset Management database system migration projects.
As I noted in the first post in this series, there are three critical building blocks to position your organization to stay on TOP of your migration to a new IPAM solution:

• Technology – Selecting the right technology and technology solution partners.
• Organization – Anticipating the impact to your organization and proactively developing and implementing a successful change management program.
• Process – Assembling the right project team and developing a practical project plan to position your organization for a successful implementation.

In this posting I will elaborate on the “Organization” component. This is often the most challenging element with the greatest impact on the overall success of your project. Specific best practices relative to the Organization building block include:

1. It is imperative to be proactive and diligent to manage expectations and perceptions from your initial planning through the post-implementation phase of the project – especially if you are migrating from a custom, proprietary solution to a commercial software solution. This is especially true from a features, functions, and capabilities perspective. You need to ensure that the ultimate end-users have a realistic set of expectations regarding how and what the new system will do for them and that interacting with your new IPAM system will be a different experience.

2. Do not underestimate the change management impact on your organization and be careful NOT to introduce other organizational or process changes simultaneously if possible. Effective change management best practices include:

a. Maintaining a firm grasp of the current realities, challenges, and opportunities across your institution;

b. Assuring that the appropriate energy, priority, and focus are maintained on your migration project until the desired results and key milestones have been achieved;

c. Planning to ensure that you have assembled the right skills and talent on the project team to ensure that the organization will meet its overall goals (explored in more detail in next post);

d. Striving continuously to provide feedback and open communications;

e. Establishing the foundation to set and manage expectations for effective and reliable project execution; and

f. Striving to persevere to institutionalize the desired changes from your systems migration effort.

3. Carefully plan for just-in-time training for all staff members impacted from your systems migration. This can be challenging to orchestrate, but it is important to train your system users simultaneously with granting them access to your new system. If you train too early, it could potentially cost you a tremendous amount of time in support costs over the long term. If you train too late, you are potentially confronted with confronting negative impressions about your new IPAM system because they were not properly prepared to deal with the changes. Remember that first impressions can be extremely difficult to change.

4. If your system implementation is going to impact several organizations across your institution, engage key members from these organizations upfront as a spokesperson and member of your project evaluation and implementation team. They should be engaged and supportive and often bring a new and valuable perspective to your team.

How successful has your organization been in assessing and managing the impact of new systems implementation across your institution? What are your key lessons learned? Please check back in a few days for the next installment in this series.

Staying on TOP of your IP Asset Management Database System Project: Part II – Technology

Editor’s Note: This is the second post in a four-part series examining our lessons learned from managing IP Asset Management (IPAM) database system migration projects.

 

As I noted in the first post in this series, there are three critical building blocks to position your organization to stay on TOP of your migration to a new IPAM solution:

• Technology – Selecting the right technology and technology solution partners.
• Organization – Anticipating the impact to your organization and proactively developing and implementing a successful change management program.
• Process – Assembling the right project team and developing a practical project plan to position your organization for a successful implementation.

In this posting I will elaborate on the “Technology” element. This is the quite often the easy part – but the one element where we tend to focus most of our time and energy. Assuming that you are not developing your own IPAM solution using in-house resources, I recommend that you do not get overly immersed in specific features and functions of a new system. It is more important to select a qualified strategic partner that will support you throughout the life cycle of your solution. Specific best practices relative to the Technology building block include: 

1. Invest sufficient time to thoroughly understand and document your institutional / enterprise intellectual property management and integration requirements. Your requirements should be ranked and prioritized to assist you in the evaluation and selection process. You do not want to place any more emphasis than justified on features and functions that are desirable or “nice to have”, especially if they distract the focus on your core requirements.
2. Develop an evaluation matrix or tool with weighted requirements where you and rate and rank key solution features along with the qualifications of your vendors.
3. You should also invest a commensurable effort into evaluating your target solution vendors. Consider not only what the vendor is offering today, but examine their track record, the stability and effectiveness of their leadership team, company culture, market leadership, and ultimately the ability to support your organization on a long-term basis.
4. It is also essential that you interview current customers as references for your top candidate solutions. Ideally, these are not just a unique set of “raving fans” – but a cross-section of clients that have similar requirements with your institution.

How successful has your organization been in identifying both the right technology solution and technology partner for your institution? What are your key lessons learned? Please check back in a few days for the next installment in this series.

Staying on TOP of your IP Asset Management Database System Project: Part I – Introduction

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a four-part series examining our lessons learned from managing IP Asset Management database system migration projects. This overview will be followed by posts that focus on the three critical elements of a successful systems implementation. Visit our blog each Monday to follow this series.

Making a decision to investigate and evaluate alternatives to your IP Asset Management (IPAM) database system is a very challenging and often underestimated endeavor. In my previous posting on Utilizing an IP Management Database to Enhance Your Marketing Efforts, I provided the business case for utilizing a robust IPAM solution for your Technology Transfer Office (TTO). There are a number of drivers that might prompt your organization to consider migrating to a new solution at this time including:

• Migrating to a Web-based IPAM solution that is more intuitive, is easier to access, maintain, and enhanceI
• Migrating to a new IPAM solution that provides higher reliability, improved customer service, and/or is more cost effective
• Migrating to a more robust IPAM solution that will scale to meet the increased volume of transactions that your office is managing and provide you with comprehensive reporting and management capabilities
• Migrating to a more comprehensive IPAM solution that provides support across your entire Intellectual Property life cycle

When initiating a project to implement a new IPAM database solution, it is essential to stay on TOP of your mission by carefully planning for the following three critical areas to position you for success:

• Technology – Selecting the right technology and technology solution partners.
• Organization – Anticipating the impact to your organization and proactively developing and implementing a successful change management program.
• Process – Assembling the right project team and developing a practical project plan to position your organization for a successful implementation.

In subsequent blog postings, I will elaborate on the key elements of Technology, Organization, and Process to consider prior to initiating the evaluation, selection, and implementation process of your new IPAM solution.

What challenges have you faced while migrating to a new IPAM solution?