This precondition refers to the capture of accurate and relevant information in media and formats that will lead to it being available “at your fingertips”. Any capture needs to be accurate, timely and cost effective. The value of information comes from its availability to those who need it, in order to make decisions or to take action.

Clearly it is important that data collected is of a quality that enables good decisions to be made and appropriate actions to be taken. For both project and operational information capture it is important to include checking processes that ensure that the information is accurate and connected appropriately to the relevant business processes. For example, a letter from a customer about poor service needs to be captured and then indexed both by the customer details and by the complaint details.

The infrastructure precondition refers to the ability to hold the information reliably, securely and cost effectively and in a way that enables the user to manipulate, search and retrieve information as needed.

Infrastructure also includes integration between specific software applications so that information delivery is simple, intuitive and in line with normal business processes.

The Interact precondition relates to the ability of users to retrieve and update the information captured by an organisation. It involves making the information available in user-friendly ways, wherever and whenever it is needed. Wherever possible, the information should be integrated with the actual business process involved.

‘Don’t make me think!’ is a phrase used by Steve Krug to describe the usability of websites. In this context, we are using the phrase to describe interfaces that are simple to follow and do not require memorised sequences of keystrokes in order to extract the information required.

For example, end-users should not have to constantly move in and out of a number of key software applications, no matter how user-friendly each on its own might be. Customers using a business website should be able to find the information or application that they need in a predictable fashion, based around the transaction or query that they wish to conduct.

The Know-how precondition is met when people have clarity on who needs to do what for:

• Technical, strategic and operational governance and stewardship of systems or applications.
• Ways of organising the information, allowing it to be used for multiple purposes.
• Clear goals and objectives with key performance indicators (KPIs) on adoption of the system or application, as well as the business KPIs that it is helping to achieve.
• Clear business processes, support and escalation mechanisms.
• Roles and responsibilities that allow people to understand what is required of them, how empowered they are, and when to seek help or approval.

This is complemented by having clear business rules, policies, procedures and work-flow for activities that need to be undertaken and by ensuring that people have the prerequisite skills and training to be successful.

This refers to people’s attitude and opinions that affect how they use systems, business rules and information in their everyday activities. It is also about their buy-in and ability to take into account organisational aspirations when undertaking their role. This piece is often missed when significant IT investment is made.

Many good IT initiatives are technically sound, but unravel because they have not taken into account the predisposition of those who are going to use or support the systems and business processes.

This side of the pentagon is all about how we plan and implement the initiative so that we engage people in seeing the value of supporting or using the systems effectively.

Answering the following questions will help ensure the precondition is creating positive outcomes in your endeavour:

• Does senior leadership see the business benefits of the initiative and are they showing their support through words and deeds and by making resources available?
• Has the operational leadership been involved in the implementation process and can the operational leaders clearly see the problems that this will solve, the action that they need to take and the benefits of the new environment?
• Has the organisation entered into a real partnership with vendors that sees them using proven implementation strategies for their products?
• Are there positive outcomes for users applying the system and/or rules correctly?