Front Office Box

FOB3 is out there and people are doing stuff with it. Some of the questions we struggled with in design are rising from the mist. Users are querying what the hell we’ve done and why.

They were entirely comfortable with the way FOB2 worked. Now they have to learn something new. Worse, it might do more things, but it doesn’t do all the things they’ve grown to like.

It feels like a step backward! (Well that isn’t quite what they’ve said, but the feeling is there all the same).

So now it’s time for me to get into using it for real, and see if the same thoughts strike me.

So how did I get on?

Sitting in my dashboard are maybe 10 incoming emails. Funnily enough none of them relate to existing plans or actions. This brings me immediately up against the restricted functionality. There are only three options 1) goto plans and set up plan/action 2) leave the emails on the Dashboard or 3) delete them. Good news here. The Delete button makes it much easier to get rid of stuff at this point.

Just like everybody else who’ll be using the app I’m in a hurry. I just want to get the damned email off my Dashboard and make a start on the huge pile of work waiting for me. Why can’t I simply create a new action in a ToDo list and just file the message away? Taking my own medicine, I clicked the Plans tab to do the job properly. GRRRrrrr.

Horror of Horrors.

Now when I create the Plan I have to put in some Milestones, then add Actions to each of them before going back to the Dashboard to get rid of the emails. Which idiot decided to do this with what was perfectly good software? Well it was me wasn’t it so I’d better bloody well make it work.

The Task in Hand

Most of the emails related to a grant application we’re considering for medical research. Not necessarily complicated but multi dimensional with several objectives we need to be achieve. All of these things are in my brain somewhere, but not planned, or even properly understood. I really shouldn’t pay lip service to the planning. That would just bite me in the ass later, else I’d be stressed out trying to remember what I couldn’t forget.

So here’s the plan I came up with

• Plan = Investigate potential for new grant application due 12/31/2009

• Milestone 1 = Agree scientific objectives due 12/30/200
• Action 1 = Ian organise conference call for discussion scheduled 12/11/2009

• Milestone 2 = Test Outline Plan with EU Call Manager due 12/30/2009
• Action 2 = Ian contact xxxxx@xxxxx for introduction and meetings

• Milestone 3 = Check Project Officer support for our bid due 12/30/2009
• Action 3 = Nick call Christoff and test the water due 12/15/2009

• Milestone 4 = Confirm Consortium Membership due 12/30/2009
• Action 4 – Steve check with Ivan if XXXXX Inc. wants to join the application due 12/8/2009

This didn’t take more than ten minutes, including assigning the emails from Dashboard. Now I’ve planned my objectives, we’ll be able to make a bid/no bid decision on December 31st.  I’ve assigned and scheduled tasks and I’ve got everything set up for my review process.

Was this worth the effort? Too right it was, and Front Office Box made me do it, today. If time wasn’t available I’d have left the incoming email on the Dashboard and it would have been there to remind me tomorrow, and the next day.

I’ve done the job properly, so it won’t need doing again.

Henri Fayol taught us about Plan Act Review a hundred years ago. Management consultants have promoted it for more than 50 years. Front Office Box gives a set of tools to implement this best practice without doing anything different.

From inbox to management excellence

in a few short steps – a process we’ll definitely use from now on.

December 5th, 2009 - Posted in Management Built In  |  Add a Comment