The problem child. AKA..."The Control Phase"

It wasn't until I completed my black belt training and participated in numerous projects that I realized how often even the niftiest of implemented solutions can fall well short of expectations.  Why? 

                                            The Control Phase

Now my solutions were pretty nifty...but more often than I'd like to remember, processes were allowed to revert, process ownership was not clearly delineated (or allowed to slide because the of corporate culture that never truly embraced the change), and I'd get a call. 

Most likely, in your business you won't conduct a big fancy 6 Sigma project with dedicated resources.  You'll give the Fleet Manager or Operations Manager the responsibility of picking a solution for your business.   Let's say its an equipment tracking GPS solution.

Just remember that no matter which of the hundred out there you select, they will ALL:

1. Give you the hours and location
2. A gazillion reports
3. Cool looking maps with dots

Now what?

Takin' it to the Bank

It's more important that you have a clear road map of what the CONTROL PHASE (or just call it POST DEPLOYMENT PHASE) looks like and that you've clearly and publicly given responsibility of the project to a leader.  Ask the vendor to tell you what you should be looking for or counting on 3,6,12, and 24 months down the road to extract yet more value from their solution.  Don't be concerned with feature enhancements.  Most deployments result in about 10% feature usage in my experience.  Constructing the plan and executing properly will result in happier employees, process owners, and CFO's.