Navigating the Storm: A Double Migration

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, a high stakes balancing act that tested the limits of our team's resilience and expertise. We simultaneously managed two major client migrations. Both were for high profile large clients and part of their IBM Planning Analytics Modernisation initiative:

The clients

News Corp - News Corp Australia tells the stories that matter to 18.2 million Australians every month as an important part of News Corp, a diversified global media and information services company. From breaking news in the morning to deciding dinner that night, Australia trusts our brands to inform, inspire and delight across the day – including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail, The Advertiser, Mercury, NT News, Townsville Bulletin, The Cairns Post, Gold Coast Bulletin, Geelong Advertiser, news.com.au, Vogue, GQ, Kidspot, taste.com.au and plenty more. More here https://www.newscorpaustralia.com/

A long-time TM1 user was looking at refreshing its application and modernise it by going to the cloud and utilising new dashboarding capabilities of the workspace and starting some testing on AI capabilities for the Finance team. TM1 is one of the core applications within the Finance team and they could not afford to run the risk of a prolonged upgrade to the cloud.

BlueScope They are a global leader in metal coating and painting products for the building and construction industries, providing vital components for houses, buildings, structures, vehicles, and more.

They have built a solid foundation for growth with a diverse portfolio of businesses in some of the largest and fastest-growing economies of the world. They are headquartered in Australia, with our people and operations spread across North America, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and throughout Asia. More here https://www.bluescope.com/

BlueScope is also a long-term TM1 user with the application used for a number of areas including demand planning, forecasting and Reporting in the Finance teams. They were on an older version of on–prem TM1 and upgrading to the latest version of on-prem IBM Planning Analytics TM1

A Perfect Storm

Both projects presented unique challenges. NEWS's migration required significant user training and change management, while BlueScope's upgrade involved complex technical configurations and intricate coordination with multiple stakeholders. To make matters even more challenging, both go-lives were scheduled for the same day!

Overcoming the Odds

How did we navigate this perfect storm?

• Strong Leadership: Clear and decisive leadership was crucial in keeping the projects on track. By setting clear expectations, prioritising tasks, and making timely decisions, we were able to mitigate risks and ensure smooth execution.
• Effective Teamwork: Our team demonstrated exceptional teamwork and collaboration. By working closely together, we could share knowledge, support each other, and address challenges proactively.
• Agile Methodology: We adopted an agile approach, breaking down the projects into smaller, manageable phases. This allowed us to adapt to changing circumstances and deliver value incrementally. We have built up a comprehensive checklist for our upgrade TM1 upgrades and this makes upgrades easier and risk free.
• Robust Communication: Open and transparent communication was key to keeping all stakeholders informed and aligned. Regular status updates, clear documentation, and effective problem-solving ensured a smooth transition.

Lessons Learned

These experiences have taught us valuable lessons:

• Prioritise and Plan: Careful planning and prioritization are essential, especially when managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Embrace Flexibility: Be prepared to adapt to unexpected challenges and changes in scope.
• Build Strong Relationships: Strong relationships with clients and team members are crucial for successful project delivery.
• Learn from Mistakes: Analyse past projects to identify areas for improvement and avoid repeating errors.

Successful outcomes for both clients

The upgrade was successful for both clients and went live on the same day. This was a testament to my team’s technical ability and tenacity to ensure we followed our upgrade checklist. All testing and end-user training went well. One of our key tenets of upgrades is to ensure that client communication around changed functionality and look and feel is explained, trained and tested. The stakeholders from our client side were great and the whole team went above and beyond during the upgrade and deployment.

Both the upgrade took under 6 weeks to complete with minimal disruption to the business.

A huge shoutout goes to Alpheus and Rajan for their stellar work on the NEWS migration, ensuring a smooth transition to the Cloud, and to Baburao for expertly managing the BlueScope upgrade, and overcoming every hurdle that came our way.

Your Turn

Have you faced similar challenges in managing multiple simultaneous projects? How did you overcome them? Share your experiences and insights in the comments below.

If you are looking to modernise or upgrade your IBM Planning Analytics, then contact us and we would be happy to guide you.