1. Project Management for HMIS September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Susan Bruemmer, Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County, Florida Pollyanna Pixton, Utah HMIS Jan Marcason, Mid America Assistance Coalition

2. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2 Agenda Issues and Challenges Getting Users Onboard Susan Bruemmer, Countywide Project Planning and Tracking Pollyanna Pixton, Statewide Project User Best Practices Jan Marcason, Multi-State Project Successes Tools and Tips

3. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 3 Issues and Challenges Limited Resources: Money, People, Time Various Levels of Technology Busy Agency Staff Need to Deal With Resistance to Change

4. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 4 Tampa/Hillsborough County Single CoC Implementation Large county with both a large urban and rural community Failing implementation prior to January 2005 Changed vendors December 2003 No progress throughout 2004 Changed project sponsor March 2005 27 agencies 40 programs Over 120 users currently, projected to 200

5. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 5 Approach in Tampa HMIS is a change in business processes and a change in technology for all homeless service providers Consider the perspective of the stakeholder in HMIS Understand the concept and assumptions of change Consider the factors that affect adopting a new technology Consider the type of adopters within your project Assumptions of change and adopter perspective will shape stakeholders concerns Be aware of the levels of concern of stakeholders Develop a tool to determine the levels of concern Concerns must be addressed directly or resistance to change will affect implementation

6. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 6 Consider the Perspective HMIS Prevention Perm / Supp Mainstream Emergency Shelter Trans. Housing Outreach

7. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 7 Assumptions of Change Change is a cyclical process that takes time, and does not occur suddenly Changes cannot be forced Some parts can be predicted / planned for, others are unpredictable Everyone is involved in change An individual can only change his or her beliefs, but personal changes affect everyone through interactions Small-scale changes, on an individual level, must be made to change an institution In order to facilitate a change, perceptions of the change must be realized

8. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 8 Factors Affecting the Decision To Adopt or Reject? That Is the Question. The perception that HMIS has advantages over the old way The compatibility of HMIS with the beliefs and values held by the user The perceived difficulty of HMIS The ability to use HMIS or parts of HMIS on a trial basis The visibility of the results

9. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 9 HMIS Adopter Characteristics

10. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 10 Stages of Concern 0AwarenessNo concerns about HMIS, HMIS not being used 1InformationalInformation about HMIS is sought 2Personal Concerns about the personal impact of HMIS 3ManagementConsideration about how HMIS can best be managed 4ConsequencesImproving the impact of HMIS 5CollaborationFocus is on coordination and cooperation with others using HMIS 6RefocusingMajor changes to HMIS result in a new HMIS

11. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 11 The Level of Concern Survey: A Practical, Easy-to-use Tool Provide to any stakeholder at any point in implementation First meeting Before training One week after training User Group Steering Committee Provide to same stakeholder over time to frame meetings Provide on-line, through email or on paper Use the survey

12. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 12 How to Address Concerns Determined on the Survey? Stakeholder must know that each concern has been heard and understood Project Manager must be prepared to provide answers or direction to find answers to concerns Some concerns are answered in partnership with agencies or other groups Type of concern will determine venue to address One on one Group (Steering / User) Additional training required For example …

13. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 13 Utah Experience Pollyanna Pixton Statewide rollout of 54 agencies Three year project, one year behind No project staff onboard New PM asked to finish one year early, on September 1, 2005 Agencies at all sizes and technology skill sets Two other systems in place

14. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 14 Utah Approach How to Meet Challenges? Get the best talent Trust the team Use collaborative processes and leadership concepts Plan, review and re-plan often Let team determine what to do and by when Track against plan Stand back and let team work

15. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 15 Planning Define and agree to project goals and objectives Identify deliverables and measurements of success Brainstorm to identify all the tasks Group and prioritize based on importance Order by time Group into short 3-4 week intervals Team members sign up for tasks and determine by when Review and reflect on interval results

16. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 16 Planning Tips Only one person responsible for each task Clear measurable deliverables for each task Add contingency: 15-30% Break long deliverables into intermediate deliverables Identify critical path Perform risk analysis and develop contingencies Do not allow for scope creep 80% of projects fail due to scope creep Make sure everyone has what they need to succeed

17. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 17 Tracking and Monitoring Weekly status meetings with minutes including action items Training schedule Agency training status User support visits schedule Agency participation status Monthly status reports for Steering Committee Open Issues Log: decisions outside team Re-planning as needed

18. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 18 Collaboration and Leadership Create and open environment without fear Convene the right people Operate with trust Create team ownership and foster innovation Only positive feedback and specific praise Ask open-ended questions with positive, authentic inquiry Foster open dialogue Provide transparency at all levels Self-determined accountability Practice deep listening

19. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 19 Project Results Goals: Estimated 8 plans for funding Selected 7 month schedule with team of 9 Implementation: Hired talented team members, mid-Jan 05, team of 7 Completed one month early and under budget Iterated planning three times Success Factors: Flex hours and workplace determined by team Regular status meetings Collaborative processes and leadership

20. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 20 Multi-State Experience Jan Marcason Legacy system in place since 1994 Wide variety of user groups Multi city, county, state collaborative (200 agencies, 600 users) Four separate continuums of care Expanding further statewide

21. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 21 Developing an Inclusive Plan Begin with internal project plan Invite feedback from various users before final development Test program at actual sites, not just in testing environment Standardize as much as possible but make room for special features

22. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 22 Internal Work Plan Get outside help developing the timetable/project template if necessary One person needs to be responsible for accountability for follow-through on plan Have regular (weekly) meetings to make sure you’re staying on track Prepare for delays/adjustments

23. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 23 Focus Groups Test Software Four separate groups test features (emergency assistance, HUD-APR, case managers, shelters)

24. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 24 Feedback From Users Select 4-5 users for each potential work group: include high-level computer users, sporadic users, and novice users Determine key elements to test Prepare a worksheet to walk them through the testing Follow up with them to make sure they are doing the testing Come back together for group feedback

25. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 25 Test at Actual Sites Software works very differently depending on hardware and connectivity at agencies Users assume that the software is defective when it might be their web browser, Internet connection, or pop-ups Help raise donations for better equipment and connections

26. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 26 Accommodating the Range of Needs Expanding the network beyond HMIS makes services more effective HMIS requirements make the “one size fits all” software impossible Give users what they actually need to do their jobs at first Gradually add more features as they are requested/required

27. September 13-14, 2005 St. Louis, Missouri Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 27 Summary: PM Tips and Tools Work closely to get users onboard User Survey Tool Plan early and often, track against plan Use planning process, status reports and OIL Plan for what next as early as possible Use collaboration concepts Network with other HMIS PMs Form focus groups