'Change'
Noun
- An act or process through which something becomes different
- The substitution of one thing for another
- An alteration or modification
It should come as no surprise that as we aim to improve something, change becomes an inevitable part of the process. So why is it that we find change difficult to embrace?
If we're constantly looking at a process or a way of working with the aim of improving the outcome, then surely change is something we should be comfortable with, and able to embrace?
Indeed without 'change', the cycle of 'continuous improvement' is an impossible ask.
So, is it actually the 'change' itself that we find difficult or rather the process of adopting the 'change' that creates barriers?
Managing Microsoft 365 Change
Well let's look at the move to consuming evergreen services from the cloud in the form of Microsoft 365.
Microsoft 365 takes what was once a service provided via 'on-premises' servers, and places those services in the cloud for customers to consume. In doing so, Microsoft has removed the need for organisations to invest in costly hardware, and embrace the world of evergreen products and services.
So where's the problem with this we ask?
Managing the Noise
In removing the headache of managing on-premises equipment, a new requirement has been created. That is the task of managing and implementing the hundreds of changes Microsoft announce every quarter via the M365 Message Center and Roadmap.
These updates aren't always enabled automatically, and neither should they be, so we often find the need for engineering time, and/or user comms, before they can be rolled out.
Considering the strain on resources of reviewing each change, understanding it, deciding if it applies to you and your organisation, highlighting its impact, documenting it, scheduling it, and then communicating it, it's no wonder that the thought of the process that comes with the change causes some to procrastinate, and others to simply resign themselves to the inevitable workload.
Automating the M365 Change Optimisation Process
So, in the world of Microsoft 365 Message Center and Roadmap, what can be done to reduce the impact of change on an organisation and encourage you to embrace it?
The tasks causing most of the work include: collating, categorising, reviewing, actioning and reporting on each of the changes.
It seems that if there were a way in which this workload could be automated, or at the very least simplified, so that you could focuses primarily on the most critical changes, then a lot of the 'pain' attributed to change could be alleviated.
Easier said than done you might think, but there is help.
To simplify this enormous task, Microsoft does encourage you to integrate Message Center with Planner, though this is hot without its drawbacks.
To achieve Level 500, the highest and most efficient level of Microsoft's own Maturity Model for Microsoft 365 when applied to service change management, Microsoft encourage organisations to implement a change management process with automated processes. This should include workflows and communication processes that automatically notify service and product owners of forthcoming changes, incidents, and issues.
This is where ChangePilot and ChangePilot Pro can add value, and the ability to attain Microsoft 365 operational excellence.
Achieving Microsoft 365 Operational Excellence with ChangePilot
So what are ChangePilot and ChangePilot Pro, and how are they designed to help?
ChangePilot provides Microsoft 365 Product and Service Owners with visibility and awareness of the breadth of change, updates to those changes, and Roadmap notifications within Microsoft 365.
With tenant-connection enabled, ChangePilot collates all M365 Message Center and Roadmap items from your tenant, and surfaces them in a dedicated portal, as well as delivering them via email each month. Each view is configurable to your preferences; only see the changes that matter to you and your area of responsibility and filter items by user versus admin impact and deployment dates.
Before being delivered via ChangePilot, items are reviewed via a combination of AI and subject matter experts to summarise, categorise and tag each one with additional information and more clarity than is provided by Microsoft. Additional attributes allow for advanced search and filtering to ensure the right people are seeing the right messages.
Each items also includes a link to a short video explaining the detail, the potential impact, and tips on what to do to ready yourself for the change. These clips are taken from the ChangePilot monthly 'Change Call', a live event open to all ChangePilot customers where all the Microsoft 365 changes for that month are discussed with experts.
Monthly Change Call with Microsoft 365 change experts
ChangePilot Pro builds on the visibility and awareness provided by ChangePilot, and provides a full operational workflow for managing Microsoft 365 change via Microsoft Teams. This enables the delivery of new Message Center and Roadmap items into ChangePilot, and the ability to collaborate and discuss items via comments against each channel post.
Furthermore, the dedicated ChangePilot App embedded in Teams provides a robust workflow to effectively manage all incoming M365 service changes. Via this custom-built interface, users can filter items by all attributes, add item notes, and allocate statuses and item owners to assign responsibility and track progress.
ChangePilot App - Custom Built PowerApp
Also included in ChangePilot Pro are Microsoft Power BI reporting packs, providing full visibility and control of all Microsoft 365 service change items and organisational 'Change Health'.
ChangePilot Power BI Dashboard and Reporting
Integrations are also available to automatically create ITSM tickets for each Service Health item.
As we discussed earlier, the thought of change is often worse than the change itself, and having a process that simplifies and automates change goes a long way to alleviating these concerns.
To learn more about ChangePilot and ChangePilot Pro click here and start your journey to simple and effective continuous improvement.
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