Idaho Commission for Libraries

Part of the work of ensuring the longevity of a project such as the e-Branch project involves change management.

In managing change, it’s important to know what you value, and what to do when those values conflict. For the e-branch project, we’ve developed the following list of values, ranked in priority order:

1. Security
   Rationale: If the system isn’t secure, it can be exploited, and will fail.
2. Stability
   Rationale: If a system isn’t stable, its availability, credibility, and ability to deliver are damaged.
3. Sustainability
   Rationale: If a system out-grows its administrators’ ability to support it, it will suffer.
4. Scalability
   Rationale: If a system cannot grow and adapt to changing needs, it will become useless or irrelevant.
5. Usability
   Rationale: If a system cannot be easily used, it likely won’t be used at all.
6. Retaining Features
   Rationale: If a system’s core workflows change too drastically or too often, even if these represent enhancements, users will not be happy.
7. Adding New Features
   Rationale: If a system never changes, opportunities for enhancement are being missed.

The e-branch system is complex, and using a tool such as this list of prioritized values is one way to ensure long-term success for the project.