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Transparency and consistency at Ineris
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At the head of the CYPRES project, Michel Treins, Information Systems Director at INERIS, faced the most important computer problem to befall the company. It was a real challenge for this public establishment whose very living is based on its knowledge management tools.
Although it has a public service mission, INERIS is also a retail establishment. This institution works on industrial risk and performs studies for both the State and large industrial groups. "That is why it is vital for INERIS to manage its know-how and knowledge efficiently and build on it," explains Michel Treins. This is exactly the basis for the CYPRES project, which aims to optimise document management to promote the development of teamwork and a reusable body of knowledge. The project, with a 1 million euro budget and 18-month timeline, addresses issues of both corporate structure and culture: along with changing the tool, the corporate mindset will also have to change significantly.
The INERIS management team performed a risk analysis for a solid understanding of the project issues before starting the project.
Keeping the company up to date to avoid wrong conclusions
This analysis demonstrated that the main risks facing the project were positioning, organisation and management, as well as learning the tool. Based on this, in-house communication issues became central to the success of the project. Quatre Vents then performed an in-depth in-house survey on knowledge of the project, how it was perceived by future users, and their information needs. This study made it possible to update the major in-house expectations for the project. Based on their observations, Quatre Vents prepared an in-house communication plan for INERIS to cover the entire duration of the project. It addressed the major issues flagged by future users during the survey.
"We had to secure the positioning of the project and listen to staff to understand their expectations, avoid people coming to wrong conclusions, develop messages and pick up on any red flags", observes Michel Treins. We wanted to build a positive view of the project and make people receptive. To do so, the entire project had to be consistent, and contradictory messages avoided.
