APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 1

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ORGANIZATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT

SYSTEM (ExSPRO)

Setiawan Bin Hardono, Ishak Bin Mohamad, Zuraidah Bt Razali, Fauzul Azhan Bin Abd
Aziz, Suzianah Bt Sahar, Mohd Hairi Bin Abdullah Hashim

Abstract

“This paper aims to present the process of consultation that the author has undertaken

to assist in the process of re-aligning the Excellent Student Project System (ExSPRO)

by the Center for Research and Innovation (CFRI), Department of Polytechnic and

Community College (DPCC), Ministry of Education Malaysia. The planned project is a

follow-up to the issues faced by the Center for Research and Innovation (CFRI) in terms

of management regulating student innovation products. The ExSPRO project is behind

the proper development schedule. Due to ExSPRO is implemented by a government

agency, which can be considered a non-profit organization and at the same time is

relatively tied to certain policies and bureaucracies. The consulting process for ExSPRO

consist of 1) Initial phase; 2) Data Collection; 3) Giving Feedback; 4) Interventions and

5) Follow up. ExSPRO expected to be launch by March 2020.”

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 2

Introduction

This paper aims to present the process of consultation that the author has

undertaken to assist in the process of re-aligning the Excellent Student Project System

(ExSPRO) by the Center for Research and Innovation (CFRI), Department of

Polytechnic and Community College (DPCC), Ministry of Education Malaysia. This

project is one of the organizational development and transformation activities to be

undertaken to meet the requirements of the Government of Malaysia and the Industrial

Revolution 4.0.

The development of the ExSPRO system has been underway since 2017 and is

expected to be completed by September 2019 without any financial implications and

provisions. The budget allocation only involves budgeting for workshops and meetings

involving computer programming consisting of polytechnic lecturers and community

colleges.

Center for Research and Innovation (CFRI)

CFRI was established in mid-2007 and has been in operation for almost ten years.

CFRI is responsible for planning the implementation of research and innovation

development as well as overseeing and coordinating all research, innovation and

commercialization activities at DPCC, 36 Polytechnic and 102 Community Colleges

throughout Malaysia. Among the functions and roles of CfRI are:

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 3

i. Plan and manage research activities including dissemination through

seminars, scientific writing and publications in Departments and institutions.

ii. Plan and manage research activities such as federal grants or industry

sponsorships / external bodies

iii. Plan and manage innovation and acquisition of intellectual property including

dissemination through seminars, competitions and reporting of innovation

outcomes across departments and institutions.

iv. Plan and manage funding for innovation activities and acquisition of

intellectual property such as federal grants or sponsorship of institutions /

external bodies.

v. Plan and manage technology commercialization and transfer activities

including knowledge of Departments, institutions and communities.

vi. Plan and manage the financing of commercialization and technology transfer

activities in Departments, industries and communities such as federal grants

or sponsored institutions / external bodies.

vii. Responsible for planning, managing and maintaining a database of research,

innovation and bank ideas to serve as an advisory and reference center for

research, innovation and commercialization.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 4

Background Of Excellent Student Project System (ExSPRO)

The planned project is a follow-up to the issues faced by the Center for Research

and Innovation (CFRI) in terms of management regulating student innovation products

as follows:

i. Existing systems such as MyMOHES, SPMP and CIDOS are just a data

storage system for internal use for polytechnic and community college

functions only and such information is not open to the public.

ii. There is still no online system in the Departments and Institutions that

provides the opportunity and opportunity for the general public and the

outside industry to view student innovation work directly for the purpose of

innovation and commercialization.

iii. Existing systems are not integrated and do not conform to the requirements of

CFRI and stakeholders for further processes such as Intellectual Property

registration filtering and commercialization.

iv. The current system is slowing down the work process of the project consisting

of project supervisors and students and administrators comprising Head of

Innovation Research Unit at polytechnic / community college and CFRI as

they have to enter various systems to get what they need.

v. Users need longer time to complete the work process as they have to use

different systems.
APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 5

Therefore, the CFRI, DPCC plans to develop an integrated system that can manage

student innovation products in polytechnics and community colleges which include

aspects of registration, assessment, reference resources, potential for excellence and

more. This process will involve DPCC divisions such as CFRI and the Digital

Instructional and Learning Division (DILD).

The system development team consisted of 12 officers serving in various fields at

the headquarters and several polytechnics and community colleges. The project is

scheduled to begin officially in June 2018 and is expected to be completed by October

2019, within a period of 16 months.

Problem Statements

The ExSPRO project is behind the proper development schedule. The project is

only 15% of the development after 13 months of running the project. As an organization

development consultant ODC, there are opportunities to streamline the process of

identifying and helping to offer solutions to re-align the ExSPRO project.

The Challenges

Organizational

While the policy has some important advantages, such as streamlining

operations, helping to prevent errors, and establishing a professional reputation on the

sector, it also interferes the project's smooth operation (Emelander, 2019). Uncertainties
APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 6

in government policy changes can sometimes lead to sudden changes in the course of

a project even if an initial agreement has been entered into.

Team Leadership

The development group may be limited by fragmented, transitional, or non-

strategic goals. Teamwork for projects is critical and is an environment where project

managers bridge the gap between director and leader. The transformation of the model,

one aspect of the leadership model that is perfect for the team, provides an inspiring

vision for the future.

Government procurement policies and employment policies also challenge the

efforts of the project manager to build strong teams. Project teams usually rely on

specialists from the organization’s various areas, such as marketing, engineering, and

production.

Consulting

Consultation of the process is a growing mechanism for mutual support

implementation. Schein (2002) describes process consulting as "creating relationships

that allow clients to interpret, understand and act on process events occurring in both

internal and external environments to improve the situation as defined by the client. PC

is a way of helping individuals and groups help themselves.

The organizational management consultancy approach can be conceptualized in

different steps that are demonstrated in figure 1.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 7

Figure 1: The Consulting Process (Nickols,2003)

This process can be divided into four phases:

Start Up.

The first stage begins with the initial consultant-client contact. The consultant

describes the problem or issue that needs assistance with the client. Listening during

this process is an essential capacity. The consultant should understand clearly the key

issues facing the company. The consultant should also initiate a discussion during this

stage about the expectations that she and the client have of each other, and the roles

that each will play throughout the consultation process. This phase may need to be

updated throughout the process if the project does not proceed as planned or if

additional questions or issues arise from the contractor.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 8

The contractor helps the company determine the outcome expected during this

process. These include factors such as increased productivity, higher profits, increased

public profile, and improved working relationships between managers and their

employees. The consultant must also determine the type of product the user wants to

create; it can be a specific proposal or model, existing data assessment, or training

course. Each step allows the contractor to specify the type of data they need in the next

process to collect. Consultants also need to take some time to identify possible

obstacles, limitations or future issues.

Diagnosis.

Consultants continue to collect data on the main issues posed by the company in

this process. Different methods, such as surveys and questionnaires, evaluation and

review of current reports or files, can be used to obtain data.

Intervention

The criteria for an effective intervention include the right and useful information,

free will, and attachment.

It is intended to provide all the details of the organizational issues raised during

the diagnostic process with the correct and useful information. The content is not the

consultant's or customer's business, but it is a reality and is a real part of the operations

of the company. However, the data is important to the issue being addressed, so it is

valuable for enhancing the organization. Consequently, a consultant's first task is to find

the best and useful information. If this function is ineffective, this means that the expert
APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 9

does not provide the appropriate and applicable information and that the correct solution

is challenging.

Free will means that the decision-making place is in the position of the client.

During decision making, consumers are entitled to choose alternatives. It's not about the

contractor. There is no reflex intervention or substitute action, simply planned, and

forced to take it. The freedom of choice is thus stressed that the individual does not

have to make or decide.

Interaction is intended to emphasize that it is the responsibility of the client to

remain bound by the plan or decision made to be implemented. Customers who have

freely made efforts to strengthen their organization in a particular way, are responsible

for implementing them in this situation. This relationship is very important because the

essence of the building activities of the company lies in the bond between the people

involved from the beginning until the constructing effort of the organization is finished.

Transition

The transition phase includes completion, assessment and follow-up. This

involves evaluating the outcomes of the initiative and overseeing the institutionalization

of successful programs of improvement.

Feedback from members of the company on the results of the action provides

information as to whether or not the improvements will be enforced, updated or

suspended.
APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 10

Implementing Consultation On The Case of ExSPRO

Due to ExSPRO is implemented by a government agency, which can be considered a

non-profit organization and at the same time is relatively tied to certain policies and

bureaucracies. We chose to implement a modified model to address existing limitations.

Some of the limitations are:

 Seniority rankings and project team member functions across different

departments.

 Positioning of a team of members of a different team of geographies and offices.

Initial Phase

This stage began when, we were contacted by the project director to ask about

our personal views on the issues he or she encountered in the course of the project.

Generally, he touches on projects that have been delayed from the implementation

schedule

Informally, we already know about the existence of this project. In the meantime,

we are in the process of consulting for another project run by a separate division of the

same department. In addition, we have been in business relationships with this

department for many years. To a lesser degree, we have understood the nature and

flow of process in this department. This situation gives us the opportunity to continue

this phase of contract approval. The initial pre-contract discussions last about a month.

This phase is followed by an explanation of the initial objectives that the project

director would like to achieve:

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 11

 Re-evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the project team.

 Find out the root cause of the project that led to it being late.

 Re-align the project's journey so that it can be completed within six

months.

During the discussion, two additional objectives were stated:

 Positioning and coordinating the project with groups of users from

polytechnics and community colleges across the country.

 Provide teams with strong ties to each other during the development and

maintenance phases.

Next, we do the discussion on pre-structure in the process to determine the scope of

our initial assignment. We agree that:

 Consultants play a role in facilitating the interpretation of information between

team members from different backgrounds.

 Consultants serve as observers and third parties who highlight anything that may

interfere with the implementation of system development.

 The consultant proposes solutions and alternatives to address problems and

uncertainties throughout the contract period.

Data Collection

In this phase, we have several options for collecting data related to the

implementation of the ExSPRO project. These include:

 Questionnaire survey.
APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 12

 Investigation through probing interviews.

 Group discussion.

 Observation of work processes.

 Collection of official documents involved.

 An open-ended question and answer session.

However, the questionnaire survey was rejected because it did not fit the objectives

outlined.

The five main aspects that being focused in this phase are:

 Workflow Process

 Project Implementation Performance

 Project Work Team Coordination

 Compliance with Department Policies

 Technological.

During this phase, several data and information gathering activities were conducted:

 Obtain and review key papers and authority documents from the ICT Steering

Committee.

 'Informal' Interviews are conducted individually consisting of project directors,

analysts, programmers, system engineers and other management personnel.

This process runs for 10 separate sessions.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 13

 A formal group discussion and rekick-off meeting was also held in early October

2019. This 6-hour session aimed at investigating the real issues behind the

project's delayed symptoms.

Qualitative data obtained through interviews were analyzed and clustered into several

categories:

 Technical knowledge gaps.

The choice of Java programming language platform is an issue because most

programmers do not have a strong base in the programming language.In

addition, the uncertainty is also in the technical aspects of the platform on the

department server computer due to the anticipation of a major office transfer.

The system development server also cannot determine its functionality and

existence.

 Main reference document.

Documents such as effective key flow charts cannot be submitted. Whereas

other documents such as Entity Relationship Diagrams, Data Flow Diagrams,

Database Formation Documents and Data Dictionaries also fail to detect and

exist poorly and are properly filed. Poor documentation has also caused

difficulties for the ExSPRO system to integrate with other systems such as

MyMOHES.

 Communication.
APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 14

Although there are communication technologies such as phones, text

messaging applications and electronic mail. However, the differences in

geography and geographical location where team members work have

encouraged 'Work in Silo' syndrome among them. This is further compounded

by the lack of documentation that makes every team member not likely to be on

the same page.

 ExSPRO Business Process.

Also related to poor document management. Most team members do not

understand the flow of the ExSPRO business process themselves. 'Pluck The

Figure From The Sky' syndrome occurs among programmers. The development

of the system works mainly by the imagination in the programmer's mind.

Providing Feedback

This is a very challenging stage for us because:

 There is a need to establish an emotional connection with all levels of the

ExSPRO system development team.

 It is not an easy task to present findings that may otherwise be unheard of and

that deficiencies may have occurred.

 Avoid conflicts and point fingers during the presentation.

 Maintaining a harmonious and conducive atmosphere during the presentation

and afterwards.
APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 15

 Creating a sense of need and a positive environment that promotes mutual

acceptance and formation for change and new actions to implement the

proposed solution during intervention stage.

To accomplish this stage, we have designed and implemented the following strategies

and tactics based on authentic, presence and humanistic approach:

 Collaborate with project directors in advance of feedback discussions and explain

the need to present the concise, prudent and authentic findings available to all

team members.

 It is said that the presence of the ODC is not to find fault but rather to add

solutions to the success of this important project.

 Conducting sessions in the form of multi-disciplinary discussions and cross-

oriented ODC experience sharing with development team members.

 Conducting speed storming sessions in order to reach collective agreement and

co-solution. This is an important strategy to ensure team cohesiveness within the

team.

The feedback session was successful for 6 hours and the team decision was formally

obtained and published. It is important that the ODC offer only options and suggestions

and that decisions must be made by the team collectively.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 16

Intervention

After the discussions were over and the ExSPRO system development team was

able to accept the fact that the status and circumstances of the project were not

favorable. ODC began to plan and present intervention offers to project directors and

development team members.

 Team

o Issue: Poor coordination of troops.

o Interventions: Improvements to team organization.

o Implementation: Adding units of documentation, help desk and branding

to the team organization.

o Issue: Geographical location differences in workloads and use of different

real-time tasks.

o Intervention: Renewing system development style from Waterfall

Approach to Rapid Modular Approach.

o Implementation: Division of development modules into core and custom

modules, add and match. Development is also carried out in an

independent module.

o Issue: Weak team cohesiveness and sense of belonging

o Intervention: Developing theme, slogan and professional team image

branding.

o Implementation: Proposed and in the process of higher level approval.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 17

 Knowledge gap and system development server.

o Issue: Insufficient skills in Java programming language.

o Intervention: Choose a programming language that is more mastered by

the programmer. And a workshop was held to standardize programming

style writing style.

o Implementation: The programming team has chosen the PHP

Programming Language. The 5-day workshop is planned for the end of

October 2019.

o Issue: Online development could not be performed because the system

development server was down.

o Intervention: It is recommended to use the system development server in

partnership with other application development.

o Implementation: Application has been made to ICT Division and is being

processed.

 Document management

o Issue: Lack of document manager.

o Intervention: Formally appoint and assign a document manager.

o Implementation: The meeting has decided to establish a documentation

unit within the ExSPRO project development organization.

o Issue: The absence of technical documents such as flow charts, data flow

diagrams, entity relationship diagrams.

o Intervention: A documentation workshop is being held and collecting,

rebuilding the necessary documents.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 18

o Implementation: An official workshop was agreed to be held in the last

week of October 2019.

o Issue: Uniform documents.

o Intervention: Make the Public Sector Data Dictionary (DDSA) by MAMPU

and flow chart format recommended in the Malaysian Public Service

Development Circular as a reference in building a uniform document

standards.

o Implementation: The joint meeting agrees to implement this policy.

During this phase, most of the interventions were well received and co-authored by

ExSPRO's team. In addition to short-term actions, periodic schedules to monitor project

implementation performance are also set as follow up phase activities.

Follow up

Due to budget constraints, government spending is not possible from November

until next year's budget. Physical monitoring workshops had to be postponed.

Therefore, we recommend that live streaming meetings using the GSuite application be

held every 2 weeks. In addition, any development related discussions will be held on the

application platform and electronic mail.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 19

Conclusion

Performing duties as an ODC in a non-profit agency such as a government

agency is a very demanding responsibility and requires high levels of research,

communication, psychological, and analytical experience.

Intervening in the mindset of organizational members is just as important as the

intervention in the processes and sub-processes involved. Material reward factors need

to be set aside in a persuasive process and motivate members of the organization.

Focus should be placed on humanistic factors, emotional relationships and high

status (High Society Rewards Factor).

We hope the intervention and transitions of the ExSPRO project will achieve its

goal of launching in March 2020.

APPLIED CONSULTING AND PROCESS IN FACILITATING ODC: CASE OF EXCELLENT STUDENT PROJECT SYSTEM (ExSPRO) 20

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Emelander, S. (2019, August 1). Project Management Challenges in Government. Retrieved October 17,

2019, from https://www.td.org/magazines/the-public-manager/project-management-challenges-in-

government.

Nickols, F. (2003). The Consulting Process A “Bare Bones” Outline. Retrieved October 17, 2019, from

The Consulting Process A “Bare Bones” Outline.

Schein, E. H. (2002). Process consultation. Its role in organization development.

Schmidt, Alexandra. (2019, October 17). The Phases Of Consulting. bizfluent.com. Retrieved from

https://bizfluent.com/info-8636969-phases-consulting.html