It's a fact: it is hard for me to let go. I do not get rid of clothing or shoes that I like until they develop vents that cannot be repaired---past the point that they could be donated. I keep books until the pages are worn and torn---past the point that they should be recycled. When it comes to projects that I might have worked on for months or even years, it is always a difficult separation.
One such project was the development of a data entry and analytical reporting web application. I gathered requirements from the SMEs and IT teams, created the meta data, loaded and validated historical data, developed charts, performed training a later administered the system. I even gave the application its name. But alas, all good contracts must come to an end and so I had to let go of my relationship with the company and with the application.
When the end came, I needed to hand over the administration and change management duties to colleagues who would manage my former duties as a team. Some of the things I did to make the transition easier for them were to:
1. Create a SharePoint page with files, instructions and intranet links for any changes to be made to the system. I included a help file with FAQs and phone numbers of the ETL and BI team members who were my primary contacts. This information could also be reused when the present administrators needed to delegate or hand off the duties to others.
2. Facilitate several hands-on training meetings to test the instructions and modified them as necessary. For several months before I left, I monitored the new administrators' activities to ensure that the processes were executed as required.
3. Notify all of the various company teams, and the outsourced development company, of the personnel changes and provided contact lists for them.
But it was not just the application that I was leaving behind. It was also difficult to leave the colleagues that I had worked closely with for so long. Working as a consultant has many pros but the major con for me comes whenever a project ends. It never gets any easier.
