Managing connectivity projects

Learning, teaching, research and business management at your organisation all depend on your network connection.

These tips will help you stay on track with your connectivity project.

Communicate

Good quality, ongoing communication is critical to the success of any complex project, from the initial project meeting right through to implementation and beyond.

The kick-off meeting is the time to talk through what you want to achieve and when. Often, when processes fall down it is because of miscommunication in the very early stages and this can make working relationships between departments more difficult for the rest of the project.

If you need help to get things started, we can help as much or as little as you like, with one of our connection management specialists acting as a critical friend to bounce ideas off or as an active member of your project team.

Keep the project under review

Take time to review things frequently. IT managers should report back regularly to their leadership teams and it’s a good idea to have a weekly catch-up to look at progress, re-evaluate where the project is heading and chat about issues or delays. This meeting is an opportunity to agree next steps.

Ideally, you should support that review process with jargon-free written updates making it easier to keep the senior management team up to date.

We can help you scope out the project using our knowledge of provisioning and any local constraints to make sure your plans are deliverable to your timescales. If this is something you’d find useful, email the team: connect@ja.net.

Be flexible

Scheduling major site work (fibre installation or the final stage of a circuit delivery, for example) can be one of the trickiest aspects of a project like this.

Third-party telecoms companies often have rigid systems and processes and it’s important to be as accommodating as possible with engineers who visit the site. Some disruption is inevitable so think ahead about any access restrictions and how these can be resolved. Provide contractors with as much information about these as you can so confusion and delays can be avoided.

Our service delivery team can often use their experience to manage the relationship with telcos smoothly and sometimes help to escalate orders through their systems. We can also spot issues and nip problems in the bud.

Have realistic expectations

Sometimes processes can’t be speeded up as you’d like. For example, a road may need to be closed temporarily to access cables, and the council may need to agree some traffic management or approve wayleave to access private land. These issues are generally dealt with by planning departments and can take a couple of weeks.

However, sometimes there are quick wins such as available spare fibre. You may be able to take advantage of this to simplify and speed up the process.

Keep the project on track

Some projects can be quite complex, especially if there are multiple cables to go in or delivery has to work within the timescales of a campus building project or some other critical timescale.

Our service delivery team can save you time and money and help to ensure the best project outcome because they deliver circuits day in, day out. They know how and when to talk to telcos, which is important for keeping work on schedule and your project on track.

Further information

• Our training pages offer a range of training programmes including ones on connectivity, trust and identity services and cyber security
• Keep an eye on our Janet IP connection and connectivity pages for information on how we can get you connected, support purpose connections and support access and roaming services for staff, students and researchers
• Concerned about cyber security? We provide a suite of cyber security services to protect your networks and infrastructure

To start a conversation with us, please contact your account manager.