Assessing Your Notification Program

One of the key elements of a successful notification program is getting off to the right start. That means developing a good understanding. Good understanding begins with an Assessment – a specific process that creates a solid detailed understanding of “what” is to be accomplished and likely to be encountered. (This is not the “how” to accomplish; that comes later.)

The Assessment Plan should be tied to a Vision and Mission. The Vision is, in effect, a statement of what the program will look like when it is fully in place. Then, a Mission is established. The Mission states how the Vision will be accomplished.

Then, Requirements and Constraints should be identified. It’s a good idea to classify and prioritize Requirements and Constraints based on importance and significance, and to make sure various elements are included (Technology, Management, Governance, Promotion). Next, an inventory of Communities of Interest must be conducted. From what groups will ‘buy-in’ and participation be needed in order to ensure the program’s success?

With these pieces in place (Vision, Mission, Requirements/Constraints, Communities of Interest) the investigation can begin. It is often a good idea to conduct a Preliminary Investigation to get a surface-level overview. Armed with this preliminary report, one could then hone in on the specifics appearing to be most significant.

The Assessment should identify priorities, issues likely to develop, and critical success factors. Among other things, the Assessment needs to carefully address contact data, whether for the general public or internal staff. Contact information will often come from multiple sources, and will change often. Methods, processes, and technology exist to mitigate the diversity and change of contact data, but mitigation cannot begin until an understanding is developed through the Assessment.

To develop the Assessment, stakeholder collaboration will be required and senior officials must participate. Without buy-in and involvement from the top, the program will not be successful.

Note: Excerpted from the Galain Solutions, Inc. white paper: "Notifications, Alerts, Warnings: The Next Generation". For a copy, email info@galainsolutions.com.