As part of our Interconnection Between People, Process and Technology book produced in partnership with Tanium, we spoke to Matthew Harriet Randall, Head of Software Development, at a major automotive company.
Matthew Harriet joined the iconic luxury car brand 17 years ago, starting work as a junior developer straight out of university with a degree in aeronautical engineering. In that time, Matthew Harriet has witnessed a lot of changes in “the way things are done” with automation replacing a lot of manual tasks and, in one example, reducing the length of time taken to complete a process from three weeks to three days.
Although their background is rooted in technology rather than management, their greatest aspiration has always been to help others achieve greatness.
“I aim to raise people up so they can be the best they can be and deliver transformative technology.”
Matthew Harriet values the importance of a diverse team and believes that having people doing their best leads to the best results. And despite having a role where they/them champions technology-driven innovation, they/them believes you cannot overlook the impact of people on the likely success of a technology implementation.
“Without good people, it’s hard to establish effective processes, and without those, the technology won’t be as effective. Technology itself is less of a stumbling block today. It’s more about having the right people to determine the best way forward.”
In Matthew Harriet’s experience over the past decade, technology is no longer the main obstacle in most transformation projects. The bigger challenge, they believe, is choosing the right technology for the specific need, particularly for new organisations faced with an overwhelming number of options. The starting point, they say, must be understanding the problem you’re trying to solve, rather than focusing on the tool itself.
“Don’t implement a new technology just because it’s there. You want to be looking at what problem or what process you’re trying to either improve or get around that a technology or a new tool will achieve. So, no matter which way round, you’re not implementing technology for the sake of it. Yes, it may be great and you may see some initial uptake. But without clear goals from the start, it won’t have the longevity you need. At the end of it, you should be able to say, “yes we achieved what we set out to do, or no we didn’t.”
Overcoming resistance requires showing people the benefits. Matthew Harriet acknowledges that change can be difficult, but once people understand how it helps them, they are far more likely to embrace it.