In choosing the new system for Phoenix, the focus has been on ownership, participation and decisions based on "customer" demands

Pagination is an "old" technology. More importantly, pagination will not help a newspaper in the "new media" landscape of today. What's really important are the opportunities of a publication database system.

We can develop all the online, fax, and other new media products in the world, but unless we are lucky enough to be hiring dozens of new employees over the next ten years, we need to figure out better ways of using our existing resources of staff and equipment.

Just buying new equipment, however, isn't enough. Newspapers also need new ways of developing and installing these powerful systems.

At Phoenix Newspapers, we had an interesting challenge - we had to find a replacement for our pagination system. However, we also had other projects on our corporate plate - a new accounting system, a new circulation system and an advertising sales system.

But we also have a vision at PNI: system integration, not separation. What we wanted was to create and integrate a 21st century method of publishing in both the print and new media world, all of which would use the same staff.

More importantly, we want to share information throughout the organization and avoid the assembly line process that has developed over the years. Many newspapers are not very good at sharing information, especially during the creative and editing process. My goal was to leverage the technology so the skills of all staff members would be utilized throughout the entire process of putting out a newspaper.

System "ownership"

In our experience, the best ownership is a partnership between the people who are technically involved (the systems staff) and the people who are using the application (the customer or user).

The paradigm of ownership outside the technical department is a new one. Here are some of the steps PNI took to get there:

• Get all departments involved. Invite everyone to the party. We had representatives from the library, finance and purchasing. During the process, purchasing reviewed the contract and finance assessed the implications of the project. Those departments learned a great deal about the news business while the people from editorial learned the business issues that face the company.

• Hold several demonstrations. Invite as many vendors as you can think of and then invite the entire staff to the demonstrations. The goal was to open minds to the possibilities, not to necessarily make a decision. Get the staff involved up front; put fliers in the newsroom, tap people on the shoulder and say "Don't you want to sign up?... Don't you want to come?" You have to make them understand that they should go because their opinion is going to count. Everybody who came had an opportunity to ask questions and then to fill out a survey and voice an anonymous opinion. And those opinions counted.

• Reward involvement. You need to make sure that the people involved get recognized. The rewards could be nothing more than an acknowledgment of their contribution, a kudo from their boss. We held a number of parties and luncheons: nothing like free food to make people feel loved. We also gave away notebooks and souvenir pens. We had a number of milestone celebrations to say "thank you for your contribution."

• Develop a detailed specifics list. This was our handbook of what we wanted in the system. Sometimes companies will do a request for proposal (RFP), but those are "system-driven." This list was user-driven. And our list was updated after every demonstration, as useful ideas were "stolen" after different vendors showed their systems.

• Create new forms of communication. Rather than use the one-to-many method of e-mail or messaging, we created discussion databases (using Lotus Notes) to track issues and concerns. Once a message is posted, everyone is free to contribute ideas and suggestions. Everyone could contribute or learn from previous discussions, regardless of when they joined the project or their specialty.

• Organize the project. It was probably the most significant part of what we did to change the process. While I might be the project administrator, the real work is done though the project team leaders, one from the newsroom and one from information services. These team leaders are the front-line people making the day-to-day decisions. They made decisions together and they back each other up with the information. The other team members were called "project consultants." These people within our organization did specific pieces of the project. They worked with the project leaders, who made sure whatever resources were needed got to the right people. When there were disputes, concerns or issues, I stepped in to help.

This created a team with shared goals that allowed individuals to be successful with their own part of the project. And it allowed the team to be collectively successful.

Equally important, this model avoids knowledge concentration. I wanted more knowledge about the system spread throughout the organization. This was going to be particularly important because the publication database system is complex and sophisticated.

"Measured" communication

There was one other aspect of this paradigm shift. This is something I call "measured" communication. This method distributes accurate information, but also tries to avoid the temptation of "panic" that sets in during any change in process.

Everybody on the team understood that panic during a system installation is like yelling "fire" in a crowded theater - it has dire consequences. However, measured communication did not mean we didn't point out faults, or have heated discussions (within the team and with our vendor). It means making sure what the entire organization hears is consistent, accurate and measured for the long-term. Panic over a short-term problem doesn't raise confidence levels, it only focuses on problems that usually get fixed.

One successful method involved creating a newsletter that had lots of information, some technical, that was distributed to the entire PNI staff. We also used e-mail and an "open house" to further communication.

The installation of a replacement for the old pagination system is almost complete and we are thinking about workflow and how we are going to manage change.

Changing the organizational chart

To reach our goals we are working on the development of tools that allow the creative function to be a matter of human skills, not the type of computer technology that sits on your desk.

This becomes another way of getting to the goal where information and decisions are shared throughout the whole organization. Workflow becomes circular. It's a concept I call an "information circle." This concept looks at information throughout the process and how different types of information have different values to customers, internal and external. One way of looking at information circles involves three areas:

• Highlight information. This is the front page of the paper. Keep everyone informed about important changes.

• In-depth information. This might be a collection of information that goes deep into a topic - make sure the people involved in the project have access to all the information they need.

• Background information. Our libraries of information would be in this circle. This is where discussion databases play an important role.

All of these methods are aimed at creating new forms of communication and better opportunities for success throughout the company. Technology is a tool to be used for an end result. By itself, technology does nothing. Used effectively, it is a means to improve an organization.

Finberg is director of information technology at Phoenix Newspapers. E-mail him at hfinberg@pni.com