The information architecture needed to be renewed. And this had to be done very thoroughly. After all, the customer of Nyenrode University is always central, which means that processes can no longer stand alone.

Hans Wim Kroodsma is Head of ICT: “By then, we had a clear vision of where we wanted to go. And for that, we needed an information architecture and a program plan. We didn’t want to leave the design of the architecture to a supplier, but to an independent architect who looks beyond just systems. We chose ArchiXL because we already knew Danny Greefhorst from the work he had done at SURF (the sector organization for higher education). I was impressed by him at the time.”

Remmelt Vetkamp is a member of the Executive Board of Nyenrode University and is also closely involved in this process: “The pitfall when drawing up an information architecture is that you sometimes lose sight of the ultimate goal. A good architect always keeps that in mind: Which data belongs in which system? Are we duplicating efforts? Do these functionalities really lead to our goal? I also knew Danny and knew: this man really knows his stuff. And that’s true. Danny always kept us sharply focused. Pragmatic, realistic, and pleasant to work with. Sometimes he wanted more, wonderful plans! But then we would hit the brakes for a moment.”

For the development of the Business Optimization Plan, Danny spoke extensively with people from across the organization. Kroodsma: “It’s precisely this thorough approach, involving our employees, that has led to a widely supported plan. A plan in which the needs and ambitions become very clear. These have been incorporated into a list of improvement points, all of which have been translated into projects. No, they are not ICT projects, we call them business projects: they go beyond just ICT.”

The program plan for Business Optimization: a pleasant framework

Vetkamp: “Because we really want to make progress, we have selected ten priorities from these projects: that’s what we focus on, that’s what we can handle.”

Kroodsma: “The responsibility for these projects lies high up in the organization, which enables adequate decision-making and adjustment. The great thing is that we can place this high in the organization: thanks to the intensive groundwork and the many conversations that have taken place, everyone in the organization understands what we are doing and why some projects are carried out sooner or later, or why their wishes are not included. Everyone knows very clearly what we are working towards.”

Priority by priority…

Kroodsma: “The great thing about such a list of priorities is that the long, complicated process has suddenly become clear and logical. Is a project finished? Then we select another one and add it to the priority list to get started with.” Carrying out these projects does not always go smoothly. It is still a challenge for Nyenrode University to appoint the right project managers. Vetkamp: “We were not used to working in such a project-based way, but it is crucial. And it does require our employees to really master project management.”