Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Common Challenges and Principles Implementing organizational Changes
The following are some common challenges to change improvement and some guidelines that can be adopted to overcome them. How do they relate to project management? Well, I see them as relevant because project are often the means by which changes are brought about in an organization (as opposed to operations). I observed these challenges are common within projects that I have worked on. It is largely related to the project environment, not directly linked to project deliverables, and hence often overlooked. However, if not taken into considerations and managed properly, the PM will have difficulties in dealings with stakeholders and can affect the success of the project.
COMMON CHALLENGES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES
Lack of Incentives - Sometimes automation/process re-engineering can cause jobs to shrink, become cheaper and more manageable. But it can also reduce the perceived importance of that job, and there is little incentive for the affected incumbents as stakeholders to support the project. Where possible, reward system must be changed to show that management is 100 percent behind the initiative. PMs should perform stakeholder impact analysis and include negative stakeholders who may have strong influence on the outcome of the project.
PMs' Performance Evaluation Not Aligned to organization Goals - Most often, project managers are evaluated based on their abilities to complete a project on schedule and within budget. Doing something on a project for the good of the organization may be counter to these primary objectives. Improvement initiatives that can interfere with being on schedule and within budget may be perceived as project risks and are avoided. Where possible, the performance evaluation and rewards system must be changed to reflect the organization's goals.
Few Meaningful Metrics - Most companies don't collect data needed to quantify and measure project performances as part of their standard processes. These are often viewed as overhead that does not contribute to the delivery of the project goals. However, without these metrics, how do we measure the improvements that can be brought about by changes?
Lack of Resource - Money/time/manpower is never enough for the tasks list. However, without improvement via changes, resources are not freed up; and without freed resources, improvements will not happen. The recommended approach is to seek incremental changes, and use the small improvement to justify subsequent change improvements initiatives.
Seek Management Sponsorship - All major changes need senior management sponsorship to ensure that resources required are allocated and to set the aim/goals of the change. Not to forget the any project has a budget, and management sponsorship will help a lot in winning budgetary battles. To achieve this, the aim of improvements must be aligned with that of the management. It will not help if the management are looking to reduce cost, when you are proposing for increased quality.
Stakeholders must be Convinced of the Benefits - Everyone impacted by the changes must be convinced that the change is for the better and makes sense. Support at all levels must be developed by the PM. Otherwise, those who fear changes will resist it, especially if they don't understand that the change will help them do their job better.
Measure Improvements - All change initiated aims for improvements in one or more of these areas:
COMMON CHALLENGES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES
Lack of Incentives - Sometimes automation/process re-engineering can cause jobs to shrink, become cheaper and more manageable. But it can also reduce the perceived importance of that job, and there is little incentive for the affected incumbents as stakeholders to support the project. Where possible, reward system must be changed to show that management is 100 percent behind the initiative. PMs should perform stakeholder impact analysis and include negative stakeholders who may have strong influence on the outcome of the project.
PMs' Performance Evaluation Not Aligned to organization Goals - Most often, project managers are evaluated based on their abilities to complete a project on schedule and within budget. Doing something on a project for the good of the organization may be counter to these primary objectives. Improvement initiatives that can interfere with being on schedule and within budget may be perceived as project risks and are avoided. Where possible, the performance evaluation and rewards system must be changed to reflect the organization's goals.
Few Meaningful Metrics - Most companies don't collect data needed to quantify and measure project performances as part of their standard processes. These are often viewed as overhead that does not contribute to the delivery of the project goals. However, without these metrics, how do we measure the improvements that can be brought about by changes?
Lack of Resource - Money/time/manpower is never enough for the tasks list. However, without improvement via changes, resources are not freed up; and without freed resources, improvements will not happen. The recommended approach is to seek incremental changes, and use the small improvement to justify subsequent change improvements initiatives.
PRINCIPLES OF IMPLEMENTING PROCESS CHANGE
Seek Management Sponsorship - All major changes need senior management sponsorship to ensure that resources required are allocated and to set the aim/goals of the change. Not to forget the any project has a budget, and management sponsorship will help a lot in winning budgetary battles. To achieve this, the aim of improvements must be aligned with that of the management. It will not help if the management are looking to reduce cost, when you are proposing for increased quality.
Stakeholders must be Convinced of the Benefits - Everyone impacted by the changes must be convinced that the change is for the better and makes sense. Support at all levels must be developed by the PM. Otherwise, those who fear changes will resist it, especially if they don't understand that the change will help them do their job better.
Measure Improvements - All change initiated aims for improvements in one or more of these areas:
- Reduce Time to Market
- Reduce Cost
- Increase Quality
- Increase Productivity
To have continuous support from stakeholders, quantifiable measures is the best way to tell the story. It requires that a baseline on the current situation against which a comparison with the improvements can be made. Once these metrics are collected, the numbers will do the talking and serves to convince stakeholders of the benefits.
Continually Sell Your Business Case - Improvement must be sold continually; otherwise, the support base may be lost. Again, this requires metrics to be continually collected to monitor the benefits, and ensure ongoing support.
Continually Sell Your Business Case - Improvement must be sold continually; otherwise, the support base may be lost. Again, this requires metrics to be continually collected to monitor the benefits, and ensure ongoing support.
