Designing a New Code for Change – Part 2
Passing your driving test does not make you a good driver
Capability Management
Well seasons greetings and a Merry Christmas to you all. Maybe an appropriate time to post the next installment of our series on Change Management. If you read Part 1 of this article, you’ll know I am critical 
of organisations who only use the lever of “Control” to manage change. An organisation must understand and manage its Context and have the Capability to manage change as well. While I was upgrading my domestic boiler recently I was reminded of the phrase…
Passing your driving test doesn’t make you a good driver
The boiler issue led to visits from two Corgi-registered plumbers who were happy to charge visitation fees and, upon encountering an unexpected problem, were equally happy to depart, leaving said problem unresolved. Corgi registration obviously doesn’t address such challenges as worn mains isolation valves. Eventually I found another plumber who was able, through experience and some lateral thinking, to solve the problem and, three weeks after my call to the first plumber, the real project got underway.
Good results – strategy realisation – occur when the people involved are prepared to collaborate, flex their methodology and adopt a principles-based approach rather than rely on rules. Reliance upon methodology over experience, or upon structure over substance, leads to bureaucracy, the monitoring of procedure rather than outcomes, and mountains of unusable project artifacts. This doesn’t achieve better results or benefits for business. In this, the 15th year of the Standish “Chaos” report (2009), it is sobering to reflect that on average businesses deliver only 32% of the projects they start. In 1994, it was 16%. Some may hail this as a success for methodology adoption: a 16% increase in project success over the last 15 years! But firstly it is impossible to attribute this increase in success to adoption of better standards and secondly its is a mediocre improvement. While project management methodologies such as Prince2,PMBoK and MSP may be fast becoming the pre-requisite for recruiters of project management talent, and are certainly demanded by training supplier candidates, some- what “pump-primed” by the public purse, they rarely generate the improved delivery expected. In his various papers on this subject, Chris Dale (2007) has pointed out the problems of relying on methodologies like Prince2 to bring about project success:
“Whilst we do not contend that all project problems can be laid at the door of these kinds of methodologies, we do contend that it is time to question the faith placed in them, and to acknowledge that there are serious underlying structural problems to Prince2 and related methodologies”.
My experience is similar, but I would suggest that, although methodology, accreditation and standards do not ensure success in project delivery, can create a mountain of administration, and even cause unintended risks within businesses and their ability to manage change, they do at least provide a common language and a useful standard to compare with. But organisations should not assume that universal adoption of a meth odology or recruitment of accredited persons will ensure project delivery. Its another key element but not the only one!
FIG. 2. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Critical Success Factors in Change Managament
Conclusion in Part 3…
The project management team is only one part of the whole; of course, good qualifications and standard tools help them with implementation. Just as big an obstacle is the organisation itself; how many projects are people being asked to give input to, how many other calls on their time are there, which are the priorities? Organisations need a way to mamage this. One might have a “New Business Team”, perhaps weith reps in each key department. This can go someway to shielding the line folk from too much intrusion.
Olaf, I could not agree more. I think one of the biggest risks to any project is not within but external to the project. That is the portfolio risk. There are a number of issues with how organisations manage thier portfolio of change, not least, effective alignment with strategy, prioritisation and trade-off decision making. Many organisations fudge this! Your point related to change “overload” or “fatigue” is also topical. We have some ideas on how businesses can manage this and I have an article coming out on that soon, including techniques around prioritisation. I also like you idea around business engagement. Have you seen this work effectively? Have you had any success with engagement?
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