how to avoid change overload

© Bestoutcome Limited 2015 1 1

Mike Pryor 25th March 2015

Change Overload (and how to avoid it)


Senior Executive

Our web site went down yesterday and I need you to drop everything

and get it fixed so it doesn’t go down again

How often does this happen to you ?

Team

Project Manager

Ok, but what about the other important

stuff you’ve asked me to do ?

Leave that for now. Get the web site fixed

OK team, new plans (again!)

Yippee !!


Senior Executive

Great work on the web site yesterday. Now, I’ve just seen this great tool which our competitors use

and I need you guys to investigate it immediately.

The next day

Project Manager !!**##

Oh, OK

By the way, how’s the other stuff going ?

Change (Request) overload

Team


Change bandwidth

How much change can one person absorb ?

• Personal change (buying a new house, a new child, engagement)

• Business change (store re-fit, new recruits, office move)

• Macro change (new legislation, elections)


Three tensions in all organisations

Corporate

Strategy

Run the

Business

Change the

Business

Change bandwidth


Avoiding Change Overload

1. Get visibility of what’s going on o Running the business o Changing the business : active and committed projects

2. Build a heat-map of change o Level of change on people o High impact areas

3. Outcome-Driven prioritisation o New ideas, service requests o Gateway process

4. Readiness for change ? o People readiness o Technical readiness

5. Communicate, communicate, communicate o Tell your stakeholders what you’re doing o Listen to what they say

Change Overload is costly


Key 1 : visibility of the entire portfolio of work

• In-flight initiatives • Proposed and committed initiatives • Running the business


Key 2 : heat-maps – measuring the change

A B C C E

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Framework Overall G A G G A G G A A G

Project 1 Manager 1 A G G G A G G G G G

Project 2 Manager 1 G A G G G G G G A A

Project 3 Manager 1 A G G G G G G G G G

Project 4 Manager 2 G A G R A A R R R A

Project 5 Manager 3 G A G G A G G G G G

Project 6 Manager 3 G A G G A G G G G G

Overall

Key Adoption Indicators

• Reduce the heat (bandwidth exceeded): • load balancing • re-prioritising

Stakeholder heat-maps also useful


Key 3 : Outcome-Driven prioritisation

• You don’t get into the ‘hopper’ without a valuable idea or request • You don’t continue unless the business case is valid and the work is doable • Focus on the outcomes, not the outputs

New Idea

Change Request

Gateways


Key 4 : readiness for change

• Is the organisation ready for the change • Are your people ready for the change ? • Are your new processes ready to be implemented ? • Is your new technology ready to be implemented ? • Ask all these questions before pressing the button

Come and take the Change Challenge on stand 40


Key 5 : communicate, communicate, communicate

• Establish your Drumbeat reporting • Remember that communication is two way :

1. From the communicator to the recipient 2. Feedback from recipient that the message has arrived


• Programme and project consultants, helping you deliver successful change

• Portfolio/Programme/Project Office (PMO): setup and management

• Programme and Project initiation and best practices

• Interim and permanent resourcing

• PM3 is our flagship solution, a Programme and Portfolio Management tool “developed by practitioners for practitioners”

• PM3time is our timesheet solution, which can be integrated with PM3

• Programme management Apps – come and take the Change Challenge

Services

Solutions

Customers

About Bestoutcome Stand 40

http://www.baa.co.uk/portal/controller/dispatcher.jsp?ChPath=Hompage

http://www.ibb.ubs.com/index.shtml


Questions? Stand 40

www.bestoutcome.com