The Art of Managing Change Reflections on Change

The Art of Managing Change Reflections on Change Management for Technology Projects

“If you want to make enemies, try to change something” – Woodrow Wilson The Art of Managing Change

Agenda • What is change management ? • Change management basics. • Case study. The Art of Managing Change

What is Change Management? • Change management is the process of developing a planned approach to change in an organization. • Objectives: – Maximize collective efforts of stakeholders – Minimize risk of failure The Art of Managing Change

Icebergs The Art of Managing Change

The IT Project Iceberg Technology Process People / Organization The Art of Managing Change

The IT Project Iceberg Easy Technology 10% Process People / Organization Hard The Art of Managing Change 90% - need to address these first

The IT Project Iceberg Failure to recognize that technology is just the tip of the iceberg will doom your project to an early grave ! The Art of Managing Change

Don’t Just “Wire it Together” The Art of Managing Change

How to Manage Change • • • Find a great sponsor. Have a clear sense of mission or purpose – develop a shared vision. Build a team. Pick people with relevant skills and high energy levels. Ask for volunteers. Identify and manage stakeholders. Communicate early and often. Train early and often. The Art of Managing Change

Project Sponsor is Critical All IT projects must have a business sponsor or “owner”: • • Establish vision and business case for change. Provide overall project direction. Report status / significant issues to stakeholders. Ensure that system meets needs of users and managers. • Ensure that resultant changes in business process are implemented consistently. • Ensure that project benefits are realized. The Art of Managing Change

Make a Case for Change Develop a business case that… • Addresses a problem or opportunity • Recommends a solution • Defines the boundaries • Creates a compelling case for change The Art of Managing Change

Make a Case for Change Everyone sings off the same sheet of music… The Art of Managing Change

Manage Stakeholders The Art of Managing Change

Identify and Map Stakeholders People / Organizations Stake Internal: Process owner Affected business units System users IT organization Support organizations (HR, Finance, Admin) External: External customers / users Public OFT Control agencies Media Define each individual’s and group’s interest in the project and describe how it impacts them Expected Disposition Support, Neutral or Oppose The Art of Managing Change Proposed Role Describe how you would engage each individual or group in the project. Some individuals and groups play direct roles (approver, decider, builder, user, operator, etc. ). Others have indirect roles requiring you to keep them informed.

Understand Stakeholders • Supporters • Neutrals • Opposers The Art of Managing Change

Understand Stakeholders Stakeholder management The “Wild West” approach: – Pioneers – Settlers – Outlaws The Art of Managing Change

Leverage the Pioneers • Pioneers – Unbridled enthusiasm for the project -- they can see the promised land. – Good source of project “champion” or sponsor. – Early adopters to demonstrate initial success. – Project spokesperson -- keep the settlers informed and get them on board for implementation. The Art of Managing Change

Bring Along the Settlers • Settlers – They’ll follow, if you have a good leader (pioneer). – Important to communicate the “message of opportunity” early and often: • • • What’s in it for them ? What will things “look like” after the project ? How will their job change ? What new opportunities will the project create ? How can they participate ? The Art of Managing Change

Listen to the Outlaws • Outlaws – Equally important to identify. – Change resistant -- lurking in the cubicles to ambush your project. – Expend some energy to convert as many as possible. – Listen to their concerns – encourages due diligence to ensure your change strategy is sound. The Art of Managing Change

Total Support is Impossible “If your horse is dead, dismount !” • Alternatives to dismounting: – Buy a stronger whip. – Change riders. – Declare: "This is the way we have always ridden this horse. " – Appoint a committee to study the horse. – Arrange to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses. – Create a training session to improve employees' riding skills. – – – Change the requirements and declare the horse undead. Outsource contractors to ride the dead horse. Harness several dead horses together for increased speed. Provide additional funding to increase the horse's performance. Promote the horse to a supervisory position. The Art of Managing Change

Stakeholder Management Capability Maturity Most Organizations at Level 1 (or 0/-1), Striving to Achieve Level 2 5. Optimized Process 4. Managed Process 3. Standardized Approach 2. Basic Capability 1. Ad-hoc Lessons learned drive continuous improvement of stakeholder management process. Sponsors fully engaged. Stakeholder commitment and communications strategies routinely reviewed and adjusted as required. Performance measured. Stakeholder management processes fully defined and documented with full buy-in throughout the organization. Basic stakeholder management procedures are identified for some projects. Sponsors informally committed to the project. Few processes in place. Projects succeed by happenstance and heroics. Key stakeholders known but not formally identified. No stakeholder communication actions identified. The Art of Managing Change

Communicate, Communicate • Project Business Case – Plain English description (business purpose, resource requirements, expected outcomes). – Sends clear message of agency commitment to project. • Weekly Team Meetings – Keeps project team on point. – Surfaces issues for resolution. The Art of Managing Change

Communicate, Communicate • Project Steering Committee Meetings – Maintain agency focus on project. – Keep project “owners” engaged. – Decide major issues -- scope, budget, resources. – Opportunity to update key stakeholders. The Art of Managing Change

Communicate, Communicate • Project Status Reports – Weekly reports on Intranet. – Pilot surveys. • “Strut Your Stuff” – Agency newsletter. – Press articles. – Agency’s external web site. • Town hall meetings with stakeholders The Art of Managing Change

Key Skills • • • People Political Analytical Business Systems The Art of Managing Change

Training is Critical • Change agent skills: – Leadership – Visioning – Listening and inquiry – Coaching and facilitation – Dealing with complexity – Analyzing systems and processes The Art of Managing Change

Training is Critical • Business training: – New organizations and relationships – Changed staff roles and responsibilities – Changed business operations – New policies, procedures The Art of Managing Change

Training is Critical • Technology and tools training: – New forms and documentation – New information systems The Art of Managing Change

Case Study The Art of Managing Change

The Problem • Law enforcement workers need quick and easy access to crime fighting data from state, local and federal sources: – Criminals don’t heed jurisdictional boundaries. – Heightened need for intelligence sharing post 9/11. The Art of Managing Change

The Problem • Traditional agency-centric (e. g. , “stove pipe”) approach to technology gets in the way: – Individual agency resources strained supporting redundant systems and databases. – Limited resources available to build new capability. – Users forced to deal with multiple entities to get the data they need. – Multiple PCs and devices in the field. The Art of Managing Change

The Vision for Change The Art of Managing Change

Coordinated delivery of criminal justice information int o P e Singl cess Of Ac Easy to use Graphical Interface The Art of Managing Change

The Strategy • Individual criminal justice agencies keep their data and applications. • Give users access via a single web portal. • Build new / upgrade old applications to provide improved capability. • Consolidate agency infrastructure (networks, mainframes, servers, etc. ) for improved efficiency and lower cost. The Art of Managing Change

Managing Change • • Leadership communicated the vision. Project sponsor and change leader identified. Key participants trained in consensus building. Agencies established a governance board: – Coordinate budgets – Prioritize and oversee common projects – Manage consolidated technology services • Incremental change initiated: – Mainframe migration to OFT – Single network organization created – Common architecture and portal environment designed The Art of Managing Change

Parting Thoughts… Building and managing relationships is critical to success. Figure out what’s required to inspire individual stakeholders to work together toward a common project goal. The Art of Managing Change

Parting Thoughts… “Things do not change - we do. ” – Henry David Thoreau The Art of Managing Change

Thank you !!! The Art of Managing Change