Program Management

Program Management: Overview

Organizations often fail to recognize the importance of managing a business change program as an overall strategic initiative. It is common to apply project management discipline to specific components of the change - particularly the IT systems. Even greater focus and rigor should be applied to achieving the overall business objective. By definition, a program will involve several parts of an organization. Participants need to be shepherded together to deliver the results. This means that every strategic change program should be directly owned and controlled from board level. Programs also deserve and require full-time attention from a senior manager - someone who can command action from all parts of the business.

What is Program Management?

A program is a set of related projects which collectively deliver an overall change for the business. Most significant changes involve many aspects of the business. It is a common misunderstanding to think of change programs as a technology issue. Certainly, technology is normally involved in the change and the IT staff have well-developed methods and skills for managing technology projects. Technology is, however, only one of many aspects of the overall change.

There will be two levels of management focus. At the program level, the program management team is focused on driving change across all relevant parts of the organization. Below that, each individual initiative will have its own leadership, focused on delivering a specific component of the solution. The characteristics of these two levels can be strikingly different. Program managers often need to be politically astute ambassadors, negotiating with the leadership team in different parts of the business to bring about the overall corporate goal. They will often be dealing with imprecise, evolving concepts. They will need to establish the business case and persuade others of its merit. They will be visionaries who understand that there should be a better way of conducting business. Contrast this to the character of a project manager. The project manager will doggedly strive to deliver a specified overall deliverable for the business. They will focus intensely on their target, getting involved in the detailed issues. They deliver the goods - but rarely step back to consider the bigger picture. Some aspects of program management are similar to the management of projects, albeit conducted at a higher, more strategic level. For example, a program manager will address risks and issues - but focusing on impacts for the overall initiative and the best interests of the organization as a whole. A project manager performing the same tasks would, in contrast, address risks and issues to delivering the specific defined deliverables.

Managing a program
Initially a program will be ill defined - just a set of ideas that merit exploration and testing. The concept will evolve until a change program can be defined, along with its associated business case and blueprint for the overall change. Before work starts on individual deliverables, the key components need to be defined and agreed: things such as the vision, objectives, scope, architecture, approach, resourcing, responsibilities and dependencies. Attention should be given to the human change aspects of the change - usually a major consideration in strategic change programs. These building blocks form the framework within which individual projects can be conducted.

Of course, program management does not stop with the launch of the individual projects. The program will inevitably evolve over time - even within the timeframe of the scheduled projects. The program management team will continuously focus on delivering optimum benefit for the organization - always ready to make further improvements or change direction to meet the best interests of the business. Program management also provides oversight of the individual projects:

to ensure they stay on track to identify and manage inter-dependencies between the projects to monitor, report and influence the net benefit to the business.

Put the right team in place

Program management is a specialist discipline in its own right. It is not a routine line management task, nor is it a task for an IT project manager. It merits top-level direction and an experienced program management team. Recognizing the required skills and sponsorship is essential. The team must have the ability, positioning, sponsorship and support to drive the overall business change. They will require sound business competence, diplomatic skills, the ability to comprehend a wide range of disciplines and functions within the organization, and a deep understanding of program management techniques.

The relationship between Programs and Projects

What is a Program?
In the Program Management overview, we defined a program as follows:
A program is a set of related projects which collectively deliver an overall change for the business.

It can be hard (and often pointless) to identify whether a given undertaking is a large project or a small program. Perhaps the most useful test is to look for the two levels of management - a strategic management team guiding the overall change program overseeing project management teams charged with delivering the specific changes. Here are some more guidelines contrasting the characteristics:

Programs: Address the entire business change Focus on strategic goals May have imprecise definition May have uncertain timing

Projects: Deliver a specific change component Focus on tactical delivery Have a precise objective Are defined with a specific timeline and budget Try to avoid change to the defined scope in order to ensure delivery Require management communication primarily at an operational level concerning operational details

Evolve over a period of time to derive optimum benefit for the organization Require much senior management attention, often including strategic and political debate across organizational boundaries Produce an overall improvement in the

Produce specific pre-defined

business that may be multi-faceted and not fully defined at the outset of the program Require a manager who is highpowered, high-level, visionary, strategic, political, sales-oriented, and works with people at the top and across the organization

deliverables

Require a manager who pays attention to detail, has good team leadership, plans in detail, follows a disciplined approach, and delivers the goods.

Program lifecycle
The lifecycle of a program is not as distinct as that of a project. The key ingredients often happen before any identifiable program has commenced. Much of the early thinking will be more in the nature of senior management discussions about business strategy. At some time, those ideas will condense to the extent that a change program can be defined.

The Program Definition will identify:

the overall vision and objectives, the scope (eg geography, departments, products, functions, market segments) the business case, the business architecture of the solution in terms of a blueprint for the various aspects of business change, eg people, organization structure, technology, processes, etc (see diagram), the overall approach to achieve that target business architecture, proposed budgets and timelines, senior-level ownership, sponsorship, and accountabilities, other initiatives within the organization which are connected (eg dependencies, overlaps, conflicts), Projects that will be required to deliver the change.

Although the main definition work will happen at the start of the program, the business will evolve over time and circumstances will change. Those parts of the program definition that define either the overall business solution or how it will be achieved should be viewed as an evolving model that should be managed actively during the program in order to achieve optimum overall benefit.

Programs deliver through projects

Only the strategic leadership of the initiative is normally conducted directly by the program management. Specific changes are usually achieved by the definition of a number of projects which collectively deliver the overall goal. These are defined and instigated by the program team, but will have their own project management teams.

Once started, the program manager should not intervene directly, but will need a degree of feedback and control. The Program Manager is concerned with project-level information where it has a potential impact on the overall program, eg progress, issues, risks, costs, projected benefits, dependencies, etc. It is unwise to feed all such data to the Program Manager. It is only those items affecting the overall change program that need to be communicated. Certain lifecycle events in the projects will raise flags for the attention of the program management team.

Business Change Programs

Business change can be a complex, multi-faceted undertaking. It can be deceptively hard to achieve. Many, if not most, change programs fall short of their expectations and objectives. Organizations form complex, interacting ecosystems, often resistant to attack and self-healing. There is a growing realization that many business changes cannot be accomplished solely through structured, planned, logical activities. Their nature may be explained by the tenets of chaos and complexity theories as much as the laws of logic. However clear the vision and strategy of the organization, the desired change may remain incomplete, even formless and vague. Change is increasingly being seen as a continuous process. In some cases it may be achieved in definable stages. In others, it may be an endless pursuit of the organization's evolving goals. In this section we examine how to deliver those business change programs where structure can be applied. We start with some definitions then build up to an overall model for business change:

what is a business change program and how to distinguish it from similar concepts such as portfolios and projects how business change affects multiple aspects of the business the change journey from concept to delivering the benefits the many aspects of business change The complexity of real-world change programs.

In the second part we summarize the approach and some of the techniques:

who should participate the activities in a typical business change program The importance of program management.

What is a Business Change Program?

Program vs Project vs Portfolio

The terms "program", "portfolio" and "project" are often confused. They do share similarities and many project management concepts apply to all three. There are also important distinctions to be made.
Type of Endeavour Project A project is an undertaking for a limited duration which is not part of routine operations. A project team will be temporarily assigned, reporting to a single Project Manager. A project has a defined objective and scope. The overall deliverable will be of value, but does not necessarily generate benefit on its own.

A portfolio is a group of projects with no common objective other than Portfolio the overall well-being of the organization. It is often convenient and efficient to manage unrelated groups of projects, for example, to balance priorities, to manage resources, to apply common standards, and to achieve economies of scale. A program is a group of projects (or related initiatives) which Program collectively achieve a beneficial objective. The projects may address different aspects of the overall change and may follow different timelines. Programs often have a long duration such that some future activities are only aspirational ideas when the program is first defined. There will be a management team guiding the overall program in addition to the project managers for each individual project.

Further commentary can be found in the section dealing with the relationship between Programs and Projects.

Business Change vs IT Change

Further confusion arises between IT activities, business change, and other forms of change initiative. For example, when you talk to an IT Project Manager about operational readiness the emphasis will be on whether the technology works correctly. If you talk to a business manager you will have a much broader conversation - for example does the workforce have the required competency, are the customers aware of the changes, how accurate is our information?
Type of Change IT initiatives primarily address technological change. They deliver IT Change components such as new systems and technical infrastructure. Contact with other parts of the organization is typically limited to establishing requirements, acceptance testing, end-user training and operational support. Business change initiatives usually address all the aspects required to make a change in the way the business works. Even in a technologydriven change, there will be many non-IT aspects, for example, initial evaluation of the case for change, securing the funding, commercial deals, introducing new business processes, organizational change, recruitment, facilities, internal communication (stakeholders, management, workforce) and external communication (customers, suppliers, partners, third parties). Project and program management is applied to many other forms of change, for example, construction, engineering, product development, and social change.

Business Change

Other

All combinations of these concepts exist. Here are some examples:

Type Project

IT

Business

Replace the General Ledger application All projects reporting to the IT Integrate the CRM system with

Investigate whether there is a market for a new product All initiatives handled by the Marketing Director Set up an eCommerce channel to market

Portfolio Development Manager

Program various customer facing systems

Business Change
While you are following this section you might like to page through the Flash animation or take a look the PowerPoint presentation "Business Change Programs". There can be many drivers of business change and many targets for the change. Drivers are those compelling reasons to undertake the change, for example:

increase market size, eg awareness, market share, product lines, geographical coverage develop new products and services sustain better margins and volume achieve faster time to market deliver in shorter lead times operate more efficiently make better use of human capital innovate to keep ahead of the market Increase profitability and stakeholder value.

The targets for the change are the various aspects of the organization - its nature, structure, modus operandi, product lines, technology etc. Here are seven common targets for business change. In each case, changing that aspect might be a prime objective of the business change program - or it might just be an inevitable consequence.

People: the skills, competencies, knowledge and behaviors of the workforce that equip them to conduct business in the most effective manner Strategy: the organization's strategy - its mission, vision, goals, objectives, key performance indicators and modus operandi Product: products or services offered Process: the method by which business operations are conducted Culture: the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of the leadership and workforce that give this organization a unique character Structure: organizational structures, divisions, departments, roles, responsibilities, job descriptions Technology: IT applications, systems, hardware, technical infrastructure, transaction processing, information management, automation, equipment, machinery

Even in technology-driven projects, the technological change is not usually the central issue. To build a business-to-consumer eCommerce system we can use well-established concepts and many off-the-shelf software components. That change may be easy in comparison to shifting the organization's market strategy, building new call-center capabilities, hiring new staff, establishing new roles, introducing new administrative processes, setting up fulfillment through partner agreements, marketing the new channel to the public, and achieving a profitable new business model. The heart of the business is usually its people. It is the leadership and workforce who are behind every aspect of every change. The imperative is to harness their support, enthusiasm, and effort. They will make the change a success.
Business change is rarely confined to one area of the business. Any significant change is likely to target several aspects of the business and have implications for even more. A movement in one aspect will distort the others. If I change one part of the model I must make changes in them all if it is to continue to fit.

When you change the shape and nature of one aspect, you will probably need to make adjustments to other aspects. When contemplating and planning a change program you should think through the desired changes and consequences across the organization. There is no point changing the strategy unless it affects the things the organization does such as its products and services. New products or services may mean new processes. Different ways of doing things also means new processes. Processes are performed by people. The way the people operate is managed through organizational structure. The way people behave is driven by culture. Processes are enabled by technology.

When a change is transformational (ie there is a fundamental difference that will be observed by everyone), aspects of the business may be changed out of all recognition. There is every chance that the organization will no longer fit together - unless action is taken to address all impacts of the change. Readjustment is inevitable. You need to re-shape all aspects of the business to achieve a new and better organization. It may be difficult to re-build something as elegant and comfortable. In a world of continuous change, organizations might never have the time to settle down before the next re-shaping. Indeed, a good change objective might be to achieve a culture where change is welcomed and encouraged. More radically, you might seek to transform the overall business into an entirely new shape new strategy, markets, channels, modus operandi, etc. Re-shaping the whole operation could be a more valuable and sometimes easier proposition than making dramatic but incremental changes. Of course, the realities of the real-world organization cannot be mapped as a simple twodimensional picture. Your organization's complexities will present a challenge only you can address.

The Change Journey

Business change is a difficult journey into the unknown. However well we imagine the destination and however well we plan the trip, we can be sure that things will work out differently. The further we are into the journey, the less likely it is that we will have held to our original plans and expectations. We can usually see what is immediately ahead, but we must climb to the next ridge before we know what the next stage will look like. By the time we reach the destination it might well look very different to our expectations. Maybe it is not even the destination we intended and, maybe, we do not want to or cannot stop travelling when we get there. Business Change Journey

Case for Change

The first step in a business change is to realize that change is required. No methodology can explain how the leadership of an organization comes to such a conclusion (although many try). Typically, the idea is tentatively raised by an individual with the inspiration to realize that the organization could be more successful if changes were made. There follows a period during which various loosely knit ideas are proposed and evaluated until there is a persuasive argument in favor of a definable change. This is refined until there is sufficient detail to present the board with a compelling case for change.
Conceptual Design & Business Case

Before we start work on the change, we need a reliable view on how to achieve that change and what its true resource requirements, timing, costs and benefits will be. A conceptual design should be made for every aspect of the change. It is common to speak of conceptual design in terms of technology components, but we should also be looking at things such as changes to roles, organizational structures, competencies, culture, processes, etc. We should also be considering how to achieve those changes - not just the desired end-state.
Detailed Design

Using the conceptual design as our framework, we can then start the real work. We design the detail for each aspect of the business change. For example, we should design people and process solutions just as we do technology changes - albeit using different methods, tools and techniques. We should also design the specific approaches and activities that are required to achieve those goals. Bear in mind that not all business change can be defined or designed in a formalized manner. In some cases, for example a cultural change, the desired change might remain a loosely-defined concept and the steps to be taken would encourage movement in the desired direction rather than follow firm designs. Even so, you should be able to specify many of the actions to be taken, whether or not you can design the desired end-state.
Development

The detailed designs are used as specifications for the development of content for the change, for example:

the new organization chart new job descriptions plans and preparation for workforce transition activities (hiring, job changes, layoffs) internal and external communication messages and media training courses transition timetable IT components.

Deployment

Completed components are tested and validated, ready to be deployed. Deployment is rarely an instantaneous activity. Many components are required in advance of the main change, for example training, organizational change, equipment, publicity, etc. As well as the time taken to achieve the immediate transition, any significant change is likely to require continuing promotion and support to achieve optimum business benefit. Deployment work should evolve into continuous, pro-active management of the business area, always with a view to achieving optimum benefit. We take a more detailed look at this change journey below.

Aspects of Business Change

We looked before at seven core aspects of business change. These are the areas that are most commonly addressed by business change programs. There are, however, many other aspects which might be a focus of change or affected by a change elsewhere. Here is a more complete list:

People: the skills, competencies, knowledge and behaviors of the workforce that equip them to conduct business in the most effective manner Strategy: the organization's strategy - its mission, vision, goals, objectives, key performance indicators and modus operandi Product: products or services offered Process: the method by which business operations are conducted Culture: the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of the leadership and workforce that give this organization a unique character Structure: organizational structures, divisions, departments, roles, responsibilities, job descriptions Technology: IT applications, systems, hardware, technical infrastructure, transaction processing, information management, automation, equipment, machinery Market: Marketplaces for the organization's products and services, their characteristics, their value and how best to approach them Customers: customers the organization seeks to transact with, for which products or services, using which methods Channels to Market: how the organization communicates and transacts with its customers Regulation: legal requirements and other regulations the organization is obliged to follow in its various spheres of business and locations Suppliers: providers of products and services to the organization, using what processes and technology, and under what terms Geography: geographical areas in which the organization operates Facilities: locations, premises, equipment, infrastructure, service providers, support and maintenance Partners: collaborative ventures with other organizations Knowledge: knowledge and information the organization has access to, how it is harnessed, how it is exploited Research & Development: activities to develop leading-edge products, services and methods of operation Funding: sources, methods and terms of investment funding for the business change or ongoing operations Ownership: how the organization (or part of the organization) is owned and controlled - its legal form, stakeholders, relationships with associated organizations, executive structure

When we speak of the aspects of a business change we might mean any or all of these. Moreover, we often find several significant aspects within one of these headline aspects. For example:

there might be different major areas of technology development required (eg web store-front, call center, supply chain integration, integration with financial systems) there might be different new facilities required (re-siting warehouses, building a global call center) there might be different marketplace, cultural and regulatory considerations in different countries we might need to distinguish between things done at different times in the overall change program.

We need to recognize each significant aspect and guide its progress through the change journey. Each will take its own course, but form an essential part of the overall transition.

Real-World Complexity
Let us take a look at what is going on inside the various work streams of the change journey. You might imagine there is a continuous stream of activity, following the overall lifecycle, delivering each aspect of the change. Real-world programs are rarely so simple.

In the real world you will probably find:

many projects contribute to various aspects of the change some projects start and finish at different times several projects progressively build the overall change the various projects will follow their own lifecycle within the overall change program not all aspects of the change are delivered through structured projects not all projects are fully aligned with the overall goals.

In a world without program management there may be much worse to observe. Even with clearly stated corporate objectives, there is likely to be chaos in the individual initiatives and projects undertaken by the many managers concerned. However good the individual managers, they are unlikely to create changes that fully align to the strategy, fit together without gaps or overlaps, deliver the change in an efficient manner, and stay on course to deliver the desired collective change.

The natural tendency is towards chaos. The imperative is to guide individual efforts towards the organization's goals. It is unlikely that any complex change could be managed with such rigidity that the results of each project fit perfectly. The art of program management is to create harmony, order and direction from chaos. You will need the support of the executive and sponsors. Establish a regime such that:

projects are defined to address all aspects of the desired business change all projects and related initiatives are defined and mandated as part of the one change program all projects should be under the direction of the program management team (but preferably with localized project management) relationships between projects are examined, eg boundaries, conflicts, gaps, overlaps, dependencies, sequencing, resource utilization, cross-impact no investment funding nor approval is granted for any project unless it supports the change program's objectives unrelated projects and proposals are tested for compatibility with the change program Non-compliance is unacceptable.

Bear in mind that corporate objectives and the organization's environment will inevitably vary over the lifespan of the change program. In the illustration above, there has been a noticeable change of direction. Some projects were able to take up the new direction from the beginning, some had to make mid-life changes, and others required supplemental projects to complete the change. Strong program management is required from start to finish - not to rule with a rigid stick but to define, instigate, promote, guide and co-ordinate the many initiatives throughout the change journey.

Participation in Business Change Programs

Much of the work in a business change program is best done by the organizations own people, guided and facilitated by specialists. There are four clear advantages. Participation of the management and workforce:

promotes ownership and buy-in exploits business experience and knowledge retains knowledge within the organization, and Reduces costs.

Conversely, there is benefit in bringing in people from outside. For example:

a specialist business change program management team who understand the approaches, complexity, issues and best-practice management techniques change management specialists who can assess the issues and guide the organizational change industry specialists who are aware of trends and state-of-the-art approaches specialist facilitators who can guide the participants through the change journey

business process analysts and modelers to create clear, structured results from businessfocused workshops, discussions and interviews Specialist architects and advisors for specific technological components.

There are many valuable sources of knowledge, ideas and guidance that should be exploited throughout the change journey. For example:
Corporate strategy

input and guidance concerning overall corporate goals

Other divisions and specialist functions

incorporate and amplify current thinking from related activities, eg marketing, HR, etc

Workforce

source of knowledge and new ideas their participation and support are vital to deliver the change

Customers

What do our customers want?

What can they tell us about best practice they have seen elsewhere?

Suppliers

How can we best work with our suppliers? What can they tell us about best practice they have seen elsewhere?

Competitors

What can we learn from our competitors solutions?

Other industries

What can we learn from parallels in non-competitive industries?

Business Change Activities

Case for Change Program Charter Conceptual Design Current Position Detailed Design Development Deployment Training

Vision

Best Practices

Pilots & Prototypes Technology Acquisition, Detailed Process Development and Descriptions Installation

Readiness Checks User Acceptance

Key Performance Options Indicators Future Solution Focus Areas Quick Wins Stretch Targets Transition Case for Change Strategy Business Case

Organizational Design Technology Design Training Design

Process Documentation Training Development Change Communication

Solution Rollout Continuous Improvement Process

Change Management Plan Organizational Transition

Deployment Plan The detailed approach to business change programs is a subject for specific methodologies and will vary depending upon circumstance. Here is a summary of typical activities.

Business Change Activities Case for Change Program Charter In the earliest stages of a business change initiative there is unlikely to be a formalized definition or structure for the work. When the change is sufficiently well understood, a change program should be defined. The definition will include initial descriptions of:

objective and description of the change scope - organizational boundaries, products, processes, systems etc. organization, responsibilities, participation, sponsorship tentative timeline and plan Indicative or aspirational benefit case and mandate for initial funding.

Vision

The work may involve reviewing the vision for the overall organization. If the corporate vision is already clearly defined and understood, the vision for the change program (within the defined scope) might be derived from the organization's overall goals. Key Performance Indicators identify specific measures of corporate performance. These may be used in two ways:

Key Performance Indicators

in conventional performance management, the measurement, tracking and publication of these encourages management and workforce to improve performance in line with the organization's strategic objectives in a change program they identify important targets for change and may be used to measure the success of the program.

Focus Areas

The initial definition of the desired change is often very broad. Not every aspect of change will deliver the same degree of benefit. Which specific areas are worth focusing on?

Stretch Targets

If dramatic change is desired, there is no point setting easily achievable targets. Stretch targets identify how good performance would be in an ideal world. Although it should be understood that the team is unlikely to achieve perfection, everyone should strive as far as possible in that direction. For example, do not say our target is to improve lead times by 50% - maybe the ideal target would be zero lead time. Then see what you could possibly do to come close to that. By now you should have enough understanding to define a compelling case for change. The case should explain:

Case For Change

why there is a need to change what the change will be how it will support the organization's vision, strategy and objectives The initial benefit case showing in broad terms how much financial, non-financial and intangible benefit should result.

Conceptual Design Current Position It is usually important to understand the current position regarding each aspect of the change. This would include such things as:

organization structure, responsibilities, capabilities and competencies processes Technology - applications, functionality, infrastructure.

The rationale is that:

the analysis defines the starting position for things that will be changed some current components may remain in the eventual solution some current components may be temporary elements of the solution if it is to be phased in stages It allows measurement of the planned and achieved degree of change and benefit.

If the current "as-is" analysis does not contribute to one

of these needs, it is probably not worth doing. Similarly, the amount of analysis performed should not exceed that which is valuable.
Best Practices For each aspect, define what current best practice is. Call upon internal and external sources of knowledge. Seek benchmarks and "world-class" solutions. Look for the latest industry and subject matter wisdom. Investigate what further developments are likely during the course of the program. Using the results from the fact-finding, formulate options for how the change might best be achieved. Analyse the pros and cons of these options such that the best options may be proposed. Agree the preferred choices with leadership and sponsors. Seek and obtain buy-in from other parties involved. For each aspect of change, define the target solution and how it would be achieved. Use sufficient detail such that:

Options

Future Solution

the future solution is unambiguously described, and the work packages, resources and timing can be accurately estimated.

Do not create unnecessary detail - this might restrict the freedom of the solution designers to create the optimum solution.
Quick Wins Although it might not be part of the main change journey, it is possible that the analysis has uncovered improvements that could be achieved rapidly, without waiting for the main change program to produce its results. Suppose, for example, that daily stock reports were desired. It might be the case that the IT department could run the existing report daily instead of monthly with no development effort whatsoever. Change programs are often long, complex processes. Change is rarely achieved in a single step. Consider now the best path to achieve the overall change. You will identify costs and benefits at several stages. By now you will have reliable definitions of the work, timing, costs and benefits. A formal business case should be created, presented and agreed. It will form the prime basis for

Transition Strategy

Business Case

measuring the success of the program. Detailed Design Pilots and Prototypes Designs can be created theoretically on the drawing board, or they can evolve from trying things out. Pilots and prototypes may be valuable design tools when feasible.

A prototyping style may also be used in rapid applications development techniques - particularly with eSolutions. A component is completed then tried out. Feedback from that experience is used to refine its next version. Prototyping is normal practice with package software where the full functionality is provided immediately, but needs to be configured and parameterized to define the precise way in which it will work. Processes can be prototyped manually or using modeling tools. It may be possible to set up small sections of the overall business to try out potential solutions, for example, experimenting with different layouts of retail premises, trialing new machinery, and testmarketing products.

Detailed Process Descriptions

The new business processes will be mapped and described in complete detail. These descriptions may form the basis for procedural development, IT systems design, training materials, communications etc. Changes to organizational structures, roles, responsibilities, capabilities, competencies, job descriptions and resource levels will be defined. Transition strategies and plans will also be formulated. Timing is usually important. People cannot be changed, educated, moved, hired or terminated overnight. Where significant changes are being made to job descriptions and contracts, there may be legal requirements for notice periods and consultation. There will be organizational change management consequences affecting willingness to change, loyalty, motivation, etc. These should be a major input to the change management planning (see below).

Organizational Design

Technology Design

Technological aspects will be designed in detail. These may include:

applications and functionality infrastructure such as hardware, networks, operating software, services, and support other equipment and machinery operational procedures, for example schedules, controls, backup, recovery, contingency plans, etc.

Training Design

Identify all populations that need to be educated and what skills or knowledge they need to acquire. Establish the best timing for the education and assess the practicalities of that timing. Consider the best format, styles, media, locations, and personnel for the training. Design the contents for each training component. Organizational change management (ie changing behaviours and attitudes) is an important aspect throughout the program. By this stage you will have established what change is required and what resistance is expected. Formulate the plan for overcoming the barriers and delivering the change.

Change Management Plan

Development Technology Acquisition, Development and Installation Based on the detailed designs, the various technology components will be constructed. For some components it will simply be a case of selecting, acquiring, installing and configuring standard components. In other cases, it may involve a long, complex process of software development. New business processes should be supported by good user documentation. These days, it is unlikely to mean huge volumes of text. It is more likely to be contained directly within the computer applications, or specific workflow and knowledge management systems. Content for the training modules should be developed. Note the need to have reliable input. Subject matter needs to be described and incorporated in its final format - for example, computer applications, procedural documentation, and

Process Documentation

Training Development

forms. This will affect the timing of the training development work. Change Communication Communication is an important tool throughout the change program. It is used in building the case for change, establishing commitment, encouraging participation, and ensuring the designs are right. Typically, however, it becomes a weapon rather than a tool when the organizational and behavioral change is brought about. During this period the major change communications will be prepared and broadcast. There are two main types of message:

to support the organizational change management plan to issue detailed instructions and information.

Organizational Transition

Many of the organizational changes will need to be in place before the deployment of the new business solution. The process may need to commence months earlier. The transition will also continue into the deployment stage. The Deployment Plan provides the final tactical details for switching over to the new business solution.

Deployment Plan

Deployment Training Training is delivered in accordance with the Training Plan. A management process should be in place to ensure all individuals achieve the required competency and knowledge. It is inevitable that some people will miss planned sessions or fail to achieve required levels. Adjustments to schedules and remedial training may be required. Before deciding to proceed with the change, the readiness of all aspects should be checked. It is not just a question of testing the IT systems. It is equally important that all aspects of change are ready, for example:

Readiness Checks

the workforce is ready, willing and able customers have been informed new equipment, stationery and supplies are

available. User Acceptance User acceptance is the formal acceptance by the organization that the solution is sufficiently fit for purpose. Bear in mind that no complex solution is ever perfect. Criteria will have been set in advance to define what type and degree of nonconformity might be tolerated for the sake of achieving live operation. User Acceptance should always be conducted in a planned, structured and scientific manner to ensure reliable results. The business change is made, for example, new IT systems and processes become operational. This might be an instantaneous event or it might be a phased change over, possibly involving the simultaneous operation of old and new regimes for a limited period. The work of the change program does not finish with live operations. After deployment there will be a need for high levels of encouragement, guidance and support. Beyond that, there should be a permanent focus on delivering optimum benefit.

Solution Rollout

Continuous Improvement

Program Management
Business change programs involve activities across an organization, addressing different aspects of the business, following a complex timetable. These activities are blended by the program management team to deliver the overall collective benefit. The program management team needs to act as visionaries, entrepreneurs, politicians, ambassadors, coaches and planners, as well as controlling the individual project managers. Program managers concern themselves with every matter that collectively adds to the success of the business change initiative. They will act with direct power from the board, cutting across organizational divisions.

Program management is a highly specialized skill. It requires great experience to derive optimum benefit from a change program. Given a choice, look for the manager who knows how to deal with transformational business change rather than one who is only specialized in one aspect such as the industry or technology.