managing a major organizational change

Managing a major organizational change: Lessons learned about coping with homogeneous internal teams and

globally diverse external partners.

Dr. Joseph B. Baugh, PMPBaugh Group LTDCapella University

Academy of ManagementManagement Consulting Division - 2011

5th International ConferenceVU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Dr. Joseph B. Baugh, PMP

• Program Manager/Project Manager• Consultant• Technical Trainer

– Project Management [PMP]– Information Security [CISSP, CISM]

• Faculty Member– Three learning institutions– Undergrad to doctoral courses– Multiple learning milieus

• Brick-and-mortar• Online• Hybrid

Managing a Change Initiative: MCD 2011 5th International Conference - Amsterdam © 2011 Joseph B. Baugh 2

Agenda

• Planning for the project• Key project constraints• Developing the study• Lessons learned

– The survey– The interviews

• Conclusion– What did it all mean?

Managing a Change Initiative: MCD 2011 5th International Conference - Amsterdam 3© 2011 Joseph B. Baugh

Project Rationale

• Literally hundreds of applications– Legacy systems across multiple platforms– Spreadsheets– Databases

• None were interconnected• Very inefficient• No one “trusted” the numbers• No real-time budget data• The time had come to changeManaging a Change Initiative: MCD 2011 5th International Conference - Amsterdam © 2011 Joseph B. Baugh 4

Project Planning

• Examine business processes• Identify key internal resources [SMEs]• Develop Requests for Proposal [RFPs]

– ERP system software evaluations– Implementation partners

• Board Funding Approval• Project Implementation• Post-project activities


Key Project Constraints

• Time was the key constraint

• Aggressive timeline was driven by:– Fall Overhaul Schedule– Delay in Board Approval

• Resource Availability– Internal resources– External consultants

• Scope was not defined as well as originally thought


SCOPE COST

TIME

The Triple Constraints

Project Issues

• Schedule Driven Issues– Conflicting demands

• Resource contention– Structural Issues– Planning & Training

• Understanding Business Requirements• Geographical and Cultural Barriers• Diverse perceptions of results

– Led to the study described in the paper


Project Team Structure


Senior Management

Team

Boards of Directors

Project Steering Committee

Internal Project Manager

Functional Managers

ContractorsSubject Matter

ExpertsProject Support

Personnel

External Project Manager

Implementation Partner

ERP Vendor

Team Leads

Direct Report

Indirect Report

Other Communications

Bi-directional Comm.

Understanding Business Requirements


Direct ReportPeer-to-Peer

Report

Business Reporting Relationships

External EntitiesRegulatory Agencies

Utility Groups

GENCO TRANSCO SERVCO

Boards of DirectorsMember Cooperatives

Lessons Learned: The Survey

• Qualitative survey of project stakeholders• QDAS analysis yielded eight primary

themes– Pre-project preparation– Resource availability– Setting expectations– Organizing the project– Communications– Testing– Training– Post-project issues


Pre-Project Preparations

• Fully understand internal business processes before trying to explain them to contractors

• Review & redefine business processes early on to flesh out RFP

• Bring in consultants, if necessary, to develop a more complete RFP specification

• Don’t assume that anything is included in scope unless it is explicitly identified in the RFP

• Identify & send client team members to ERP training prior to project start


Resource Availability

• Identify internal team members early• Functional managers must support

resource commitment to the project• Backfill for critical internal resources• Interview individual consultants to

ensure appropriate experience levels• Check references & experience• Don’t let vendor “bait-&-switch”

consultantsManaging a Change Initiative: MCD 2011 5th International Conference - Amsterdam © 2011 Joseph B. Baugh 12

Setting Expectations

• Set a reasonable timeline, 8 months is very aggressive for a complex project

• Don’t let salesmen dictate timelines• Manage senior management & user

expectations from the start• Don’t start project immediately after funding

approval, take time to interview & approve consultants

• Have key business unit owners & employees sign off on their contributions, such as user acceptance testing


Organizing the Project

• Authorize one Project Manager to run the project – Better responsibility & accountability

• Break up large modules into two or more teams• Don’t let consultants control the project plan,

create one that works for the organization• Follow a sound software development

methodology• Co-locate the project team• Ensure that project team members are

dedicated to the project


Communications

• Go beyond status reports– Develop & implement a full communications

plan• Ensure that the team leads and their

Contractors are talking• Share information across teams via periodic

meetings• Resolve conflicts & personnel issues early• Share information with all employees

– Regular internal communications– Company intranet site


Testing

• Test, test, test, then test some more• Convert legacy data first

– Enhances unit testing as new module configurations are finalized

• Test valid data with appropriate roles & authorizations

• Complete and approve integration testing BEFORE Go-Live


Training

• Establish a dedicated training team• Identify training needs early on• Input valid data & configurations into

training environment as soon as possible

• Train employees on the new system as soon as possible– Raise satisfaction levels– Raise user comfort levels– Manage user expectationsManaging a Change Initiative: MCD 2011 5th International Conference - Amsterdam © 2011 Joseph B. Baugh 17

Post-Project Issues

• Include post-project support as part of implementation RFP

• Identify post-project training needs as part of the project plan


Lessons Learned: The Interviews

• Purposeful sampling of key project personnel

• The interview protocol– Looking behind

• What worked well?• What didn’t work well?

– Looking ahead • What to try on a future project?

• QDAS analysis identified the top five tactics in each category


What Worked Well?

• Daily standup status reports by team leads

• Central location for project team• Using collaborative software• Conference and video calls• Timely examination of scope

– Plan revision


What Didn’t Work Well?

• Ill-defined business requirements• Attendance at project team meetings• Organizational structure of project

staff• Reporting on deliverables• ERP specific training for project team

members


What to Try on Future Project?

• Gain earlier full support from senior management

• Make IT personnel part of the project team– Provide IT with user support training early

• Require key stakeholders to attend major project team meetings

• Manage the action items better in team meetings

• Provide better training for all stakeholders including the users


Conclusion

• The project team overcame many concerns to meet an aggressive timeline and complete the project for the Fall Overhaul

• Diverse perceptions of project success led to the study to find lessons learned related to planning, preparation, communications, and implementation

• Lessons learned came from two primary sets of sources: Surveys & Interviews


Conclusion

• Management consultants can apply the lessons learned to assist their clients with: – Defining initial problems– Seeking effective solutions– Supporting development of RFPs– Influencing Senior Management & Boards of

Directors– Educating clients on roles & responsibilities

in successful organizational change initiatives


Questions


drjoe(at)baughgroup.com