Saturday 28 May 2022

How to Close a Change Project

 

This post's podcast episode is available at SounderApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsStitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Define the closing date as the first time you can accurately measure benefits.


BY DOING THIS

–        Start Gain agreement from leaders that the project closes after benefits are measured.

–       Set the closing date with leaders and add it to the project plan (and leaders' calendars).

–       Develop a work back plan to ensure sufficient transition and measurement activities are in place.


Managing the close of a change project is challenging because most leaders and project team members have mentally moved on to their next roles and challenges.

Defining the close date as the point in time when benefits are first measured reduces the risk of the final tasks being rushed or missed. It also broadens the project and operating teams' focus to include realizing the change benefits.

Adding the closing date to the project plan necessitates a work back schedule including benefit tracking and recording activities. This work may extend some project team members' participation and uncover additional insights and lessons to guide future transformations.


KNOWLEDGE BITES




BENEFITS MEASUREMENT TOOL: What benefits will be realized by the project close date?


SUCCESS TIP

Identifying the absence of benefit measurement as a risk in the planning phase increases the likelihood of leaders supporting an extended close date.

For more stories, insights and advice, listen to the Closing a Change Project  podcast episode with HR and change management expert Tim Creasey.

Phil Buckley is the author of Change on the Run and  Change with Confidence, host of the  Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the  Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #transformation #leadership #projectmanagement #sustainment #podcasts 

How to Identify Your Lessons Learned

 

This post's podcast episode is available at SounderApple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsStitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Keep a daily project journal.


BY DOING THIS

–        Start a journal on day one of your role in the change initiative.

–       Note everything—both positive and negative—as events occur.

–       Review highlights when the project is complete.


Experience is the best teacher, which enables us to repeat success patterns and eliminate future roadblocks to achieve our goals. Understanding how experiences impact outcomes helps build change capacity and skill and dramatically improves organizational knowledge on how projects work within our cultures.

Learning occurs in the moment—something worked or didn’t work because of specific factors, and we often lose the learnings we don’t record quickly. This is especially true in the middle of projects because we tend to remember only beginnings and endings, leaving the key middle ground foggy. Documenting the context and details of your observations while they are fresh in your mind gives you the best learning. Keeping a daily log, either paper or electronic, enables you to create an accurate and fulsome learning summary at the end of the project. The details you record daily will enhance the stories you tell about what you did, how you did it and what you learned from the results.


KNOWLEDGE BITES




LESSONS LEARNED JOURNALING TOOL: What have I learned from my role on this change project?

What worked well that I would want to repeat?

____________________________________________________________________

What didn’t work well that I wouldn’t?

____________________________________________________________________

What surprised me?

______________________________________________________________

SUCCESS TIP

Lessons are best communicated when you illustrate them with stories.

For more stories, insights and advice, listen to the  Identifying Your Lessons Learned podcast episode with HR and change management expert Kathy Repa.

Phil Buckley is the author of  Change on the Run and  Change with Confidence, host of the Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the  Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #transformation #leadership #projectmanagement #lessonslearned #podcasts