How do you prioritise when everything is top-priority, and what happens when the list of top-priority changes just keeps growing?

1. © Bestoutcome Limited 201511
Mike Pryor
25th March 2015
Change Overload
(and how to avoid it)

2. © Bestoutcome Limited 201522
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 !!

3. © Bestoutcome Limited 201533
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

4. © Bestoutcome Limited 201544
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)

5. © Bestoutcome Limited 201555
Three tensions in all organisations
Corporate
Strategy
Run the
Business
Change the
Business
Change bandwidth

6. © Bestoutcome Limited 201566
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

7. © Bestoutcome Limited 201577
Key 1 : visibility of the entire portfolio of work
• In-flight initiatives
• Proposed and committed initiatives
• Running the business

8. © Bestoutcome Limited 201588
Key 2 : heat-maps – measuring the change
A B C C E
Governance Framework Oct: Current Status A
Planning
Reporting
Risk&
IssuesMgmt
Governance
Delivery
Management
Claim
Management
Goodwill
register
This
Period
Period
-1
Period
-2
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

9. © Bestoutcome Limited 201599
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

10. © Bestoutcome Limited 20151010
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

11. © Bestoutcome Limited 20151111
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

12. © Bestoutcome Limited 20151212
• 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

13. © Bestoutcome Limited 20151313
Questions? Stand
40
www.bestoutcome.com