The document discusses how traditional projects focus too narrowly on time, cost, and quality, rather than realizing benefits and delivering change. It notes that about 70% of strategic initiatives fail due to not engaging people in the change process. Successful projects view themselves as temporary organizations to deliver beneficial change. They employ tactics like identifying change agents, involving a business change manager, constantly reviewing how the project is delivering benefits, and engaging people through clarifying purpose, skills training, and role models. The example of an EDMS project highlights identifying change agents in teams, providing education, analyzing each team's forces and impacts, and tactics to engage people with the question "What's In It For Me?".

1. Paul Summers
Change through projects

2. Projects
• Traditionally defined in terms of cost, time and
quality
• Very limiting definition – ignores benefit
realisation
• A project is a temporary organization to which
resources are assigned to do work to deliver
beneficial change - Turner (2008)

3. Success or failure?
• over 20 years of business research has found
that about 70% of strategic initiatives fail to
deliver the expected results — The Forum
Corporation (2012)
• Barely a tenth of change projects seen as fully
successful, according to Moorhouse study
(2012)

4. Why?
• The only person who wants change is a wet baby –
Mark Twain
• People don't resist change. They resist being
changed! — Peter Senge

5. However
• Everything is in a process of change, nothing
endures; we do not seek permanence —
Masatoshi Naito
• We adapt, that’s why humans have survived
and evolved over centuries

6. So what happens?
• Projects tend to concentrate on time, cost and
scope – why?
• No consideration given to handover or people
issues in using new capability
• Business change is rarely part of project
process

7. Extended project lifecycle

8. So what should we do?
• Use the extended lifecycle
• Create change agents
• Involve a business change manager early in
lifecycle
• Constantly review how the project is delivering
against the beneficial change anticipated
• Involve the people
• Identify early adopters and blockers
• Decide on tactics to engage

9. People
• Purpose - clarity
• Reinforcement systems – use encouragement
• Skills required for change - education
• Consistent role models – model behaviours

10. An example
• Introduction of an EDMS
• Identified change agents in each of four teams
• Education
• Force field analysis of each team
• Impact analysis of each team
• Tactics to engage
• WITFM

11. Contact details
• Paul.summers@port.ac.uk