Do you and your colleagues have to deliver a project? Would you find it useful to use a researched approach to identify potential issues and help avoid them? One which involves the whole project team in an interesting and participative way? “Prevaluation” does that. This actual client case study reveals all ~ Read on….

1. The Creative Gorilla – Case Study
Do you and your colleagues have to deliver a project? Would you find it useful
to use a researched approach to identify potential issues and help avoid them?
One which involves the whole project team in an interesting and participative
way? “Prevaluation” does that.
This actual client case study reveals all ~ Read on….
“One does not have to be a mad scientist to
travel in time” – Authors of research paper:
“Back to the future. Temporal Perspective
in the Explanation of Events”
Prevaluation
“Only one in eight IT projects can be
considered truly successful…. The cost of IT
MAD SCIENTISTS USE A TEMPORAL PERSPECTIVE
project failure across the EU in 2004 was Euro PROTOTYPE
142 billion1.” These are frightening figures.
Background
Add on the cost of failed projects not involving
IT and the figure is likely to be a horror movie. Our client was Programme Director of a multi
Who would want to be a Programme Director million pound programme for a FTSE 100
or Project Manager with those odds and those company. Yes! And… facilitated a programme
potential losses? team workshop when he assumed responsibility
for the programme and we were asked to
So, if potential failure is staring you in the face,
facilitate the team’s ongoing planning meetings.
would it be valuable to have a simple tool that
can help you with decision making and increase The intent of the programme was to transform
your odds of success? working practices, using a new IT platform to
make better use of assets. The company had
This article describes such a tool and explains
begun piloting the programme in one
how you can use it with a project team, using a
geographical region. To obtain resources to roll
case study from one of our client workshops.
it out to other regions, it was vital that the pilot
achieved the benefits the Programme Director
1
“A study in Project Failure.” Dr John McManus and Dr Trevor had promised the Board.
Wood-Harper. Source: British Computer Society website
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2. The Creative Gorilla – Case Study
Consequently, the Programme Director was Once he understood the technique, the
very focussed on securing the benefits. He Programme Director agreed to use Premortem
wanted us to help the programme team to and we specified the outcome he required:
develop a strategy to achieve that.
SECTION OUTCOMES
We suggested using the “Premortem”
The Group will have an action plan to
technique to facilitate this.
ensure we can achieve programme
We had first seen this technique described by benefits.
Gary Klein of Applied Research Associates in an
article in the Harvard Business Review2. It is Workshop Design Challenge
based on a concept known as “Prospective
In his article, Gary Klein describes how he has
Hindsight.”
people think themselves in to the future when
Research on this concept3 has shown that the project has gone wrong and ask, “What
people are able to generate richer and more went wrong?”
numerous explanations of why an event might
His process is to have individuals list as many
have happened, when they are told that the
reasons as they can, the project leader records
event has actually happened.
these on a flipchart and uses them to find ways
The research looked at two aspects: to strengthen the project plan.
1. Whether the outcome was determined as We wanted the programme team to develop an
sure (“It is a future date and we have not action plan so we developed this process
achieved the benefits) further. We also needed them to do it quickly
2. Whether the outcome was determined as because there were many other items on the
unsure (“It is a future date and we might agenda.
not have achieved the benefits”)
For some reason, people find it easier to
generate reasons when the outcome is sure.
(We suggest you review Page 10 of the article
if you want to know of possible reasons why).
2
“Performing a Project Premortem” HBR 01 September
2007
3
“Back to the future. Temporal Perspective in the “AAH, LOOKING BACK, IT ALL SEEMS CLEAR TO ME
NOW.”
Explanation of Events” Deborah J Mitchell; J Edward Russo
and Nancy Pennington.
http://forum.johnson.cornell.edu/faculty/russo/Research.html
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3. The Creative Gorilla – Case Study
Using the Technique REASON RATE
Around eighteen members of the programme Unable to measure benefits 12
team attended the meeting. We gave this accurately as too difficult to measure
section the tongue in cheek name of “Predicting and attribute to programme
Benefit Fraud” and placed it at the beginning of
the workshop to highlight its importance. Didn't identify further benefits 8
Our estimate of time was around 90 minutes Didn't communicate and embed the 8
but in reality, the team took around two and a cost savings into personal / Group
half hours to achieve the following process: objectives
1. We set up the situation…the Facilitator
Didn't measure frequently enough - 6
(the author) asked the team to imagine it is
no time to take action
1 September (the meeting was in May) and
the Programme Director has just been Business identifies negative costs 6
removed from the programme by the Board and counts against programme
because the pilot had failed to deliver any
of the promised cost savings or other Data was ignored 5
benefits. The Board demanded answers!
2. We asked individuals to write reasons EXAMPLE REASONS
why this had happened on a piece of
5. Small teams created actions to ensure
paper. (You could use Post It notes for this
that the top priority reasons did not
and have people post them for review; this
happen, so ensuring the programme would
saves time when collecting ideas, but adds
reap the benefits.
time on for culling duplicate ideas).
6. They also identified the programme
3. The Facilitator recorded the reasons
team resource needed to take the action
taking one idea per person and wrote them
so that they could factor this in to the
on flipcharts until the team’s ideas were
overall programme resource plan.
exhausted. We collected 45 separate
7. Each team shared the actions and
reasons in total.
resource requirements with the
4. The group prioritised the reasons,
group. They asked if there were any issues
using dot choice (four dots per person).
with their plan and received constructive
You may find it useful to consider the
feedback. The group added further actions
criteria in advance e.g:
to some of the plans.
• What is most likely to happen
8. After the meeting, we captured all the
• What would prevent the team output in a report so that everybody was
achieving the largest benefits clear on what was said and done.
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4. The Creative Gorilla – Case Study
Benefits of Using the Technique Conclusion
The exercise: One aspect of the technique we thought could
be enhanced was the name. Premortem is
• Ensures that everyone in the group is fully
logical but has shades of gallows humour, so
involved – nobody can say later, “I knew
we now call it “Prevaluation”.
that would happen and that it would fail!”
Whatever you call it, this technique is a very
• Reminds people of the programme
useful tool that provides a number of benefits
outcomes, which provides motivation
with little or no disadvantages, other than the
• Makes the whole team aware of the
time taken to carry it out.
potential pitfalls and they can support
individuals to avoid them With the information you have here, time and
some facilitation skill, you can facilitate the
• Identifies and mitigates the risk in advance,
technique yourself. Try it!
which is a lot less stressful than dealing
with problems later John Brooker Innovation Director. Yes! And…
• Enables the team to allocate resources to PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PASS THIS ARTICLE ON TO A
prevention, which uses less resources than COLLEAGUE WHO MAY APPRECIATE IT.
dealing with a fire
• Helps build confidence on the programme DON’T HAVE TIME TO DESIGN AND
team, they know the likely issues and can
FACILITATE?
plan to deal with them
• Can be used with different audiences. For Do you want to use this technique? If you
example with the Board, or with customers. have the time, you can use this article to
help you design and run a workshop. But if
Outcome you are short of time or prefer to be part of
the workshop, you might like to talk to us.
Talking to the Programme Director after the
September Board Meeting, I asked him how it In Yes! And… we are experienced in using
had gone. He was delighted and so were the this and other creative approaches for
Board Members. The team had implemented workshops and have many satisfied clients.
the actions to secure the benefits and the To discuss how we might help, please
programme pilot had achieved double the contact John Brooker:
benefits expected.
Write: hi@yesand.co.uk
Whilst we would not claim that using this Speak: 020 8869 9990
technique was responsible for all of that, it About theSee: www.yesand.biz
Author
certainly helped!
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5. The Creative Gorilla – Case Study
About the author
John Brooker started his career in the RAF and went on to become
a Senior Vice President with Visa International. He now does what
he loves; running his own company Yes! And…
The company mission is to create successful organisations by
facilitating flexible thinking.
John and his colleagues help teams to think more flexibly by
facilitating workshops, developing skills and advising management.
His particular interest is innovation.
John is a Solutions Focus Professional, a Kaizen Training Black Belt Facilitator, a Basadur
Simplex Process Facilitator, A Group Mastery and a NLP Business Practitioner. He also has an
MBA from the Open University and tutors on the OU “Creativity, Innovation and Change” MBA
Course.
His regular clients include major organisations such as Visa Inc, EADS and BT Openreach, as
well as Government departments.
As well as the UK, John frequently works internationally in Europe, Sub Saharan Africa and
the Middle East. He writes the “Creative Gorilla” articles on creative leadership and flexible
thinking, distributing it internationally twice a month. To sign up, send an e-mail with
“Subscribe” in the subject line and your first and surname.
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