If you have ever rolled out a high-budget IT project with a lengthy timeline and that required a high degree of change management across an enterprise, you know that roadblocks can emerge to make success difficult. The most frequent challenge companies run into is resistance from influential individuals or groups.
It's all about buy-in � getting the right people on your side � and gathering the information needed to meet the requirements of every group and department. A prudently constituted project governance structure will help you achieve buy-in from key groups, ensure sound decision-making, and get your project rolling smoothly.
Structuring your model
It's important that your decision-making groups represent a broad spectrum of your enterprise's executive and management corps. If structured properly, these groups can be organized to create an effective governance model to support your project. Five constituent groups are especially important: a steering committee, an IT board, the PMO, functional groups, and a broadly based working group.
Steering committee. Steering committees generally include senior executives who have a vested interest in the project. Yours should include at least one executive sponsor of your project and also at least one vocal opponent. If powerful opponents are not represented from the beginning of the process, they can throw obstacles in the way later. Involving them in the planning stage can help you address the difficulties head-on and prevent trouble that could derail the project down the road.
IT board. We recommend instituting an information technology board comprised of senior technology managers (e.g., CIO, IT directors) and business representatives to ensure that your project is aligned with not only your company's technical strategy but also its business strategy.
Some might think an IT board is just another bureaucratic body, involving additional overhead and duplication of effort. However, it pays to have an IT board to give clear directions about the choices you make. An IT board can identify synergies between your new project and existing technologies so that you integrate effectively with the enterprise application architecture. The IT board can also help orient your organization toward the future, whether it�s looking ahead to data warehousing or maintaining data integrity across systems.
PMO. Your Project Management Office needs to be involved to provide a full understanding of the dependencies and impacts on other projects. The PMO can address any resource issues that come up. It can also encourage adherence to the organization's overall project management standards, ensuring that the new project's management methodology is consistent with existing practices.
Functional groups.
Recently, a major financial institution decided to roll out a piece of project management software that would affect many different lines of its business. Previously, there had been no standardization of the company's project management methodologies. We set up small functional groups within the business divisions and met with them individually on a regular basis to learn exactly what their groups' requirements were, hear their reports of problems and issues, and communicate to them what was going on with the project.
Functional groups can be set up vertically (by line of business) or horizontally (by role � e.g., project managers, resource managers, etc.). In the case mentioned above, working vertically in the beginning helped us understand the needs of the business groups. Later in the process we worked horizontally, as the issues became less about organizational differences and more about how different role-players would be using the technology.
Working group. When a great many people are affected, we advise setting up working group sessions, open to anyone with an interest in the project. Generally held via conference call or video conference, the sessions generate awareness and communicate important information to a wide company audience. Working group sessions also can provide a way of obtaining feedback from anybody who is opposed to the project and has no other way of expressing issues, doubts, or complaints.
Working group sessions should be held semi-monthly or monthly. Typically, the sessions are used to explain decisions, lay out the project timeline, and clarify what can be expected in the next few weeks. Working group sessions are a good antidote for the rumor mill. By making sure everyone hears the same information, working sessions can cut down on misinformation that might cause unwarranted anxiety.
Getting the right people involved
It's crucial to recruit the right people for each implementation group � those with influence, those who are respected by their fellow employees. They need not all be senior staff; some can be junior people who are viewed as leaders within their peer group. Within a functional group, for example, you might enlist the manager who will be running the project rollout, but you might also ask him or her to identify other key players who can help generate acceptance within the department.
It is wise to avoid overlap as much as possible between the groups. Participation is a time commitment, and you don't want to overcommit your people � just keep them engaged. Another reason is to get input from many directions. People from different parts of an organization can feed off each other's contributions and learn from others' experience. Often, one group will be out in front of others in adopting a new technology, and they can contribute by helping prepare for issues others will soon face. Such advance groups can also serve to reassure others that the new processes and technologies work. Their success stories can demonstrate that even if the new tools seem hard to learn, they really do work better than the old ways.
Finally, the wider the involvement, the more opportunities to leverage knowledge from past projects. You can hear "lessons learned" that you haven't thought of and avoid known pitfalls that could cost a lot of time and money. This is an important element in getting buy-in in that, ultimately, everyone shares in the success.
Communicating the message
Regular and consistent communication is crucial. Hold meetings according to a schedule, and stick to it. Make sure everybody knows the time and location. Assign a contact person to field questions about the schedule and agenda.
If different groups are hearing different messages, you've got trouble. To ensure that the message is consistent, put in place a communications group who can proactively manage the word going out to all project teams.
Conclusion
Two final words of advice that apply to many governance models, but especially to those involved with rolling out a large-scale IT project:
- Be open. Listen to others. Don't assume you know it all.
- Don't waste people's time. Let your team know their input is important by taking it seriously.
Every successful project rollout entails a lot of work. If you put the right structures in place and get the right people involved up front, the effort will come together and save your organization a great deal of trouble down the line.
