Poor change and project management skills are hindering business transformation
With business and IT still speaking two different languages it looks like the barriers between the two aren’t going to come down unless someone takes the first step and learns to bridge the gap.
IT’s lack of business and communication skills is stalling business change projects, according to a CIO Connect survey, which found that 64 per cent of IT managers had to change the people in charge of projects to ensure success.
But I think the problem is not just about simple ‘lack of skills’. We all tend to retreat back to our comfort zones and clearly defined responsibilities in times of stress - and what project isn’t a source of that?
For IT people, the comfort zone is around methodologies, the technicalities of set-up, the coding, the flowcharts of predicted business flows and transactions. For business people, it’s the interaction with customers, with suppliers, with regulators and with reporting systems, with what they want IT to do for them.
So in whose comfort zone is change management, conflict resolution, the painstaking reiteration of changing processes to those affected, the detailed analysis of cause and effect, and the focus on motivation and self interest? What project last allocated a third of its budget to the time and travel needed to construct and institutionalise the new processes which are essential if the system is to be a success?
If these are no-one’s clear responsibility and comfort zone, then they‘ll be the first to get dropped when deadlines lurch closer and stress levels grow.
To deal with this stress-induced polarization, some CIOs are going down a joint venture route - working with outsourcing specialists to gain access to change management, communication skills and other resources they don’t have in-house. But for IT to take a lead in business programmes and significantly raise its profile within the business, it needs to provide in-depth change management, commercial, leadership and communication skills, in addition to more traditional IT project management abilities.
CIOs can start the process by consciously putting IT staff into project roles which will stretch them out of their comfort zone and into these terrifying areas. And not surprisingly, once they’ve been there for a while and overcome some major setbacks, that becomes their new comfort zone.
A great area to debate!
Three points and a rant......
1. I believe this is a not just an IT problem - bridging the gap requires those on either side of the gap to reach out. Too often the IT community take it on themselves to tackle this issue without carrying their business colleagues on the journey. IT is an essential function of any major modern business and collectively we (business & IT) have to harness processes, people and technology for mutual benefit. It is a team effort.
2. Why do IT centric projects fail? My experience is that it is rarely the technology. Board level misconceptions or ignorance play a major role in driving failure. The senior IT/IS decision makers have a major role to play here in educating their colleagues. Methodologies, correct project set upe etc are not 'comfort zones'...they are engineering foundations, essential for good business to administer professionally. The main board members no doubt can read a balance sheet, I would suggest they should be equally familiar with the basics of a process diagram or purposes of different stages of software deployment.
3. I am all for recognising weaknesses and developing skills at all level. Experience has taught me that those blessed with strong technology skills are often not similarly blessed with the strong soft skills essential for good project management and change management. What to do then? Yes, do provide stretch roles but remember dropping them in at the deep end is a high risk strategy! Any role that represents high challenge requires commensurate support to ensure the stretch is beneficial. I favour stretch role that are supported with appropriate training and subsequent work place coaching support is highly recommended.
4. And a final rant! Please can we stop sending staff on PRINCE courses and expecting them to be rounded project managers when they return!
Posted by: Jon D | Thursday, 11 October 2007 at 05:08 PM