20 Questions You Need to Be Able to Answer About Your Project Right Now

Posted by Paula Alsher on Thu, Oct 20, 2016 @ 11:14 AM

One of the foundations of IMA’s proprietary Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) is, “In order to achieve value realization, you must first identify the “human objectives” for your change." {Tweet This}  But what exactly are the “human objectives” and why is it so important to pay attention to them? Twenty Questions to Ask About Your Project

Simply put, the human objectives are the observable, behavioral impacts of the change.  Remember there are multiple success measures for any change, whether it is a simple change or a transformational one:

  1. Was it delivered on time?

  2. Was it delivered on budget?

  3. Were the technical objectives of the change met?

  4. Were the business objectives of the change met?

  5. Were the human objectives of the change met?

Even if you have business measures identified like improvements in productivity, or reduced waste, or improved quality, you can’t actually achieve them without some type of behavior change.  That’s why we say, “No behavior change, no implementation.”  It’s just that simple.

 

20 Questions

Our expert change management consultants have come up with the following 20 questions you should be asking to ensure the human objectives of your change are being met.

  1. Have you developed a detailed description of the “current state” (based on diagnostic activities such as a survey, business process review, etc.), the “future state,” and defined the gaps between these two?

  2. Do you know how each group of people impacted by this change perceives this situation?

  1. Do you have a concise and compelling description of what you are changing, why you are changing, and the consequences if you are not successful?

  2. Is this description written from the point of view of both the organization and the varying groups of people who will be impacted by this change?

  1. Have you determined what specifically will change for the people impacted by the change and how it will affect them as individuals?

  1. Have you identified all the groups affected by this change, either directly or indirectly (such as support functions like Finance, Human Resources, etc.)

  1. For each group of users affected by this change either directly or indirectly, do you know who the managers are at each level that will need to “reinforce” their personal commitment to the change?

  1. Have you identified the new outputs you will need to see from each group of people impacted by this change?

  2. Have you identified specific actions you will need from the Sponsors who are authorizing this change right now?

  3. Do you have a process you are following to “contract” with Sponsors for what you need from them now and in the future?

  4. What are the specific success metrics for this project including all of the following: time, budget, technical objectives, business objectives (cost and expense, business measures, business outputs), and human objectives?

  5. Do you have a plan for communicating this change to each of the groups who are affected that is tailored to the individual situation of each group?

  6. What are your tactics and strategies for identifying where resistance is coming from, what the resistance is, and then dealing with the resistance?

  7. What tactics are you recommending for each different group as reinforcements for this change (rewards and consequences)?

  8. How will you educate the managers who need to reinforce this change on what you need from them in terms of what they say, what they do, and what they reinforce on a daily basis?

  9. Based on your previous implementations, what are the likely barriers to success? What’s your mitigation strategy for dealing with these barriers?

  10. Do you have role descriptions ready for change agents and “Reinforcing Sponsors” (managers of people who are impacted by the change either directly or indirectly?)

  1. What is your plan for reducing the level of work disruption that this change will create?

  2. How will you determine the number of people and the type of people you need as Change Agents across the business who will be responsible for implementing this change?

  3. What is your plan for what needs to happen after the change “goes live”?

Addressing the human factor during any change is an absolute must-do.  But it is not about getting people to like the change or just about the individual’s journey of change.  The Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) allows you to manage the human side of change practically, systematically, and with rigor and discipline.  Are you meeting the human objectives of your change?

Free Webinar:  The AIM Change Management Methodology

 

Topics: Change Management Methodology, Installation vs. Implementation, Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM), Value Realization/ROI