Transformation Article - Why Transformation Programmes are best avoided
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These complexities arise from a number of sources. Firstly, transformation initiatives involve multiple facets – not just the IT and technical aspects, which obviously have their own challenges, but all the business change elements, and all overlain by the human dynamics that accompany these as well. All of these individual elements have to be addressed at least adequately in order for the overall endeavour to prove successful. Just as in an engineering project, where it only requires one structural weakness in one part of the completed structure to bring the whole of it down, it only requires one failure in one significant element of a transformation initiative – at any stage - to render it unsuccessful. This covers such aspects as set-up and design, resourcing, planning and budgeting, stakeholder engagement, programme governance, ongoing programme management, technical aspects, business change aspects, programme assurance and benefits delivery – each of which in turn have many important and complex elements to them. In short there is a huge amount to get right.
Moreover, every Transformation programme is unique, in that the particular context for any individual venture is peculiar to the organization undertaking it, its specific circumstances, and the precise nature of the proposed programme, its objectives, structure, participants and so on. This means that there really is no simple, standardized, ‘off the shelf’ or ‘cookie-cutter’ approach that can be applied to any such initiative – the activity in all cases needs to be tailored to meet the precise circumstances of the initiative and the organization in question.
Which is not to say though that there are no programme or project management disciplines and mechanisms that can’t be applied consistently and repeatedly to all transformation programmes (see below). This uniqueness aspect may go some of – though probably not all – the way to explaining the difference in the relative success rates of IT and business change projects compared to engineering ones, given that it can be argued that the elements which are unique in any individual engineering project tends to be much lower, and therefore they are more likely to be repeatable – so for example a motorway bridge is a motorway bridge, largely regardless of its context. It is perhaps also significant that the more distinctive the engineering project, and the more unique the challenges being faced, the greater the uncertainty, and the lower the success ratio becomes.
This does though raise another key factor in the success rate of transformation programmes, which concerns the professionalism with which they are conducted. Unlike the vast majority of engineering projects, where expert project management and engineering expertise is almost invariably brought to bear, thus increasing significantly the likelihood of a successful outcome, transformation initiatives in contrast are very often approached in a much less rigorous manner. At times, the word ‘casual’ could almost apply to the way some such initiatives are set up and undertaken. So, we consistently see programmes which are poorly defined; where there is no broad organizational alignment around the objectives and scope, perhaps because the programme is a ‘pet project’ of the CEO or other senior executive, but which is lacking in genuine support and commitment from other key stakeholders (although they will not necessarily admit to this if challenged); which have no robust and properly formulated business case, or where the evaluation of benefits and costs, and sometimes even the practical feasibility of the initiative is threadbare at best.