Deal with Change

You can’t think your way out of a box, you’ve got to act.

—You can’t think your way out of a box, you’ve got to act.

Change is inevitable in any project. A customer will change his mind about a requirement, a senior manager will change the focus. You must be able to negotiate change, adapt the plan, and keep everyone up to date.

Understand Change

Some changes will be within your control, such as shortening the schedule because activities are being completed more quickly as you work through the plan. Other changes will be imposed upon you, such as when a customer asks for something different, or a superior decides to poach two of your key people to do another job. Alternatively, your monitoring system may have highlighted the need for a change to avoid a potential problem or threat. Whenever the need for change arises, it is vital to be able to adjust the project plan. You must also be able to measure whether the change that you have made has had the desired effect. When it happens, bring the team together to evaluate how the changes may affect the original objectives of the project.

Think Smart

When an event occurs that seriously interrupts the project the shock to the team can lead to a drop in morale and motivation as the team realizes that it will not bring what it has been doing to completion.

Inform some key members about the event first, so that when the rest of the team is told, these key members can help you to encourage the team to treat the altered circumstances positively and start discussing the way ahead.

Assess the Impact of Change

Before you commit to making any changes, assess their impact on the project. Suppose a key team member in a research project has been recruited by a competitor and has immediately stopped working on your project. You will have to address:

• Timescale – By the time you have replaced the individual and the new person has been brought up to speed, you may find that some of the activities will have slipped. If these activities were on the critical path the whole timescale of the project will be threatened and you will have to get it back on track

• Budget – You will have to recruit a replacement, possibly using temporary staff to fill the gap

• Order of activities – You will probably have to revise the network diagram to take account of the new situation

• People – There may be an impact on the morale of the team, and other team members may leave the team.

Look at all the alternatives before changing a major component of the plan. Examine the alternatives with the team, decide on the changes you are going to make, document them on the original plan, and gain approval for the changes to the plan from your sponsor and other interested parties.