When we deal with process improvements or the implementation of new technological solutions that support the operation, we are always asked that the changes be aligned with the company's strategy.
How is this alignment achieved in practice? And what steps must be taken to achieve success? In this article we will briefly explain our approach so that alignment is easily achieved.
Picture 1. Transformation proccess. ©Projeects.
The first thing we must understand is the relevance of the strategy, since it guides the way and dictates the guidelines to transform the operation.
The strategic process begins when managers analyze the possibilities, resources, limitations of the company and confront it with the opportunities and threats of the environment (SWOT); proposing a series of strategic initiatives, with the aim of achieving adaptability, growth and profitability.
Strategic planning defines a series of changes to transform the operating machinery from a current (known) state to a future state (better than the current one in some sense).
How to ensure alignment?
Regardless of the project methodology we use, the scope of work will involve modifying the current operation in some way, for example: deploying new functionalities for clients, enabling new external or internal services, integrating technologies that automate manual processes or reducing operational processes repetitive or duplicate.
Hypothetically, once these changes are implemented, the future state that the managers set out in the strategy is achieved. However, in practice this is not always the case.
It may happen that the changes are not carried out in an organized manner according to the priorities, not all the impacts they generate are taken into account, or the changes do not specifically target what the strategy established. This generates resistance from people, lengthens start-up times, increases budgets and causes difficulty in exposing the benefits of the project at the CxO level.
What we seek with a good project methodology is to align the entire process of change, taking advantage of good practices from the wide variety of reference frameworks that we have available today.
In general, experience dictates that it is important to consider at least the following phases:
Understanding the current capabilities. It involves going through in detail the processes, documents, people and technologies that are supporting the operation, to achieve an understanding of all the dependencies, resources and limitations; as well as opportunities for improvement.
Shaping the future. It is necessary to design the required adjustments in processes, technologies and people, in strict adherence to the requirements and needs that were included in the strategic planning.
Creating the plan. It involves structuring all changes so that their implementation generates value as quickly as possible, minimizing conflicts.
Executing the plan. Changes are implemented, constantly monitoring and aligning those that can be presented and that were not addressed.
This approach to project implementation assures us that the changes are carried out in a comprehensive manner, sizing all the elements of the organization that will be impacted; In addition, it guarantees that the changes are aligned with the strategic initiative of the organizational plan (see image 1), which generates that the value and the project report can be measured at a strategic level.
If we complement this method with documentation of processes and technologies, through templates or architecture models, the projects will additionally generate a knowledge database with sufficient visibility so that future changes are easier and faster to implement.
In our team we have the knowledge and experience to help manage your strategic changes. Contact us to help with this process.
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