Manage project organization in the governance aspect of implementation projects

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In the article Project governance, we discuss in detail how we can approach the governance aspects of the implementation project. For change managers, there are a few other actionable items that are important in Dynamics 365 implementation projects. In this article, we go through those actionable items.

Partner with the partner

One characteristic of Dynamics 365 implementation projects is that we recommend working closely with an implementing partner who has experience in the product. Both project managers and change managers must incorporate this factor into their guiding principles and the project organization. In this way, they foster a culture of trust and collaboration instead of a bureaucratic customer/vendor relationship.

If stakeholders don't trust what the partner consultant or architect tells them about changes to processes or technology, they don't follow the advice that they receive. This issue tends to become self-inflating. If a stakeholder doesn't take their partner's advice about best practices for a business process, the resulting process change is likely to become problematic. As a result, the organization trusts the partner and Dynamics 365 even less.

Important

The change manager must understand the value of a close relationship with the partner to recognize the achieved wins and mitigate the reported issues.

The partner can often point out, early on, risks or issues that might affect the project. For example, they can explain the impact if individual stakeholders don't participate in or prepare for workshops or meetings.

Define who is responsible for change management activities

Apply thorough consideration to define this responsibility, because it typically doesn't reside with one team or person. In general, the value of change management is directly proportional to how seriously it's taken, especially by organization and project leadership. We have experienced many successful variations, and there are many different views about where the responsibility for change management should reside within the project organization.

Note

As you've noticed, there is lots of overlap between project management practices and change management. Literature is available that addresses how project management and change management can work together symbiotically in different methodology paradigms, whether they are agile, waterfall, or hybrid.

Internal versus external change manager

Change management often requires asking tough questions and trying to expose misalignment that might have existed under the surface in the organization for a long time. This requirement is especially strong during preparation and formulation of the strategy and the planning activities.

Therefore, it can be highly valuable to engage an external change manager who can view the organization from the outside, without the bias of culture and the risk of being "part of problem."

Change management professionals

In all cases, change management is a complex discipline that requires insights across technology, behavior, and people management, and experience with the concepts is highly valuable. In situations that involve a moderate or high level of risk, we recommend assigning the responsibility for change management to a professional who has experience. If possible, the person should have a recognized certification as a practitioner in the area.

Regardless of the considerations that are listed, here are our recommendations:

  • Make sure that the change management role is anchored within the project organization, and that the change manager participates in the daily rhythm of the project. Certainly, you can orchestrate a siloed change management approach. However, such an approach is costly and can be out of touch with the day-to-day reality of the project activities and changes in scope, timeline, and resources.
  • Apply the change management practices at the program or organizational level, especially if the organization has multiple transformational projects at the same time. For example, the organization might be involved with multiple system integrators or implementation partners that can affect the same processes or user groups.
  • The change manager should be familiar with change management in transformational business applications projects, preferably for Dynamics 365 apps specifically.

The outcome of this exercise should be a clear definition of roles and responsibilities for change management activities. Better yet, change management activities should be incorporated into the roles and responsibilities documentation for the project.

Define decision authority

The article Project governance discusses, in detail, how to establish project governance.

The change manager should ensure that all stakeholders understand how decision authority for all areas of the project and the implementing organizations is mapped to individuals. For example, decision authority should be defined for the following areas, among others:

  • Process changes for each business area
  • Technical architecture
  • Customizations/extensions
  • Scope change requests
  • Go/no-go decisions

It's a good practice to set up a change advisory board to formalize the processes and document decision authority. Ideally, you should define a responsibility assignment matrix or RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) chart.

The change manager should ensure that there is alignment between the project stakeholders, the project sponsor, and the project steering committee about the validity of the decision authority chart. The change manager should also ensure that changes to the decision authority are continually documented, and that they are communicated to stakeholders.

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