Читать книгу Project Management For Dummies - Stanley E. Portny - Страница 23

Projects are fundamentally systems of intertwined and interdependent subsystems or components that must function together and interact as an integrated unit to yield the intended outcomes. Adopting this approach to systems thinking (and helping your team appreciate it) enables the following outcomes:

 Flexibility during the project when assumptions and plans need to change

 Ability to minimize the overall impact of changing needs and expectations

 Better alignment of project objectives with customer and organizational goals and objectives

 More comprehensive, informed, and timely risk identification

 Ability to realize synergies between aligned projects, project teams, and initiatives

We often discuss change, in the context of project management, as something that needs to be monitored closely and controlled to ensure project success. We do this for multiple reasons, including:

 Change in scope can lead to missed milestones and increased costs.

 Change that isn’t clearly documented can result in miscommunications and mismanaged expectations.

 Change can make people uncomfortable, so we typically strive to maintain the status quo.

Change shouldn’t be feared and its negative connotation is often undeserved. When communicated, socialized, and managed properly, change is necessary for survival (it’s even given a fancy name like “evolution”). Similarly, if you intend to remain relevant in your industry, as a project manager or any other role, you need to adapt and evolve to accommodate the unavoidable and unexpected changes around you.

The Agile project management methodology, for example, was first conceptualized only slightly more than 20 years ago (see Chapter 18 for more on Agile). This fundamental change to the field of project management eventually required practitioners to evolve or be left behind.

As a principle of project management, change refers to the necessary mindset to ensure the acceptance and adoption of your project’s outcomes. If your project is to develop a new widget, the end users of that widget will need to change how they currently operate to effectively utilize your new widget. Change management is a discipline in and of itself. It’s no longer a nice-to-have, but rather a must-have, when considering the introduction of any substantial organizational, systemic, or otherwise impactful change.

While change can be good, don’t forget the adage that it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. It is critical to approach change in a controlled and logical manner. Changing too much too quickly can either create excess confusion and chaos or it can elicit anxiety and rigidity among the people you need to adopt the change for you to succeed. As with many things in life, change is best in moderation!