How does lack of prioritization impact a transformation initiative’s success?

IT Strategy & Roadmap Portfolio, Program & Project Management Project Management

316 views16 Comments

Sort By:

Oldest

Senior Executive Advisor in Software2 years ago

Business transformations are driven by several strategic initiatives tied to business outcomes, which in turn break down into numerous tasks that require complex sequencing and orchestration in order to be successful. Many of these tasks are added to the organization’s backlog and assigned to the team that is also focused on revenue-generating features and existing applications. They are both equally urgent to the organization and in several cases, tasks from both these value streams contend for priority. The result is that teams are expected to multitask or do task switching to achieve progress; however, this results in a drop in productivity. The additional overhead of task management and context switching turns this into a sub-optimal approach.

The approaches I’d recommend instead are:

1. Acknowledge transformational tasks as legitimate and value-generative backlog items.

2. Weight transformational tasks based on the sense of urgency, the strategic impact of the business outcome that the task is driving, and the complexity of the task.

3. Prioritize the backlog.

4. Reduce the velocity of development by a fixed amount through negotiation with business owners.

5. Reduce waste of task switching where possible.

VP of IT in Finance (non-banking)2 years ago

Lack of prioritization in any project can and will hinder success. The lack of buy-in from the executive staff, as well as the business, is a sign that prioritization is an issue. Without prioritization, you will not receive the support or resources need to ensure a successful transformation. An established project team, leader, and sponsor will help ensure that priorities are well defined and kept. We are all busy and stressed when it comes to juggling multiple projects and responsibilities at work which causes us to narrow our focus to tasks for the moment. Without the checks and balances and a leader that is “all in” more times than not you will receive less than stellar outcomes in any project whether it be a small one or a full transformative initiative.

CTO in Software2 years ago

Lack of prioritization fuels confusion which in turn fuels progress paralysis

Please join or sign in to view more content.

By joining the Peer Community, you'll get:

Peer Discussions and Polls
One-Minute Insights
Connect with like-minded individuals

Chief Information Technology Officer in IT Services2 years ago

In transformation, the absence of prioritization does not allow you to focus on the right things. human talent material financial resources are divided and it is difficult to visualize their success and therefore important to prioritize things to know your abilities well in order to succeed in transformations and to be able to measure them.

Chief Technology Officer in Finance (non-banking)2 years ago

When everything becomes a priority, we all know the outcome of those transformation initiatives. Though a Steering committee sounds a bit bureaucratic in a transformation initiative, it is a necessary evil. Without such discipline, initiatives get into a chaotic state where sub-teams within a larger team may drive in different directions. Well-understood and agreed-upon guiding principles are important to establish in the early stage of the transformation program. More importantly, the execution must adhere to the guiding principles.

Content you might like

I have just been asked by an exec from another function to audit a critical project in their portfolio which does not appear to be going well. I have some ideas based on my own PMO experience, but wanted to explore how peers might think about approaching such an exercise. Considerations: - outside my main role - risk of conflict with the leader providing project management services to this exec - sensitivity within the other function to potential criticism of their governance - readiness of the project team to provide relevant information

Relationship Management Project Management Culture & Values+2 more

CFO3 days ago

I recommend that you consider finding an outside third party to perform the audit. I have had to do something similar with an unprofitable division/product line that reports directly to our CEO. We outsourced with Alvarez ...read more

130 views1 Comment