INSIGHTS & OPINIONS
OUTCOME LED BUSINESS CHANGE
IT only achieves its claimed impact when organisations
focus on business outcomes not project output
“
“It’s very easy
to do things just
because they need
doing, when really
you should be doing
them because you
want a certain
outcome. Fujitsu’s
approach has
turned our normal
thinking on its
head - giving our
planning process
an outcome-based,
rather than just
an activity-based
focus.”
Moray Council
Why the surprise?
Many organisations embarking on IT enabled
change do so in an expectation that deployment
of tried and tested methods and tools will bring
about project and programme success. Significant
investment been made to equip staff with the
analytic and management capabilities to scope,
define, manage and deliver change using mature,
industry standard approaches. And yet many
organisations undertaking change rarely question
whether the use of conventional methods and
tools to deliver change has resulted in business
achieving its aims. If history points to lack of
success then repeating previous approaches will
most likely have one result. Technology often
becomes the scapegoat; lack of business change is
acknowledged ‘after the fact’.
Fujitsu’s point of view is that lack of focus on
business outcomes at the outset of change
initiatives lies at the root of many instances
of ‘failure’.
A significant impact
There is much statistical evidence of ‘project’
(chiefly IT) failure. Much less in evidence are
instances of outcome failure i.e. claimed changes
in business performance not being achieved (even
when technology is delivered on time and in
accordance with expectation). Without requisite
focus on business outcomes from inception
change initiatives will always run the risk of not
delivering against claims made in business cases.
Once underway, change creates its own internal
momentum; conventional planning and delivery
tools (necessary but not sufficient) are embedded;
management time is absorbed in tracking task
completion and progress against plans. The result
is preoccupation with delivery of outputs (again
necessary) and little or no assessment of whether
©Crown Copyright - MOD
successful work package completion is enabling
or delivering change in the performance of
components of the Target Operating Model.
As a consequence:
IT enabled change is often slow or incomplete
Cost of change exceeds estimates and budgets
- cutbacks ensue, organisational and personal
stress increases, anticipation arising from new
ways of working is dulled, service is disrupted
and users suffer.
Outcome led from the outset clarity and pace
Fujitsu’s approach to business change requires, as
a start point, an unambiguous view of the business
outcomes expected from change. This clarity is the
catalyst for a chain of events critical to generating
the sponsorship and pace essential for
project success.
INSIGHTS & OPINIONS
By understanding the outcomes
delivered through effective business
change organisations will ensure:
Leadership commitment to
the change is created
and maintained
Through life solutions
sponsorship - key
stakeholders remain
engaged in spite of
inevitable demands
on time
Organisations are ready to
adopt changed ways of working
Realisation of business benefits can
be confirmed.
Why Fujitsu’s approach is different
Our Business Change consultants engage with
our Customers from the perspective of outcome
based thinking. We do not leap directly into
discussion of tools and techniques for effecting
Business Change. Our opening questions will
create a conversation aimed at determining
whether an organisation is clear about the
business outcomes it is seeking and what is
likely to prevent those outcomes being
achieved. Only when we understand the context
and characteristics of an organisation can we
select the right blend of Business Change tools
to build commitment and create the momentum
necessary to deliver early wins. Our focus on
outcome led change ensures that key stakeholders
are engaged with results in mind in addition to a
view on what needs to be done.
We will work with a range of stakeholders
and enable change to be visualised as a set of
interlinked outcomes. These outcomes will
reflect how a combination of technology and
business change initiatives combine to deliver
business results. The output - a roadmap - is the
cornerstone of our outcome led approach to
business change and provides the foundation for
change programme and benefits plans.
Fujitsu’s heritage
We have extensive experience of creating
and delivering outcome led business change
programmes in both public and private sectors.
Our methodological approach - Macroscope™ is an integrated and customisable Business Change
Framework of processes and best practice. It acts
as a repository for tools and techniques which
enable us to select and deploy business change
components relating to people, organisation,
process and business strategy to fit organisational
context. Our outcome based approach to business
change is codified in Macrosope’s ResultStation
domain and is intended to enable organisations to
answer the key question - ‘Are the things we are
doing delivering real business outcomes to
the organisation?’.
”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact us on: +44 (0) 870 242 7998
Email: [email protected]
Web: uk.fujitsu.com
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