Time to Rethink?
Have you ever been on a project and had a feeling in your gut that you’re going about it the wrong way?
Maybe you’re worried that the technology will never actually work, or that getting a simple design sign-off is harder than it needs to be or the governance model isn’t working. Whatever the shape, there is a feeling that something is not right.
At some point you need to ask: do we need to redesign the approach?
Uncertainty vs. Busted Approach
Changing the approach is never an easy thing to do, so you want to be sure that the concerns are real.
Uncertainty is normal. Complex projects break new ground and will always have unknowns. Things emerge as you move forward and you need space to think about the implications, but that doesn’t mean that at the first sign of worry you throw everything out and start again.
Confusing normal ambiguity with a fundamentally flawed approach is an expensive mistake that will kill momentum and erode confidence.
But also defending a defective strategy just because the current discomfort feels manageable could be storing up a massive crisis for later.
So, how do you tell the difference?
How do you know?
Uncertainty tends to be transitory, and getting more information helps allay the fear. However, the wrong overall design often stands on a deeper mistake, such as believing you have bought an off-the-shelf product, but it has turned into an R&D project.
Indicators that a project requires a rethink can vary significantly, but they all have you not trusting what is coming out of the project. Things like:
Design approvals struggle to get signed off (or get permanently stalled).
A lot of test scenarios get added as results come back from the testing process.
Diverging motivations become more obvious as the project progresses
Generally, risks are uncertainties that should reduce as you get closer to a deadline. If you see risks increasing, it is a sign there is something missing. If governance forums run perfectly on paper, yet surprises and schedule slippage keep happening, then it is worth asking bigger questions about the overall framing.
What a rethink actually takes
Choosing to redesign the approach is not something you do lightly. It requires bringing together the people who can see different parts of the system and a willingness to surface the things that everyone suspects but might not say out loud.
The starting point for any reset is the overall intent. What is this project actually trying to achieve? Not what was written in the original scope document, but the thing that makes the investment worthwhile.
Build in any lessons. What have we learnt from the project so far? What would you keep doing, stop doing, consider doing? How will the redesign create a better result?
Work on engagement. Any reset will involve resistance from those invested in the current approach. There will also be debate about what the new direction should be. So when it comes to changing approach, you need to be confident you are addressing the fundamental issues.
The choice to redesign the approach is not something you do lightly. If you are changing the approach, make sure you are moving towards a better way of operating and not just running away from concerns about the present.
Making the move
Redesigning the approach can range from simply adjusting the frameworks used in workshops, to a fundamental shift in stakeholder engagement methods, all the way through to choosing a different technology architecture.
The willingness to rethink the approach (and doing it before the project runs out of runway) is one of the most valuable things a leader can bring to a complex project.
The world changes, and we learn as we go. The real art is deciding when the pain of the redirection is worth the potential for improvement.
