Transformation Programs Are Here to Stay: Are You Ready?

Kent is a program manager and consultant with over 20 years of experience. He is a member of the PMI Calumet Chapter.

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Addressing seven common risks can help companies better prepare for transformational programs, save time and money, and lay the groundwork for a positive return on investment.

Change is constant
Successful competition in today's constantly shifting markets will compel companies to transform their business more frequently than ever, but certainly at least once. Changing people, process and technology is expensive, and likely to fail to achieve objectives. McKinsey shared in 2013 that 70% of transformation programs fail. With such a high rate of program failure, how can companies prepare themselves to realize a return on that expense? There are commonly recognized risks that can be effectively addressed with seven transformation capabilities.

Through my 20 years of helping companies compete and change, I have seen a pattern of lack of readiness in any of seven core capabilities—capabilities that are critical for transformation program success. These can be considered as risks to the program that, if not addressed, can undermine the value of the investment made and impact careers. These should not be ignored.

1. Transformation Quality Management

• Key Risk: Aspects of the program execution and impacted business areas may not meet quality expectations and require rework, adding unplanned time …

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