Controlling a stage
This page refers to project management in the following steps: understand, develop and design, prototype and test, review for implementation, define and implement, and embed.
Project management is key as you move through the steps of change. It helps coordinate team activities, manage resources, and track progress against the plan.
The project plan may change as you deliver the project. This is due to the uncertain nature of change. Make sure everyone understands any changes to the original plan. This helps keep the project on track, on budget, and within scope.
In addition, ensure:
- the project team completes the outputs. The outputs meet the agreed quality standards and are signed off according to the governance procedures
- your team records new actions on the action log, follows up on them, completes them, and closes them as required
Project team responsibilities
The project team will:
- identify and logs new risks in the risk register
- review both new and existing risks
- identify risk owners, controls, and ways to reduce these risks
- identify and record new issues in the issue register
- review new and existing issues
- identify issue owners
- take corrective actions to resolve issues
Key activities
The project team will collate and coordinate:
- key lessons and insights in the learning log. Review this on a routine basis to guide the next steps and project delivery
- collects data according to the measurement plan. This helps them see if the change is having the intended impact
- regular progress reports and shares them with project governance groups. In particular, these reports highlight any necessary changes to address problems. They also explain the implications of any changes to the project and outline adjustments to the project plan
Managing a stage boundary
Before moving to the next step of change, pause and reflect. Make sure the change process is going as planned. Depending on the size, scale, and complexity of the change project, you may wish to:
- review and update the business case for the project. This is in the project initiation document. Check if the reasons for the change and the expected outcomes are still valid
- review and update the measurement approach and plan. Check if the change is having the intended impact
- create a detailed project plan for the next step of change. Update the overall project plan. Use insights from earlier steps and include any changes to the plan
- get formal approval to move to the next step if needed from your change project governance groups
Further considerations are needed as you reach the end of the change cycle and look to close the project.