Implementing Early Wins

This step delivers recognized improvements early and often and markets the project team’s successes. It begins delivering the returns anticipated in the business case and contributes toward staff change and executive acceptance.

Techniques

During the implementation of the early wins, four techniques will be most beneficial:

• Measurement of benefits and costs

• Project management

• Communication

• Participation

Lessons Learned

Early wins shouldn’t take more than three months to implement and hopefully even less time. Plan the implementation of each early win and measure the “before” performance. After it’s implemented, measure the “after” performance.

Implementing early wins can take place alternatively as part of the Understand phase or the Renew phase, if it’s appropriate to delay early wins. If done now, it will be important to note the beneficial impact of early wins.

Give as much credit as possible to the staff on the front lines for their contributions and ideas. Apply these ideas toward change management objectives, letting everyone know that the ideas came from your business staff. By doing this, the staff won’t let the changes fail and will be with you for what’s yet to come.

Provide some project management guidance and monitoring of the business unit and other professional staff charged with implementing these wins, and make sure they do complete the changes.

Market the success as much as possible to gain support for the more long-term solutions and to begin the process of change.