Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti
Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti
Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti
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Results<br />
has been vital to show that benefits are already being realized from this [early<br />
implementation]; it has contributed to the positive atmosphere surrounding this<br />
program.”<br />
Table 17 indicates how boundary <strong>activities</strong> also contributed to reaching a<br />
clear <strong>and</strong> shared vision, a common sense of direction <strong>and</strong> an agreement on<br />
the program goals. Firstly, positioning <strong>and</strong> negotiating <strong>activities</strong> were<br />
per<strong>for</strong>med to build a shared underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the program vision <strong>and</strong> goals.<br />
All three cases indicated active discussions between the key program actors<br />
<strong>and</strong> those representing the parent organization to set the program goals<br />
<strong>and</strong> scope. Such positioning <strong>and</strong> negotiating <strong>activities</strong> were especially<br />
frequent in Center, where the key program actors held several meetings<br />
with top managers to define program goals:<br />
Q58 (Center, expert involved in program initiation): “[Goal setting] was a<br />
process where we first decided upon the sub-programs … <strong>and</strong> after that we<br />
discussed the goals, <strong>and</strong> what should be achieved with the program. … Our top<br />
managers <strong>and</strong> unit managers have been involved in these discussions.”<br />
The analysis shows how in<strong>for</strong>mation seeking <strong>activities</strong> were also utilized to<br />
build a shared intent <strong>for</strong> the programs <strong>and</strong> to define program goals. During<br />
program initiation, key program actors conducted interviews <strong>and</strong> had<br />
in<strong>for</strong>mal discussions with representatives of the parent organization with<br />
an aim to come up with a commonly agreed goal statement <strong>for</strong> the program.<br />
The following quote shows how a sub-program manager in Chain<br />
accentuated the importance of involving representatives of the parent<br />
organization in the early discussions:<br />
Q59 (Chain, sub-program manager): “The initiation stage <strong>and</strong> the related<br />
requirements specification are very important; it pays off to put ef<strong>for</strong>t to that<br />
phase <strong>and</strong> to have those discussions. That is how you seek the common goal <strong>and</strong><br />
try to identify issues that should be worked out after the new solution is<br />
implemented.”<br />
Table 17 further shows how many different types of boundary <strong>activities</strong><br />
seemed to have a role in creating a purposeful plan <strong>for</strong> the change content,<br />
process <strong>and</strong> program structure. Firstly, representing positioning <strong>and</strong><br />
negotiating <strong>activities</strong>, the analysis indicates how negotiations with the line<br />
management contributed to developing the program plans. The following<br />
example from Chain illustrates this collaboration:<br />
Q60 (Chain, development area director <strong>and</strong> original chairman of the steering<br />
group): “[During the planning phase] we organized a workshop or two. We<br />
prepared <strong>for</strong> these workshops with a small project where a couple of experts<br />
gathered background in<strong>for</strong>mation. This data gathering was, to a large extent,<br />
led by [a unit in the line organization] … but representatives <strong>and</strong> experts of<br />
other business units also participated in these workshops. … There we identified<br />
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