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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Theoretical background<br />
As the early program stage involves significant levels of uncertainty <strong>and</strong><br />
ambiguity (Thiry, 2004a, 2004b), initiation <strong>and</strong> planning <strong>activities</strong> of a<br />
program differ from smaller <strong>and</strong> more clearly defined projects. Converting<br />
from traditional project management, program management models<br />
describe how specific objectives may not be known when programs are<br />
established, but they may start with abstract visions <strong>and</strong> goals, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
more specific objectives are elaborated <strong>and</strong> adjusted along the journey as<br />
the program evolves in line with the business needs <strong>and</strong> environmental<br />
conditions (Pellegrinelli, 1997; Thiry, 2004b). Initial definitions provide a<br />
general path <strong>for</strong> the program, but iteration <strong>and</strong> changes are to be expected<br />
during the later stages (Lehner, 2009).<br />
Program management literature describes the program plan as the main<br />
output of the early program stage. In general, program <strong>and</strong> project plans<br />
are attempts to define the intended future (Atkinson et al., 2006), <strong>and</strong> they<br />
influence tradeoffs <strong>and</strong> priorities (Graham, 2000). Plans also have other<br />
purposes: they reduce uncertainty by their very existence <strong>and</strong> they<br />
legitimize action (Lundin & Söderholm, 1995). Especially in change<br />
programs it is often not the plan itself that is important, but rather the<br />
planning activity <strong>and</strong> the related learning (Yeo, 1995). Correspondingly,<br />
Thiry (2002, 2004a) stresses the importance of feedback <strong>and</strong> learning <strong>and</strong><br />
argues that program initiation is more a question of sensemaking, intuition,<br />
<strong>and</strong> creativity than planning <strong>and</strong> control. Lehner (2009) similarly describes<br />
how planning in dynamic <strong>and</strong> uncertain situations involves large amounts<br />
of in<strong>for</strong>mation gathering, cooperation <strong>and</strong> integration of people with<br />
different backgrounds, <strong>and</strong> is mainly a process of interpretation. Craw<strong>for</strong>d<br />
<strong>and</strong> Pollack (2004) suggest that since change initiatives (projects <strong>and</strong><br />
programs) tend to involve ill-defined goals <strong>and</strong> methods, they require soft<br />
systems thinking. Such soft methods acknowledge goal ambiguity by<br />
focusing on problem definition, exploration <strong>and</strong> learning <strong>and</strong> place<br />
emphasis on negotiation, debate <strong>and</strong> accommodation.<br />
Although the special nature <strong>and</strong> challenges related to early program<br />
stages are largely reported, there is very limited research evidence of the<br />
actual practices in establishing <strong>and</strong> planning change programs. Conceptual<br />
literature concerning the early program <strong>and</strong> project stages has listed early<br />
<strong>activities</strong> such as business case development, selection of management<br />
<strong>activities</strong>, design of the program organization, program plan creation, <strong>and</strong><br />
identification <strong>and</strong> allocation of resources (e.g. Murray-Webster & Thiry,<br />
2000). Many of these <strong>activities</strong> involve cooperation with people external to<br />
the program team. The influence of the various stakeholder groups is<br />
emphasized during the early stage, as they may have different <strong>and</strong> even<br />
conflicting interests <strong>and</strong> ambitions towards the program (Kolltveit &<br />
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