Overcome Change Resistance in Software Development Projects

For any project manager to overcome change resistance they must appreciate the role of people change management and not only this, they should implement it.

When planning and allocating time for the project and all the required resources the involvement of end users should not be neglected in the process also they should look on planning the training and communication well. High-level implementation plan always should be defined after the drafting of the system solutions and the to-be processes. This article will highlight method to overcome change resistance in software development projects.

Those managing the change have the obligation of using perfect implementation framework so that it can anticipate the possible challenges in the change implementation. Planning for unexpected issues which arise during the implementation phase, such as the system bugs or the resistance from the end users is very important (Lowe, 2005). 

Often there is also the issue of time, where the time of development is always higher time that which is predicted and also the cost of the implementation due to time is always larger than the estimated cost. This being the case it is important for any project to create a reliable cost plan and implementation plan by expecting all these miscellaneous to happen. This calls for realistic estimations by experienced personnel for the projects to be successful. These estimations must involve the aspects such as workshops and communications (Ramesh, 2006).  To realize the best of the change project there is a need for anchoring change in the company’s culture. The change process ought to involve the end users if in any case, the best practices have to be realized. There is a need to plan the change communication and arrange adequate training.  It is also important to clearly define the participation of the end user in the change management in software development projects. 

Participation of the end users

To ensure that the new software project solutions meet real business requirements, we have to engage end users in decision making as one of the major ways of involvement and end-user participation. Getting the end users to participate is very important because they know the contest that is needed by the solution and also their work. Their participation is important mostly in the definitions of the requirements for the changes in the new solution and reduces the expensive unneeded features of ICT. When we involve this user from the beginning the change application will be workable. We save some cost expenses when we involve the end user at the beginning of change implementation in this way we might save the time of involving them at a later time. We also acknowledge that if we have all the requirements clearly known at the beginning of the change process there could be less modification and at least the value is added initially since it is hard to add value in the end phases. It will also be of help to the project team when the users have already prioritized the identified requirements. The heads of the project need to understand what will be expected of them by the end user and what functionality will serve the business purpose. Finally, the importance of the participation of the end user is vital since it’s better to do the evaluation of how usable and functional the system is so that it will be simple to make the biggest changes from the draft. 

Change communication

Implementing change requires careful planning of communication, the most important aspect of communication is to explain the importance of the change and why that change is required. It should not sound like the new solution is being imposed on the stakeholders involved, rather some preparations will be required for the employees to feel involved and embrace the change. This calls for preparation of a proper communication plan, which includes when and what time the goals and some of the expected goals have to be implemented and communicated to the organization. 

Knowing what to communicate is the first thing we need to address. It is very important to clearly states and communicates with the stakeholders was is the reason for the change and the things that have triggered that change. The triggers of change have to be clearly explained throughout the organization. If we can communicate the cause of change as the potential crisis will increase the acceptance of the change. The communication should be utilized in such a way that it will make the stakeholders how the change will affect them and why they need to accept it rather than resisting it. They should also know that the change will roll out any way anyway and what is important is knowing its effects. We then visualize the future once we have communicated the importance of the change, the virtualization involves knowing the plans the company have for the future, the goals the conditions, and also clearly explain the response on time. It is also good to explain the importance the change will have. 

Author: Asma Talal Hamdan

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