There's nothing like the excitement of a new company project. That blank
sheet of paper, the buzz of new opportunities and no end of things
to be decided and designed.
But in the midst of this, it's easy to forget the small (rather large actually) matter of WHY? WHY are you doing this? Your IC project must be structured around the specific difference you're looking to make. What is the improvement or change you are trying to fulfil?
If you don't set objectives, from the start, the best case scenario is that it
lands well but you can't prove whether it has made any difference. Worst case
scenario is that it lands badly and you can't prove whether it made any difference.
Senior people want to see things happen quickly and they might not want to have
conversation about the desired, or more importantly, required outcomes because
they are not sure themselves.
On the other hand, why spend precious budget and copious people power and hours
launching and running the programme or initiatives if stakeholders are not clear
on the objectives?
This, in turn, leads to other issues like:
1. How do you measure success?
2. How do you quantify any measurements?
3. How do you set KPIs (key performance indicators)?
In fact, measurement without objectives is nigh on impossible. Stakeholders may dismiss this aspect of a project as unimportant or surplus to requirements. They may consider getting the project out there and completed as taking precedence. Persuading them otherwise can be tricky.
However, it's worth having these difficult conversations early on and persevering so, come the end of initiative, everyone is clear on what worked, what didn't work and what can be improved next time round. Both from a project and communication perspective.