Project Success Re-imagined – Part 5
ValuePoint works with the TOP methodology as part of our business value delivery management approach, including the groundbreaking TOP Value Equation: a structured and intuitive set of processes and tools that helps organizations identify, quantify and manage the business benefits and maximise business value that in turn drive successful project execution and delivery.
Recap & background
In the previous articles in this series, you’ve learned how to define your project’s business outcomes as discussed here.
And you’ve learned how to identify a comprehensive set of project benefits, and learned about driving benefits realisation.
The direction is clear. The value potential is visible.
So… what now?
This is where projects often hit a wall.
Without a clear understanding of what must actually change in the business, delivery teams often default to:
- Focusing on the tech
- Managing time and budget
- Losing sight of why the project was started in the first place
Let’s fix that.
Bringing Projects to Life: Why Change Activities Matter
Once your outcomes and benefits are in place, the next big step is identifying the change activities that make them possible. This is where strategy becomes execution.
Put simply:
Change activities are the work you do to enable the business to achieve its outcomes and unlock its benefits.
Change Activities Identification: The Process That Makes It Happen
Just like defining outcomes and identifying benefits, we use a fast and powerful structured workshop process to identify change activities using the TOP methodology. The following gives an overview description of how this works.
Step 1: Start with the Outcomes
Change activities don’t exist in a vacuum. For each business outcome we will ask:
- What has to change in the business for this outcome to be fully realized?
- What do people need to do differently?
- What capabilities must be introduced, improved, or removed?
Step 2: Identify and List Required Changes
Work through the outcomes in groups or one-on-one sessions with the stakeholders and staff closest to each area.
Look for:
- New skills or training needed?
- Processes to redesign?
- New roles or governance?
- System adoption or operational shifts?
- Cultural or behavioral change?
This is where the business tells you what they actually need to do differently—don’t guess. Ask.
Step 3: Define Activities to Enable the Change
Once you’ve pinpointed the required changes for a specific outcome, now develop the change activities that will deliver it.
This includes:
- Communication and engagement plans
- Training programs
- Operating model changes
- New policies, procedures or controls
- System/process redesign
- Alignment of KPIs and performance metrics
- Whatever else is needed at the most basic of detail levels
The Result?
A clear, prioritized set of change activities that are:
✅ Aligned to deliver specific business outcomes
✅ Developed and owned by the right business stakeholders and staff
✅ Positioned to drive real operational change and optimise project success
When all outcomes have been accounted for, the identified change activities are ready to be assembled into a Change Plan – the practical roadmap for making your outcomes and benefits real.
Why This Matters: The Payoff
🔹 Business Ownership
Stakeholders and staff don’t just get consulted—they own the change. That’s how we embed accountability and ensure that the business gets exactly what it needs.
🔹 Focus
By linking every change activity directly to an outcome, we cut through the noise. No activity without purpose. All the pseudo tasks usually done on projects just aren’t done – so time and money are saved.
🔹 Faster Time-to-Value – and to Market
You hit the ground running—less time guessing, more time doing what actually matters.
🔹 Measurable Impact
Because each activity has a clear line of sight to a business result, progress becomes easier to track—and celebrate.
Next Up
If you’re ready to go even deeper right now, let’s talk. 🚀