Two advanced applications the Prosci PCT Tool

Evaluating project progress with the Prosci PCT Tool

The Prosci PCT Tool provides a series of assessments to evaluate the strength of Leadership/Sponsorship, Project Management and Change Management. When the assessment is taken at a point in time, you get a score for each of the three elements that describes how well-positioned the project is.

The "Using the Prosci PCT Tool to improve project performance tutorial" showed three different ways to use this analysis at one point in time on your project. However, the PCT assessment can also be used as a powerful measurement tool over the life of a project to evaluate progress and the impact of different project interventions. To do this analysis, think about creating a table with key points in time across the horizontal axis and the three PCT components on the vertical.

Example Prosci PCT Tool table over time:

This use of the Prosci PCT Tool provides several benefits to project managers, change management and project sponsors. First, it provides a longitudinal view of the the project positioning. It also provides a way to evaluate the interventions at each timeframe. For instance, suppose the PCT scores at Gate 1 are low in project management and change management. The team decides on four action items to improve these scores and the positioning of the project. Now, look at the scores at Gate 2 - did these factors increase?

Diagnosing organizational gaps or deficiencies with the Prosci PCT Tool

A second advanced use of the Prosci PCT Tool involves looking at PCT scores across a number of projects in the organization.  Looking at the PCT scores of a number of projects allows you to identify gaps or deficiencies that may exist throughout the organization. The table below shows an example of what this analysis might look like and what types of conclusions can be drawn from stacking PCT scores for a number of projects.

The example above shows the most common scenario organizations find themselves in - fairly solid scores in Leadership, mediocre scores in Project Management and low scores in Change Management. This is a signal that the organization has a gap in its competency to manage change. In this example, using a PCT analysis of multiple projects provides direction on gaps and deficiencies across the organization as a whole.

Summary

In addition to improving project performance (as described in Module 1 of this tutorial series), the Prosci PCT Tool can also be used in advanced applications to gain more benefits for your projects. This tutorial outlined two advanced uses of the tool - evaluating progress on a particular project over time and diagnosing organizational gaps or deficiencies. By tracking the progress of the three elements of the Prosci PCT Tool over the life of the project, managers and sponsors can make changes and improvements early on to position the project to succeed. Looking at the PCT scores of several projects throughout the organization enables you to gain a wider look at where gaps and deficiencies exist that may threaten the success of projects across the organization.

* Depending on your role and scope in the organization, this analysis may be something that you want to work with a senior leader.

• Change management certification ($2100) - 3-day program where you bring a project you are working on and apply all of the assessments and tools as you learn them - taught by former Fortune 500 executives at locations across the U.S.
• 2007 Best Practices in Change Management benchmarking report ($249) - journal-style report with lessons learned and best practices from 426 participants, presented in an easy-to-use format - reads as a checklist of what to do and what not to do
• Change Management Toolkit ($349) - hardcopy 3-ring binder presenting Prosci's change management methodology, includes templates, checklists and assessments for managing the people side of change (includes CD-ROM)
• Change Management Guide for Managers and Supervisors ($189) - tools to help supervisors engage and coach their direct reports through change (includes 4 copies of the Employee's Survival Guide)
• Change Management Pilot ($449) - online tool including Prosci's change management methodology, eLearning modules and downloadable templates, assessments, presentations and checklists
• Change Management Pilot Professional ($559) - the content of the Change Management Pilot plus additional benchmarking data and an online version of the Change Management Guide for Managers and Supervisors
• Change Management: the people side of change ($18.95) - a primer for anyone involved in organizational change that addresses why manage change, individual change management and organizational change management
• Employee's Survival Guide to Change ($14.95) - a handbook to help employees survive and thrive during change, answers frequently asked questions and empowers employees to take charge of change