When Does a Project Become a Process?

You've come to the end of your project. You've found out what is going on in your business, you've developed some new processes and now you need to finish the project.

What do you do next?

Many projects, especially change projects, need to conclude by inserting their key outputs into the routines and habits of the business. The processes that are developed need to be triggered and executed as they were designed.

Attaching these project steps to your daily meetings, your timetables, or whatever else you use to regulate your daily activities is essential. Letting a project's brilliance lapse due to a lack of discipline is not a route I recommend.

A project needs to move past maintenance instructions and Standard Operating Procedures if you want it to become a habit that the business adopts.

If your improvement projects aren't creating new ways of working then make sure your projects turn into routines.

Giles Johnston
Author of 'Business Process Re-Engineering', a practical plan to improve business performance.

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