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In this case, challenging expectations yielded real savings. But a project can easily fall under the weight of stakeholder reservations as well. That's why smart CIOs prepare for large-scale change and carve projects into deliverable chunks. Midmarket technologists seem to understand this approach, as indicated by the average duration of big-change projects (see Figure 1).
Respondents also say change can be initiated by many sources (see "How Change Happens"). Sometimes change is induced by external factors, and sometimes it is self-generated. Change can also stem from "big ideas," or it can come from more practical origins, such as a need for process improvement.
For the majority of respondents, big-change initiatives emanate more often from practical needs (see Figure 2). As organizations evolve operationally, however, we expect this to change, with more organizational change emanating from planning and brainstorming rather than incremental improvement or firefighting.
In some cases, the natural lifecycle of technology forces change. Many quick-service restaurant chains, for example, have aging point-of-sale systems that need to be replaced. Deploying a new POS, in turn, begets other changes, such as ensuring connectivity for all stores, training staff in the new system, and deploying software to manage material and product inventory.
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