Do Your Service & Project Management Teams Understand the “Why”?

Have you ever been in a meeting where someone asks, “Why are we doing this?” and the answer they get is, “Because that’s the process”? It’s so frustrating and probably means that the underlying purpose isn’t well understood—or maybe doesn’t even exist at all.

In IT Governance understanding the “why” behind what we do is critical. Not only does it drive adoption and engagement, but it also ensures that every task and process adds value. It's referenced in ITIL, Agile, Prince2, PMP, and Lean principles, so it's clearly not something that should be ignored.

I've witnessed individuals (and teams) put all of their efforts into figuring out a way to consistently bypass a process rather than following it when there's no value perceived in it. I'm sure even you can think of times when you've tried to avoid following a process because you've perceived too much bureaucracy or because you simply don't see the point.

Why "Why" Matters

The "Why" Adds Value

The Lean Enterprise Institute emphasizes the need for removing waste; any task or process that doesn't add value to the customer outcome or the business needs to be eliminated. Their reference article What is Lean Thinking? highlights that organizations often perform tasks out of habit, simply because they’ve always been done that way. Without any reference to value these activities waste time and resources and don't contribute to organizational goals.

Understanding The "Why" Drives Adoption

I'm a huge fan of Organizational Change Management tech niques including Kotter's * Steps and Prosci ADKAR. Prosci's Best Practices in Change Management provides clear evidence that adoption rates increase by up to 70% when employees understand the purpose behind any change. But when teams perceive unnecessary bureaucracy, resistance grows. Understanding the "why" fosters engagement and commitment.

Communicating The "Why" Enhances Customer Outcomes

ITIL has been referencing Kotter's "8 Steps" since v2 and has included the "Why" in continual improvement for decades. The ITIL guiding principles (found in v3 & v4), particularly “Focus on Value” and “Optimize and Automate”, stress the importance of aligning IT services with customer needs. Processes without clear value to the customer, or to those tasked with undertaking them, will not be followed and any potential value will be lost.

Key Questions to Ask About Your Processes

Try asking these questions of your processes, and each step or task within each process. Let's get granular:

1. What is the process meant to achieve?

If the answer isn’t clear, you need to revisit your "Why". ITIL's Change Enablement is a process I see most customers (and staff) trying to look for ways to avoid. The process is often misused and I see Emergency Changes raised simply to bypass the CAB or incentives offered to implement quickly. This can be alleviated and compliance assured if you simply define and communicate a valuable "Why".

2. Can process outcomes be demonstrated and measured?

You'll never be able to justify your "Why" and demonstrate the value in every process step if you can't show that the process works.

3. Do team members understand the purpose?

The PMI makes it very clear in their Pulse of the Profession paper that organizations with clear communication around goals are 30% more likely to succeed. It's a proven fact; demonstrating a "Why" improves both the efficiency and the effectiveness of any process.

Being Successful Means Having Strategies for Your "Why"

Keep Your Focus on Value

ITIL and Lean principles both agree on the importance of aligning processes with customer outcomes. Every governance process should map to a tangible benefit—whether you're trying to reduce downtime, improving customer satisfaction, or improving the efficiency of service delivery.

Simplify with Lean

Lean tells us to identify and eliminate waste. This means that processes should be reviewed on a regular basis analysing each step in a process

• Is this step necessary?
• Can it be automated?
• Does it support customer goals?

Communicate Regularly and With Purpose

Prosci’s ADKAR approach to change management research highlights the need for continuous communication to ensure engagement and build adoption. The purpose of each process should be explained in the right language (the language of the audience), using an appropriate delivery method, highlight the benefit of the process and connecting it to the organization’s strategic objectives.

Engage Your Teams

Involve your staff in process reviews to identify bottlenecks and unnecessary steps. Don't present them with a completed process, because they will find inefficiencies. Get the whole team involved in process definition. Even the Harvard Business Review (What Makes a Great Team) will tell you that team input is critical for sustainable improvements.

Measure What Matters

Focus on metrics that customers want to see. Those that reflect customer value and outcomes, not just internal performance. Your SLT's within your SLA's should represent customer value. This goes back to how your SLAs are negotiated and agreed. An SLA should never be presented to a customer, but negotiated with the customer throughout process and service design so that the service performs to the requirements of the customer and the metrics report on service value. Metrics need to move beyond technical compliance to Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) that capture customer satisfaction.

Review and Improve Regularly

All changes to any process should be to improve; i.e. improving the alignment of the process to the strategies and goal of the organization. PMI, Agile fundamentals, and the ITIL framework all recommend a regular (consistent) approach to improvements using small, iterative changes. All practices (not just the processes) should be reviewed for relevance, efficiency, and effectiveness and recommendations for improvements should be evaluated and implemented on a regular basis.

All teams and individuals (customers and staff) should be empowered to ask questions and recommend areas for improvement. The PMI’s Organizational Agility Report shows that organizations embracing continuous improvement are 20% more likely to meet organizational objectives.

Consequences of Neglecting The "Why"

McKinsey & Company's research in their whitepaper The People Power of Transformations claimed that poorly executed transformations see adoption rates as low as 30%, while clear communication and purpose improve success rates significantly. They didn't give a figure for the "significantly" statement unfortunately, but it's just common sense, right?

When I was a child one of my mum's favourite sayings was "because I said so". It was the answer she used all the time to my question of "why?" whenever she wanted me to do something. It irritated me so much and I'd look for every possible way to avoid doing that task. Now I don't know whether I would react that was because I didn't like what she was asking me to do (a possibility) or whether it was just a reaction to that phrase. No matter the reason, the simple lack of a "Why" made me look for alternatives. I still feel the same, and if you were to admit it, so do you.

Organizations that fail to address the "Why" face:

• Low Adoption Rates as employees disengage from tasks they view as meaningless.
• Inefficiency when time and resources are wasted on activities that don’t add value.
• Customer Dissatisfaction when the RAG charts look great, but customer perceptions don't reflect the what they're seeing on the charts.

Final Thoughts

Every governance process and task has a "Why". the question is whether that "Why" is being communicated effectively. Whether drawn from ITIL, Agile, or Lean principles, processes must align with organizational goals and deliver measurable value from the customer perspective.

Without a clear why, teams become disengaged, inefficiency creeps in, customer outcomes suffer, and customer satisfaction dwindles. Without all stakeholders understanding and believing in the "Why", customers will leave.

But when everyone understands the purpose of a process, they not only adopt the process; they take accountability. Understanding and buying into the "Why" is where real transformation begins for any organization.

Jo Peacock is a visionary leader in IT governance and organizational change, empowering teams through strategic innovation and best-practice guidance.

Jo Peacock

919 308 0634

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