What is the Post Implementation Review (PIR) In Change Management?

There is always something that goes wrong in IT and if someone carries out a change and it goes wrong you're going to want to know about it, especially if a major service is impacted to the client.

A Post-Implementation Review (PIR) is a structured and systematic process that occurs after a change initiative or project has been completed and implemented in an organization. The main goal of a PIR is to evaluate the success of the change and assess whether the desired outcomes and objectives have been achieved. It is a critical step in the change management process and helps organizations learn from their experiences to improve future change initiatives.

Here are the key elements and objectives of a Post Implementation Review in Change Management:

1. Assessing Results: The PIR evaluates the actual outcomes and results of the change compared to the initial goals and objectives. It examines whether the expected benefits and improvements have been realized.
2. Identifying Successes and Failures: It identifies what went well during the change process and what didn't. This includes recognizing successful strategies, as well as pinpointing areas where the change fell short or encountered resistance.
3. Learning and Improvement: The PIR aims to extract lessons learned from the change initiative. It helps the organization understand what worked and what didn't, enabling them to make improvements in future change efforts.
4. Documenting Best Practices: Successful approaches and practices are documented during the PIR to serve as a reference for future change projects. This can include successful communication strategies, project management techniques, and stakeholder engagement methods.
5. Gathering Feedback: Feedback from employees, stakeholders, and other relevant parties is often collected during the PIR. This feedback can provide valuable insights into the impact of the change on different groups within the organization.
6. Identifying Barriers and Challenges: The PIR helps in identifying any ongoing barriers or challenges that need to be addressed even after the change has been implemented. This may involve addressing lingering resistance or addressing unforeseen issues.
7. Realigning Strategies: If the PIR reveals that the change did not meet its objectives, organizations can use the findings to adjust and realign their strategies for future change initiatives.
8. Closure: A successful PIR provides a sense of closure to the change project. It allows stakeholders to understand the final results and outcomes, and it formally concludes the change initiative.
9. Reporting and Communication: The results of the PIR are typically documented in a report and communicated to key stakeholders and leadership within the organization.
10. Continuous Improvement: One of the overarching goals of a PIR is to promote a culture of continuous improvement within the organization. By learning from past experiences, organizations can become more adept at managing change effectively.

In essence, a Post-Implementation Review is a critical component of Change Management, aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a change initiative, deriving insights from the experience, and enhancing future change efforts based on the lessons learned from the review.

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Let's take an example where a company is introducing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The implementation of such a system is a major change in the organization and it would be crucial to conduct a Post Implementation Review (PIR) in this context.

Scenario: ERP System Implementation

1. Pre-Implementation Phase:

• Objective: The company aims to streamline its operations, improve efficiency, and enhance data management by implementing a new ERP system.
• Planning: The company conducts extensive planning, selects a vendor, allocates resources, and defines project goals and key performance indicators (KPIs).

2. Implementation Phase:

• Execution: The ERP system is installed, configured, and integrated with existing systems. Employees are trained to use the new system.
• Monitoring: The project team closely monitors the implementation process, ensuring it stays on schedule and within budget.

3. Post-Implementation Phase:

• Post-Implementationlearned Review (PIR): After the ERP system has been in use for a few months, the organization conducts a PIR to assess the success of the implementation.

Key Elements of the PIR:

Assessing Results:

• The PIR evaluates whether the ERP system achieved its intended goals, such as increased operational efficiency and improved data accuracy.

Identifying Successes and Failures:

• It identifies that the ERP system successfully streamlined inventory management but encountered resistance in the finance department due to changes in reporting procedures.

Learning and Improvement:

• The organization discovered that providing comprehensive end-user training was critical to the success of the ERP implementation, and plans to prioritize this in future projects.

Gathering Feedback:

• Based on employee feedback, the system has improved efficiency, but some users still face challenges with specific modules. Ongoing training and support efforts are informed by this feedback.

Realigning Strategies:

• The project management approach was adjusted to ensure better adherence to timelines following delays in certain project milestones highlighted by the PIR.

Continuous Improvement:

• The insights gained from the PIR are used to improve subsequent IT initiatives and change management efforts.

The PIR (Post Implementation Review) is a useful tool for organizations to evaluate the impact of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system implementation. It enables them to identify areas of success and improvement, refine their approach to future IT projects, and ensure that the implementation is not just a one-time event but a continuous process of improvement. The PIR helps to drive ongoing improvement and successful change management practices, resulting in better outcomes for the organisation.