I was very excited to attend my niece's solo music performance as part of her Music program graduation requirements. There were postures of the "Soul Quest" posted in many places outside the auditorium announcing her solo performance with QR codes for registering for the event. As I sat in the theater in the front row, I reviewed the program schedule before the program began! Now, I didn't relate to the list of songs selected, the genre of emotions it invoked, and the time period of the composers or the story behind those compositions. But, I very much related to the multitude of things that happened as the program started with my niece performing on flute and singing in Western and Eastern styles.
A music performance such as this program needs to be viewed from multiple angles. There must have been several discussions between the student and the teachers in selecting the songs to ensure that the songs were challenging bringing the maximum out of the student. There must have been multiple rehearsals from the student personally and specific staged performances before the teachers to confirm readiness. Through out these processes are instances of change management initiatives constantly adapting themselves. Not a single song was instantly selected, iterative practice avoided, and approval granted. This is exactly how initiatives are identified, evaluated, executed, and approved at various stages for both proactive and reactive change.
Did this program only conclude with the song selection and practice? There were creative postures designed, a title carefully selected, and the entire design and development process executed in parallel. Production of such colorful displays were further compounded by complexities around where these postures can be displayed around the campus. Furthermore, there were digital media approaches to QR code generation, website for program announcements, and scheduling the campus theater for the per graduation requirements. Everyone of this needs had to go through many rounds of changes. I only saw the final outcome, just like a project manager stages the final outcome or the product owner approvers the product increment! There were many other team members that staged this performance!
Then, the post-production processes similar to the post-deployment considerations or the operational excellence initiatives. Were they left out in this music program? No! I saw people who were streaming the performance for online audience, people collecting the photographs people took, and others, such as the teachers confirming the satisfaction and providing feedback. There were also website updates about the program's success.
So, the concepts of risk based thinking towards delivering a quality performance satisfying stakeholders with the agreed upon scope within the confirmed schedule and cost considerations involving appropriate timely management of resources and procuring work to other subject matter experts were all evident! Little do people relate to the concepts of integrated change management in a delivering projects such as this music performance!
This is the reason why I keep mentioning project management principles are integral to everyone pursuing any degree so that they can excel in what they prepare themselves for! What do you think?
