Tuesday, 10 May 2011 11:33

Don’t Bother Building Consensus

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May10_KupeWouldn’t it be great if all stakeholders always agreed on the specifics of a requirement or scope of a project?  It would be easy, but thankfully it’s not reality.  Best decisions are not made when everyone agrees and there is a lack of debate and discussion about differing opinions.  Business analysts need to work with stakeholders to allow them to discuss, debate, and then come to a decision on how to move forward.

This process is usually referred to as building consensus.  There is a problem with building consensus.  First of which is it may never happen.  I often hear people referring to consensus as trying to get everyone to agree on a decision.  A common definition of consensus is “An opinion or position reached by a group as a whole”. Here are negative scenarios that can result with consensus building as defined:

  1. A decision never gets made or is delayed – By trying to get everyone to agree, stubbornness can kick in and individuals can stall or stop decisions from being made.
  2. A weaker solution can be determined – By trying to include something for everyone the best solution can be watered down.

In my opinion you don’t want consensus - you want buy-in from the group.  The definition of buy-in is “agreement to support a decision”. With consensus you are trying to get everyone in agreement on the decision.  With buy-in you are trying to get people to back the decision and do what is necessary to move forward.  You don’t need to get everyone to agree that the decision is the best.  You need everyone to support the decision.  There is a subtle difference, but a there is a difference.

How do you get buy-in?  Let them share their ideas.  If people have had the chance to speak their mind they are more likely to buy-in to a decision even if they are not totally convinced it is the best solution.  This is the same as trying to build consensus, but the tone changes from “do you agree with the decision” to” can you support the decision.”  Leaders know that any movement is progress.  Decisions need to be made, executed, and evaluated.  Getting buy-in allows you to move through this process faster.

Another reason I promote buy-in over consensus is buy-in comes into play at times you think consensus is not needed.  Based on the shared belief of consensus, consensus requires multiple people agreeing on a decision.  Buy-in kicks in when one person makes a decision.

Often there is one ultimate decision maker.  As a BA you can’t just go to that stakeholder to get the scope of the project and all the requirements and move on.  There are others that are impacted and can easily sabotage or slow down the process if they don’t buy-in.  Not getting buy-in is a cause for scope creep. Think about a director making a decision about project scope in a vacuum and not including his management team in the decision process.  There is a great chance that one or many managers will not agree with that decision and try to slip in their scope items throughout the project.  As the business analysts you need to recognize when people are not bought-in to a decision.  You may need to step back and gain buy-in before moving forward in the project.

Can you support this?

Don't forget to leave your comments below. 

 Jonathan "Kupe" Kupersmith is Vice President of Brand Development, B2T Training and has over 12 years of business analysis experience. He has served as the lead Business Analyst and Project Manager on projects in various industries. He serves as a mentor for business analysis professionals and is a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) through the IIBA and is BA Certified through B2T Training. Kupe is a connector and has a goal in life to meet everyone! Contact Kupe at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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0 # Matthew 2011-05-11 04:38
You have a valid point, but this is a dangerous strategy when dealing with sensitive issues that effect people lives. Project Success doesn't necessarily mean a win for the people affected. There is a time when concensus is the proper way to proceed, and there are times when buy-in is a reasonable alternative. A CBAP should know how to determine which strategy should be applied.
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0 # Dele Sikuade 2011-05-11 05:20
I could not disagree more. Building consensus is a skill and reading this I am reminded of the phrase 'just because it didn't work doesn't mean it wasn't the right thing to do'. Buy in as you define it is dangerous because it encourages passive blocking, where people will derail a project not by open opposition but by simply choosing not to actively participate. You get buy in from people who will later say 'don't ask me, I just work here' while watching the project go down the pan.
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0 # Manji Sekhon 2011-05-11 05:50
I agree with Matthew. It is a judgement call as there is a very fine line here. In my experience, the personalities of the team members also play a big role in how they perceive the scope. Therefore, the experience of the BA along with communication and negotiating skills helps managing expectations and deciding on consensus or buy-in. Good article to get people thinking about this topic!
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0 # Doug Walker 2011-05-11 05:57
I can not agree more with the author about buy in. At the end of the day it is the project managers job to bring the project to a succesful conclusion as close to the scope as is possible within the confines of the project constraints. The problem comes with those who do not or refuse to understand what buy in means. Your definition is the best that I have read and I intend to share the authors insights with any that care to listen. Thanks for defining a very important aspect of PM. "Passive blockers beware, your time is limited!"
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0 # Patrick Dooley 2011-05-11 09:58
Consensus is the holy grail and is a great achievement should you be able to reach it. It's much more achievable on smaller projects. If you look at large projects (like a Govt. initiative), you'll never a reach consensus. There's always multiple ways look at a problem and therefore there will always be blockers or those with a different view. A good BA will only ask for buy-in when there's a majority vote and/or the outcome of the analysis justifies the decision (via qualified/quant ified reasonings). I thought this was an excellent article, surely intended to challenge conventional thinking. Well done & thank you!
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0 # Kupe 2011-05-11 19:43
Thank you everyone for the great discussion! Even with some disagreement it is great we are talking about this! @Dele Sikuade - Project blocking is what buy-in is trying to avoid. If you have people blocking the project you have not achieved buy-in. @Matthew -I agree, as professionals we have to make judgement calls on which techniques to use when. But I am not following why you would use consensus when "Project Success doesn't necessarily mean a win for the people affected." If I interpret this correctly, it seems like it is best to use buy-in. The goal is project success however that is defined by the company or sponsor. You are right success is not always in the best interest of impacted people. My argument is how can you get consensus. The impacted people will not agree to some decisions because of the impact is has on them. You need them to buy-in to the decision to keep the project moving forward.
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0 # Marc Babineau 2011-05-11 21:43
We could debate this all day...Wait a minute!...that' s the problem here, sometimes we do debate things all day in the hope of reaching a consensus. Funny how we can't reach a consensus about how reaching a consensus is good or bad. Ok enough fun! Let's get down to business. And that my friends could be one of the keys...notice I said could....you see...at some point someone in the group must say fine...we have covered the negatives, the buts, and even the yeah buts now what actions can we take to move forward...or backwards...not hing wrong with backing up....but regardless of the direction (which is often the issue) things have to move otherwise nothing happens....so.. ..it is usually in action that buy in and engagement and consensus happens....not in sitting down and debating it....we are creatures motivated by promise of pleasure or by fear of pain...but both of these don't happen until actions take place so whether you are on board (consensus) or not is not really important as the author describes. Our minds are in 3 positions...pas t present or futur....the past is based in experience and sometimes what shines through (good or bad) is regret, blame, excuses.....in the futur we bring ourselves ahead to fear, doubt and worry....the only time things happen is in the present...and that happens with actions...until then all we have is a collective mishmash of everyone's experience and opinion...Good luck with that!!!! The clients didn't like this in the past, and they won't like our new design....ACTIO N...go ask the client!!!!!! Two of my favorite sayings allow me to apply this in real life....Awarene ss without opinion and perception without judgement...and the second one is People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care...So please don't beleive a word I say....try it!!!!! and by golly have fun!!!!
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0 # Sanjay 2011-05-11 23:17
Hi Very good view point ....pl also give importance to the culture of team & suppliers/custo mers inclusive of their value system. Some of the experiences show the consensus brings harmony & integration. The decision taken through consensus is always supported by everyone even in time of difficulties. If we use “six hats or brainstorming” principles then the consensus have a great contribution. If you give a role of fools-proofing of a plan or black-hating to the team-members who are against (hurdles for consensus) then we can convert everything in positive mindset for all. We need to spend more time on discussing dis-agreements than agreements. Many times dis-agreements bring lot of creativity & reduce blind-spots if the objective is understood by all team-members. The consensus takes lot of time if the big-picture/obj ectives is not understood or not discussed as the starting point for any meeting. Best Regards Sanjay 918087020104
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0 # Eric Wuolle PMP 2011-05-18 07:51
Obtaining consensus is often the litmous test for an idea, or at least the idea-promoter's powers of persuasion and communication. Ideally, consensus comes because the group can recognize the benefit and the wisdom of the decision, but beware of the situation where the decision's 'salesperson' wasn't able to make the sale through poor salesmanship, not due to a lack of merit of the decision. One technique I have used to test the salesmanship aspect where a consensus is not forthcoming, is to have the naysayer role-play: have him or her try to sell another in the group on the idea, and see what the naysayer does to sell their actual position. It often has one of two effects: they convince themselves of the right answer, or they expose their true reasons for not supporting the group's decision. I do agree with others' comments about the risks of just asking for support of a decision, as opposed to getting a consensus - somehow, documenting a unanimous agreement on an item puts people on the hook more than if they just vote on someone else's decision. Therefore, emotinally, it is less risky to vote for someone else's decision, than to be one of the 'deciders'.
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0 # Uttam GC 2011-06-24 17:22
I fully agree with the author because consensus is a helping others understand your view without neglecting their perspective if it is beneficial. You want to get the support for what you are doing yet also remain open to their opinion if you had not considered those views which sometimes saves the project. There are some wrong perception regarding consensus regarding its practice in real life.
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