Change Management

Change Management

Source:	DataSource
Language:	English
Topic:	Change Management
SubTopic:	ADKAR
Last Edit By:	DochyJP
LastEdit:	2021-04-15
Document type:	Training
Status:	Active
Access:	free

Introduction

What is Change Management

Context and objectives

When introducing a change to the organization, we are ultimately going to be impacting one or more of the following four parts of how the organization operates:

• Processes
• Systems
• Organization structure
• Job roles

While there are numerous approaches and tools that can be used to improve the organization, all of them ultimately prescribe adjustments to one or more of the four parts of the organization listed above. Change typically results as a reaction to specific problems or opportunities the organization is facing based on internal or external stimuli. While the notion of 'becoming more competitive' or 'becoming closer to the customer' or 'becoming more efficient' can be the motivation to change, at some point these goals must be transformed into the specific impacts on processes, systems, organization structures or job roles. This is the process of defining 'the change'.

Ultimately, the goal of change is to improve the organization by altering how work is done.

Change Management vs Project Management

However, it is not enough to merely prescribe 'the change' and expect it to happen - creating change within an organization takes hard work and structure around what must actually take place to make the change happen. To begin, lets look at the formal definitions of project management and change management - two key disciplines required to bring a change to life. These are two commonly accepted definitions that help us begin to think about these two distinct but intertwined disciplines.

• Project Management : Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.
  Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
  From PMBOK® Guide, Third Edition

• Change management : Change management is the process, tools and techniques to manage the people-side of change to achieve the required business outcome. Change management incorporates the organizational tools that can be utilized to help individuals make successful personal transitions resulting in the adoption and realization of change.

As shown in the figure above, both project management and change management support moving an organization from a current state (how things are done today), through a transition state to a desired future state (the new processes, systems, organization structures or job roles defined by 'the change'). Project management focuses on the tasks to achieve the project requirements. Change management focuses on the people impacted by the change.

Any change to processes, systems, organization structures and/or job roles will have a 'technical' side and a 'people' side that must be managed. Project management and change management have evolved as disciplines to provide both the structure and the tools needed to realize change successfully on the technical and people side.

Caption text

Discipline	Process	Tools
Project management	Initiating Planning Executing Monitoring and controlling Closing	Tools Statement of work, project charter, business case Work breakdown structure, budget, estimations, resource allocation, schedule Tracking, risk identification and mitigation, reports on performance and compliance
Change management	*Planning for change Managing change Reinforcing change	*Individual change model Communications Sponsorship Coaching Training Resistance management

Separate but integrated in practice

So far project management and change management have been discussed as two distinct disciplines. While separate as fields of study, on a real project change management and project management are integrated. The steps and activities move in unison as teams work to move from the current state to a desired future state.

As an example, think about what activities occur during the planning phase of a project:

On the project management side, teams are identifying the milestones and activities that must be completed. They are outlining the resources needed and how they will work together. They are defining the scope of what will be part of the project and what will not be.

From a change management side, teams begin crafting key messages that must be communicated. They work with project sponsors to build strong and active coalitions of senior leaders. They begin making the case of why the change is needed to employees throughout the organization, even before the specific details of the solution are complete. The most effective projects integrate these activities into a single project plan.

Summary

Element	Goal or objective
"The change"	To improve the organization in some fashion - for instance reducing costs, improving revenues, solving problems, seizing opportunities, aligning work and strategy, streamlining information flow within the organization
Project management	To develop a set of specific plans and actions to achieve "the change" given time, cost and scope constraints and to utilize resources effectively (managing the 'technical' side of the change)
Change management	To apply a systematic approach to helping the individuals impacted by "the change" to be successful by building support, addressing resistance and developing the required knowledge and ability to implement the change (managing the 'people' side of the change)

E-Learning

Concepts and principles in change management 100