Definition of change management

Helping others understand change management in relation to project management and organizational change

By Tim CreaseyDirector of Research and DevelopmentProsci Research

- Tutorial highlights -

A concise view of the definition and role of change management

How much change management and project management do you need

Download Defining change management tutorial

Change management: the process, tools and techniques to manage the people-side of change to achieve a required business outcome.

 

Providing context - the background of this definition

"What is change management?" This is a question you may have heard from colleagues or coworkers in passing or in formal presentations. While many of us 'know' intuitively what change management is, we have a hard time conveying to others what we really mean.

In thinking about how to define change management, it is important to provide context related to two other concepts - the change itself and project management. This tutorial shows how change management and project management are two critical disciplines that are applied to a variety of organizational changes to improve the likelihood of success and return on investment.

 

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

When you introduce a change to the organization, you 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'.

 

Formally defining change management and 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.

 

Figure 1  

As shown in Figure 1, 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.

Discipline: Process: Tools:

Project management

Initiating

Planning

Executing

Monitoring and controlling

Closing

* From PMBOK® Guide, Third Edition

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

* From Prosci's research-based methodology

Individual change model

Communications

Sponsorship

Coaching

Training

Resistance management

 

Thinking about what each tool is trying to achieve

So, project management outlines the specific activities for defining and prescribing how to move from point A to point B (by changing processes, systems, organization structures or job roles). Change management outlines the steps needed to help the individuals impacted by the change adopt it and do their jobs in the new way (for example, people transitioning from fulfilling function 'a' to function 'b' as shown in Figure 2).

Figure 2

 

The goal of project management is to effectively deploy resources in a structured manner to develop and implement the solution - in terms of what needs to be done to processes, systems, organization structure and job roles. The goal of change management is to help each individual impacted by the change to make a successful transition, given what is required by the solution.

 

Using the right amount

Each initiative or project you undertake requires some level of project management and change management. These two disciplines are tools used to support the implementation of a variety of changes that you may be undertaking. For example, think about the simplistic but illustrative table below:

Project: Needs PM? Needs CM?

Deploying an ERP solution across the entire organization

Yes Yes

Reengineering the work processes and contact scripts of your call center agents

Yes Yes

Integrating two organizations and their information systems following a merger or acquisition

Yes Yes

Redesigning the physical layout of an office space

Yes Yes

Developing a new sales channel Yes Yes

 

Note: All of the projects mentioned above need both project management and change management. There are very few instances where you will not need both disciplines.

Change management and project management are tools that need to be applied independent of the actual change that you are undertaking. Anytime you alter processes, systems, organization structures or job roles, you need a structured approach to manage both the 'technical' side and the 'people' side of the pending change.

Do project management and change management look the same for every initiative? Typically not. While the right amount of project management and change management is at least some, each of these tools are at their best when they are customized for the unique situation that you are facing and are fully integrated. Your organization, its culture and history, and the specific change that you are implementing all influence the right amount of project management and change management.

How much project management is needed? How much change management is needed?

Depends on the complexity and degree of change to processes, systems, organization structure and job roles

Depends on the amount of disruption created in individual employee's day-to-day work and the organization attributes like culture, value system and history with past changes

 

Separate but integrated in practice

So far in this tutorial, 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

It can sometimes be hard to separate out 'the change', project management, and change management. In practice, these three components are intertwined in order to deliver a positive outcome to the organization. However, there is value in separating out the components. First, thinking about the three components separately makes it easier to define and help others understand these distinct elements. Second, separating out these three components is a solid first step when troubleshooting on a particular project that may not be moving ahead as expected. For instance, are our challenges coming from issues around designing 'the change'? Are the issues related to the 'technical' steps, activities or resources (project management)? Or are concerns coming from how individuals are accepting or resisting the change (change management)?

Think about what each component is trying to achieve (see the table below) - this is the best way to tell someone else what change management is, and how it is related to 'the change' and project management.

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 managementTo 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)

 

Change management - the systems and tools for managing change

Scope of change management

This tutorial provides a summary of each of the main areas for change management based on Prosci's research with more than 900 organizations in the last 7 years.

The purpose of defining these change management areas is to ensure that there is a common understanding among readers. Tools or components of change management include:

Change management process

Readiness assessments

Communication and communication planning

Coaching and manager training for change management

Training and employee training development

Sponsor activities and sponsor roadmaps

Resistance management

Data collection, feedback analysis and corrective action

Celebrating and recognizing success

 

Change management process

The change management process is the sequence of steps or activities that a change management team or project leader would follow to apply change management to a project or change. Based on Prosci's research of the most effective and commonly applied change, most change management processes contain the following three phases:

Phase 1 - Preparing for change (Preparation, assessment and strategy development)

Phase 2 - Managing change (Detailed planning and change management implementation)

Phase 3 - Reinforcing change (Data gathering, corrective action and recognition)

These phases result in the following approach as shown below in Figure 1.

 

Figure 1 - Change Management Process (the Change Management Toolkit

and Change Management Pilot show you how to apply the process))

 

It is important to note what change management is and what change management is not, as defined by the majority of research participants.

Change management is not a stand-alone process for designing a business solution.

Change management is the processes, tools and techniques for managing the people-side of change.

Change management is not a process improvement method.

Change management is a method for reducing and managing resistance to change when implementing process, technology or organizational change.

Change management is not a stand-alone technique for improving organizational performance.

Change management is a necessary component for any organizational performance improvement process to succeed, including programs like: Six Sigma, Business Process Reengineering, Total Quality Management, Organizational Development, Restructuring and continuous process improvement.

Change management is about managing change to realize business results.

 

Readiness assessments

Assessments are tools used by a change management team or project leader to assess the organization's readiness to change. Readiness assessments can include organizational assessments, culture and history assessments, employee assessments, sponsor assessments and change assessments. Each tool provides the project team with insights into the challenges and opportunities they may face during the change process.

Assess the scope of the change, including: How big is this change? How many people are affected? Is it a gradual or radical change?

Assess the readiness of the organization impacted by the change, including: What is the value- system and background of the impacted groups? How much change is already going on? What type of resistance can be expected?

Assess the strengths of your change management team.

Assess the change sponsors and take the first steps to enable them to effectively lead the change process.

 

Communication and communication planning

Many managers assume that if they communicate clearly with their employees, their job is done. However, there are many reasons why employees may not hear or understand what their managers are saying the first time around. In fact, you may have heard that messages need to be repeated 6 to 7 times before they are cemented into the minds of employees. That is because each employee’s readiness to hear depends on many factors. Effective communicators carefully consider three components: the audience, what is said and when it is said.

For example, the first step in managing change is building awareness around the need for change and creating a desire among employees. Therefore, initial communications are typically designed to create awareness around the business reasons for change and the risk of not changing. Likewise, at each step in the process, communications should be designed to share the right messages at the right time.

Communication planning, therefore, begins with a careful analysis of the audiences, key messages and the timing for those messages. The change management team or project leaders must design a communication plan that addresses the needs of front-line employees, supervisors and executives. Each audience has particular needs for information based on their role in the implementation of the change.

 

Coaching and manager training for change management

Supervisors will play a key role in managing change. Ultimately, the direct supervisor has more influence over an employee’s motivation to change than any other person at work. Unfortunately, supervisors as a group can be the most difficult to convince of the need for change and can be a source of resistance. It is vital for the change management team and executive sponsors to gain the support of supervisors and to build change leadership. Individual change management activities should be used to help these supervisors through the change process.

Once managers and supervisors are on board, the change management team must prepare a coaching strategy. They will need to provide training for supervisors including how to use individual change management tools with their employees.

 

Training and training development

Training is the cornerstone for building knowledge about the change and the required skills. Project team members will develop training requirements based on the skills, knowledge and behaviors necessary to implement the change. These training requirements will be the starting point for the training group or the project team to develop training programs.

 

Sponsor activities and sponsor roadmaps

Business leaders and executives play a critical sponsor role in change management. The change management team must develop a plan for sponsor activities and help key business leaders carry out these plans. Sponsorship should be viewed as the most important success factor. Avoid confusing the notion of sponsorship with support. The CEO of the company may support your project, but that is not the same as sponsoring your initiative.

Sponsorship involves active and visible participation by senior business leaders throughout the process. Unfortunately many executives do not know what this sponsorship looks like. A change agent's or project leader's role includes helping senior executives do the right things to sponsor the project.

 

Resistance management

Resistance from employees and managers is normal. Persistent resistance, however, can threaten a project. The change management team needs to identify, understand and manage resistance throughout the organization. Resistance management is the processes and tools used by managers and executives with the support of the project team to manage employee resistance.

 

Data collection, feedback analysis and corrective action

Employee involvement is a necessary and integral part of managing change. Managing change is not a one way street. Feedback from employees is a key element of the change management process. Analysis and corrective action based on this feedback provides a robust cycle for implementing change.

 

Celebrating and recognizing success

Early successes and long-term wins must be recognized and celebrated. Individual and group recognition is also a necessary component of change management in order to cement and reinforce the change in the organization.

The final step in the change management process is the after-action review. It is at this point that you can stand back from the entire program, evaluate successes and failures, and identify process changes for the next project. This is part of the ongoing, continuous improvement of change management for your organization and ultimately leads to change competency.

 

Summary

These eight elements comprise the areas or components of a change management program. Along with the change management process, they create a system for managing change. Good project managers apply these components effectively to ensure project success, avoid the loss of valued employees, and minimize the negative impact of the change on productivity and a company's customers.

***

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Reference 1 - Change Management Toolkit, hardcopy methodology tool with USB driveof templates, guidelines, checklists and assessments

Reference 2 - Change Management Pilot, online methodology tool with downloadable templates, guidelines, checklists and assessments

Reference 3 - Best Practices in Change Management, 2005 benchmarking report with 411 participants from 59 countries

 

 

Resource guide

The resources in the table below will be the source of the upcoming tutorial series. For leaders and team members involved in managing a change project, these resources will provide an immediate understanding and tools.

RESOURCE WHO IS IT FOR?

Change Management Toolkit: a comprehensive change management process, includes specific sections on sizing your change management effort, communication planning, training development, sponsor roadmaps, and reinforcing change.

Change leaders, consultants and change management team members - get templates, assessments, guidelines, examples and worksheets that help you implement organizational change management

Best Practices in Change Management: 426 companies share experiences in managing change and lessons on how to build great executive sponsorship. The report makes it easy to learn change management best practices and discover the mistakes to avoid leading change.

Change leaders, consultants and change management team members - learn what is working for others, what is not, and what mistakes to avoid - includes team and sponsor activity lists. Includes success factors, methodology, role of top management, communications, team structure and more.

Change Management: the People Side of Change: introductory guide to change management -  an excellent primer and catalyst for change leadership with best practices from Prosci's latest research and case studies.

Change leaders, executives and managers - learn the 'why,' 'how,' and 'what' of change management. "Change Management is like a driving school for change agents."  This 'quick read' includes the ADKAR model and the Prosci change management process.

Change Management Guide for Managers and Supervisors: complete with team and individual coaching activities, best practices findings and frequently asked questions.

Managers and supervisors - a guide specifically designed for managers and supervisors dealing with change. This tool is ideal for managers who are directly dealing with employees facing change. Use with the Employee's Survival Guide to Change and the Change Management Toolkit.

Employee's Survival Guide to Change: a handbook to help employees survive and thrive during change.

Employees facing change - answers frequently asked questions and empowers employees to be effective change agents with the ADKAR model.

 

Effective Change Management for Project Managers Apr 13, 2010 Ashley Wright

Project Change Management Process - nDevilTV

Projects require effective management of change. A change management process ensures transparent, objective and timely project change request management.

Change in projects is inevitable and having an effective and consistently applied process for the consideration and approval of project change requests is crucial. Whether it involves sophisticated change management software or a basic manual process, project change control must be effectively managed through an appropriate project management of change process.

What is Change?

The term change, as applied to projects, relates to the alteration of a previously agreed project parameter including, but not limited to, deliverable, scope, budget or timeline. The need for change and subsequent triggering of a need for management of change could be driven by any number of factors, external and internal to the project. For example, a change in legislation requiring mandatory information to be provided to customers could lead to the need for a project, delivering new customer communications software, to revisit and change initial business requirements.

Specifically, in terms of project management of change, the changes to be managed may entail changes to scope, deliverables, schedules, budget or indeed any other parameter of the project. As a definitive rule however, anything that alters a previously planned deliverable or project parameter beyond acceptable tolerance, should be considered a change and subject to a change management process.

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What are the Benefits of an Effective Project Management of Change Process?

The benefits of an effective and consistently applied change management process include:

Developing an understanding of and mitigating for the impacts that a potential change may have on a project.

Ensuring decisions made regarding whether to proceed with project change requests are made in a transparent, consistent and informed manner.

Dealing with the need for change in a timely manner rather than leaving it to resolve itself (more often than not, with negative impacts).

What is a Change Management Process?

Regardless of the project change, the change management process to apply should be consistent. To some degree, the actual change management process details are secondary to it's consistent and timely application. The steps taken in the change management process, to some degree, are less important than the fact that those same steps are taken each time a project change request is raised.

The key purpose of employing a standard process for management of change in projects is to ensure that all potential changes are assessed without bias. An effective project management change process involves an objective assessment of the impact of a project change request. Only after unbiased assessment of the each project change request is made can a decision then be made as to whether the proposed change should be proceeded with or not.

Read on  Risk Management for Project Managers Tips for Effective Project Management

Project Evaluation and Selecting Project Metrics

An Example Project Change Request Process

Although, as outlined above, the exact change management process to be followed is less relevant than having a consistent and consistently applied process, there are some steps common to all project change management processes.

1. Raising of a Project Change Request through a change management software template or manual form as required.

2. Impact assessment relating to the Project Change Request

3. Making a decision to proceed with the project change request, not proceed with the project change request or deferring the project change request until a later point in time.

4. Recording the outcomes of the decision made in point for in the manual project change control register or change management software as appropriate.

An effective project management change process is another fundamental part of successful project management. But effective and timely management of change through an appropriately implemented change request process can go a long way to making such changes in scope, budget, schedules or deliverables easier

The Key Aspects of Project Change Management

An Overview of Coping with Change for Non-SpecialistsGiven that a project is a dynamic process, it is unrealistic to assume that requests for change in projects will not occur, but this need not be cause for undue concern.

These changes will originate from changes in the user requirements and/or difficulties in realising the user specification in practice. One of the most effective methods of dealing with the need to amend projects is to have a project change procedure. Although this procedure wills not removal all risks, it will enable some changes to be made with minimal disruption and slippage.

Change Management Procedure

The change management plan is a definition of the formal process for making changes to the project’s original scope. It generally involves redefining existing objectives and deliverables or specifying new project objectives and deliverables. The procedure for changes is as follows:

Change requests should initially be awarded a change priority classification code based on a set of standards. These can be either simply alphanumerical, or descriptive such as Critical, High Importance, Medium Importance et cetera.

Following the change request evaluation, the project manager should schedule a change decision meeting. Participants in this meeting should include the project sponsors, the change review committee, the project manger, the originator of the request, as well as any other interested and affected stakeholders.

The project manager will present the proposed change and the results of the evaluation, including a copy of the proposed project plan illustrating the impact of the change. The requestor may choose to speak on behalf of the change and the evaluators may also choose to defend their evaluation, if necessary. The project manager should only become significantly involve if the evaluation indicates that the proposed change would have a significant effect on the overall project in terms of finance, scheduling, or the eventual effect on the project’s service or product.

Implementation of Change in Projects

In all but very minor cases, the later that a project change is made, the more difficult it will be to implement without significant repercussions. The ramifications of the change will also vary proportionally with the size of the change. It may be that minor adjustments here and there may have a negligible effect, but a significant change in scope may set a long project back several weeks, months, or even years.

Read on  Effective Change Management for Project Managers Project Management - Key Stakeholders

Project Monitoring and Effective Project Review

In short, a change management procedure for any given project should include, but not necessarily be limited to the following:

Identifying the need for change. Change recommendation.

Analysis of the feasibility of change.

Steering committee approval.

Project sponsor approval.

Implementing the change.

Continue constant review.

The final task is to communicate the revised change management plan to all project team members and stakeholders, explaining the rationale where resistance is encountered. It is also important at this point to ensure that the minutes of meetings, decisions reached and agreements made are documented and retained.

Change should be expected in any given project, but, as discussed in this article, is very much a manageable issue. In change management, it is important to understand the mechanisms for managing change and to prioritise the requested amendment.

Once the procedure for change has been mapped carefully, the adjustments can be made by following the simple rules highlighted in this article.

Read more at Suite101: The Key Aspects of Project Change Management: An Overview of

Coping with Change for Non-Specialists | Suite101.com http://www.suite101.com/content/change-management-in-projects-a59179#ixzz1O0Kw2gNU