Throughout my years working on IT projects it is clear that many people have ambiguous thoughts regarding the definition of change management. A question that regularly arises is what is the difference between project change management versus the implications of the project on the business? For example, I was managing a million-dollar project where the client added additional scope resulting in the purchase and implementation of hardware that added three months and $220,000 to the project. Another example is of a $10-million project that I had managed to implement new software that impacted 80% of the businesses employees. Both of these examples offer very different definitions of change management and it is easy to see how employees can get the two confused. Let’s clarify these definitions once and for all:
PROJECT CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Project change management can simply be defined as a change in the scope of the project. The scope can be increased or decreased and can affect the schedule and/or budget. When the project scope is changed the Project Manager is faced with a magnitude of decisions to make. Areas such as resourcing, schedule, risk, quality, and issues all need to be reassessed to ensure the project will still meet all targeted deadlines.
In the additional scope example above the client agreed to increase the budget by $220,000 to cover the additional hardware and resource costs for implementation and allowed the schedule to be extended by a three month period. The increased budget and extended scheduled allowed me to absorb the new changes into the project plan without increasing the project team. I did, however, need to readjust the schedule, budget, and resource plan.
BUSINESS CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Business change management can be defined as the impact of the project on the business and how it will re-direct and could alter the use or the businesses resources and/or processes. Effective change management can significantly reshape the day-to-day tasks of the employees and should never be underestimated. Failing to see the significance of change management will cost the business both time and money. Employees can become confused and a culture of misunderstanding can be created. Poor change management can push the business in the wrong direction.
When I had agreed to manage the $10-million project in the above example, the initial change management plan was to email employees telling them of the upgrade, how to use it, and hoping they would use it going forward. Due to the magnitude of this project I had decided to hire a Change Manager. I worked closely with the Change Manager to move the business from its then current state to its desired state. His responsibilities were to create a change management plan that included a gap analysis, training plan, communication plan, and engage the executive and senior leaders to have them back the change management objectives. The Change Manager supported the employees throughout all the project stages and successfully transitioned the employees from the old software to the new software.
INCORPORATING PROJECT AND BUSINESS CHANGE MANAGEMENT
As a Project Manager you are responsible for the integration of change management within the project and within the business. Depending on the complexity of the change to the business a Change Manager can be hired as part of the project team to aid the business through the changes that are being implemented via the project. The Project Manager and Change Manager must work together to communicate all necessary steps, processes, and alterations to the impacted teams. The importance of project and business change management are both key in the successful implementation of the project and employee’s acceptance of the changes.
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