Increase Your Projects Impact with Change Management,

Part 1
Projects come in all shapes and sizes. Some impact the entire enterprise while others may affect a single
workshop. Some are disruptive while others are incremental. Projects can aim to improve processes,
systems, tools and structures. But despite all the wonderful variety in the project world, there is one
universal constant in terms of both impact and contribution to success: the people whose jobs will be
affected and changed as a result of the project implementation. The people side of change sits squarely
along the critical path to delivering value above and beyond specifications. Unfortunately, the people side
of change is often the most overlooked, underserved, under-resourced and underfunded.

This article is an excerpt from Eric Verzuhs latest book, The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management,
courtesy of The Versatile Company.

But there is a solution. Change management is the discipline focused on the people aspects of your
projects. It is ultimately about applying structure and rigor to support the soft side of change, which, in
reality, is often the harder side of change.
As a working definition of change management, I use this: Catalyzing individual transitions to deliver
organizational results. This brief two-part introduction provides an overview of change management, its
desired outcomes, its required actions and how you can be more successful as a project manager if you
integrate project management and change management.
Why the People Side Matters
The people side of change matters because, when projects are implemented, organizations dont change,
people do. Consider the question: How much of my projects expected results and outcomes depend on
employees adopting and using the solution? When I have asked this question, even at large technologyfocused conferences, the answers are routinely in the 70 to 100 percent range. Employees embracing,
adopting and using a solution is what bridges the gap between an effectively managed project and truly
delivering expected improvement and meaningful results to the organization. Data from nearly a decade
of research by Prosci shows that projects with excellent change management are six times more likely to
meet or exceed objectives than those with poor change management (and even moving from poor to
fair yields a threefold increase).
There are also tangible costs and risks for ignoring the people side of change, such as resistance, delays,
attrition and loss of productivity. One of the largest costs of ignoring the people side of change is the RE
cost like redo, revisit, re-scope, redesign, rework, retrain, and ,in some cases, retreat. When adoption
and usage are only addressed at the end of a project, these RE costs are significant and prevalent.

Although the people side of change is often underestimated and underserved, its one of the largest and
most critical steps along the project value chain.
The Differences and Similarities of PM and CM
Project management and change management are related but distinct disciplines. Some of the primary
differences include these:

One focuses on the technical side of implementing change; the other focuses on the people side
of implementing change;

They have slightly different definitions of done and measures of progress;

They require different mindsets, competencies, and skill sets; and

They have different histories in terms of length (60-plus years vs. 20-plus) and origin.

While they do have some differences, project management and change management also share
similarities that create a prime opportunity for a collaborative partnership:

Both are disciplines

Both are process driven and tool rich;

Both are applied to specific, discrete undertakings (in other words, projects);

Both need skilled practitioners; and

Both share the ultimate objective of delivering successful change outcomes and value to the
organization by helping it perform in a new, improved way.

Projects and initiatives are more successful when they apply both project management and change
management, a phenomenon we describe as the unified value proposition.
The Unified Value Proposition of an Integrated Approach
The unified value proposition is what happens when change management and project management are
applied together, in unison, in an integrated manner. The solution is BOTH designed, developed and
delivered effectively AND embraced, adopted and used by employees who are being impacted.
Organizational results and value come from solving both the technical side and people side of the puzzle
through this unified value proposition.
But what does it really mean to apply change management on a project? Effective change management
requires two perspectives: 1) individual change management, which aims to answer how one person
makes a change successfully; and 2) organizational change management, which provides the structure,
process and toolset for the project team to apply in order to support the individual transitions caused by
and required for the project to yield value.
Outcomes Desired: Individual Change Management
The secret to successful change lies beyond the visible and busy activities that surround change.
Successful change, at its core, is rooted in something much simpler: How to facilitate change with one
person.
Jeff Hiatt, founder of Prosci, ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government and Our
Community

The first step in applying change management is to understand how a single individual makes a change
successfully, because, in the end, it is through individual employee adoption and usage that project and
organizational value is created. Here, we will introduce the Prosci ADKAR Model, developed by Prosci
Founder, Jeff Hiatt. ADKAR describes the five building blocks of a successful individual change, whether
that change is happening at home, in the community, or at work:

Awareness of the need for change

Desire to participate and support the change

Knowledge on how to change

Ability to implement required skills and behaviors

Reinforcement to sustain the change

Whether your project requires employees to follow new processes, use new tools or interact with new
systems, those affected employees need each of the ADKAR building blocks to be successful in their
personal transition, which is what ultimately contributes to project and organizational success. Lets
explore each of the ADKAR building blocks, along with specific how to suggestions for building and
fostering each one.
Awareness
Awareness is the first building block. Its important to note that this is not awareness that a change is
happening, but rather a true understanding of the motivations and triggers for the change. In todays
environment, where engagement and ownership have replaced predictability and control, employees
being affected by a change expect an answer to Why? Prosci research indicates that the lack of a
compelling case for change that is, a lack of awareness is the greatest source of employee
resistance. As a practitioner, you can begin by answering four simple but often neglected questions:

What is the nature of the change?

Why?

Why now?

What if we dont?

Awareness of the need for change is created through effective and well-crafted communication and
sponsor messaging early in the project lifecycle. Examples of awareness-building activities include:

Ensuring effective sponsor messaging;

Empowering manager conversations;

Communicating, communicating, communicating;

Providing access to readily available information;

Kicking off the project with an event;

Presenting data in a visual and compelling way; and

Highlighting observable conditions or catastrophic events.

You know you have built sufficient awareness when an impacted employee would say, I understand
why

Desire
The second step in ADKAR is desire to participate and support the change. Desire is ultimately the
personal decision by an individual to take part in the change. Because desire is a personal feeling, it cant
be forced. However, desire can be motivated and encouraged. Building desire is founded upon the ability
to highlight and make clear the personal and organizational motivating factors for the change, including:

Expected gain or achievement (both personal and organizational);

Fear of consequences of not changing (both personal and organizational);

Importance of being part of something; and

Importance of following a trusted leader.

Building desire is tricky because it is so personal. However, there are specific actions that can be taken to
help build desire, including:

Ensuring active and visible support by sponsors;

Building a strong sponsor coalition;

Ensuring personal engagement by managers and supervisors;

Anticipating and proactively managing resistance;

Involving employees in the change process;

Providing opportunities for input and feedback; and

Aligning incentive programs with the change.

You know you have built sufficient desire when an impacted employee says, I have decided to
Knowledge
Knowledge on how to change is the third building block, but is often the de facto and default that project
teams jump to. When changes impact employees, the first response is often, Lets send them to training.
Knowledge is necessary, but not sufficient if the foundational awareness and desire are not in place.
When thinking about knowledge, its important for project teams to account for:

Knowledge requirements during the change; and

Knowledge requirements after the change.

Knowledge is often the least challenging of the five building blocks, given the history and prevalence of
training and training departments as part of change efforts. However, there are several more tactics to
consider when building knowledge, including:

Delivering formal training;

Providing web-based educational materials;

Establishing mentoring relationships and opportunities;

Providing coaching in a one-on-one setting;

Leveraging experience;

Creating user groups and forums;

Making job aids readily available and accessible; and

Providing specific troubleshooting guidance.

You know you have built sufficient knowledge when an impacted employee says, I know how to
Ability
After awareness, desire, and knowledge comes ability when the change actually happens. Employees
can demonstrate the capability to do their jobs in the new way. Knowledge doesnt ensure ability (see my
golf game as an example), but project teams can provide specific support in creating ability, including:

Providing opportunities to practice;

Creating the necessary time to commit to the change;

Coaching by managers or peers;

Accessing subject-matter experts;

Role modeling of the new behavior;

Delivering effective and timely feedback; and

Providing support resources.

You know you have built sufficient ability when an impacted employee says, I am able to
Reinforcement
Reinforcement is the final building block of the ADKAR Model. As human beings, its our natural,
psychological, and physiological tendency to revert back to what we know. Without concrete measures
and mechanisms to reinforce change, employees can slip back into old ways and the change wont stick.
To be effective, reinforcement must be meaningful to employees. As a project team, reinforcement can
take many different flavors, including:

Celebrating successes;

Rewarding new ways of working;

Recognizing successful change;

Providing feedback;

Implementing corrective actions;

Sharing performance measurements;

Implementing accountability mechanisms; and

Saying Thank you and Job well done.

You know youve built sufficient reinforcement when an impacted employee says, I will continue to
In part two of this article, I explain what a project team can do to support affected employees through their
own individual journeys.
Have your change management efforts used this framework? Share your experiences with the MPUG
community in the comments below.

Increase Your Projects Impact with Change Management,

Part 2

As I explained in part one, the Prosci ADKAR Model is one of the most widely used frameworks for
managing change. Practitioners say that it makes sense, is easy to explain to others and helps them see
and unlock numerous and various types of change. Whether a change is impacting five, 50, 500 or 5,000
employees, it will deliver better results when each employee has awareness, desire, knowledge, ability
and reinforcement. Since ADKAR describes the outcomes of a successful individual transition, the five
building blocks can be considered the milestones of successful change at the individual level. So what
can a project team do to support impacted employees through their own individual journeys?

This article is an excerpt from Eric Verzuhs latest book, The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management,
courtesy of The Versatile Company.

Actions Required: Organizational Change Management

Whereas individual change management and ADKAR describe the outcomes desired for change,
organizational change management describes the actions required. Over the past two decades, change
management has evolved from primarily conceptual frameworks toward a rigorous, structured and
documented process with formal deliverables and tools to support its application. While there are
numerous approaches available, here well be exploring the Prosci Three-Phase Process at a high level,
and Ill call out specific activities and deliverables in each of the phases:

Preparing for change;

Managing change; and

Reinforcing Change.

Phase 1: Preparing for Change

A one size fits all solution for change management is ineffective. The type and nature of change will be
unique, and so will the people side impact and people side challenges. Phase 1 focuses on building the
strategy and situational awareness and supporting structures dictated by the change youre working to
manage. Key activities of phase one include:

Defining the individual level change required by the project;

Assessing the nature and type of project (the change characteristics);

Assessing the individuals and groups being impacted by the change (organizational attributes);

Evaluating overall people side risk;

Developing risk mitigation tactics;

Anticipating resistance and developing mitigation tactics;

Creating a customized change management strategy;

Designing the sponsorship model needed to support realization; and

Equipping the change team and project team.

The outputs of building situational awareness in this first phase guide the development of the specific
activities and deliverables in phases two and three.
Phase 2: Managing Change
The second phase in the process covers the outward, employee-facing activities of change management.
Based on the analysis in phase one, including the risk profile and customization based on situational
awareness, the team creates five specific plans for supporting individual adoption and usage during the
course of the project. These five plans are aligned to the ADKAR elements and integrated into a project
plan for greatest impact. The five plans are:

Communications plan: A telling plan merely informs employees about what the project team is

doing; a communication plan answers the questions employees have and is delivered by preferred
senders through preferred mediums.
Sponsor roadmap: This provides specific direction and actions needed by senior leaders to fulfill

their role as sponsor namely, active and visible participation, building a healthy coalition and
communicating directly to employees.
Coaching plan: This presents the actions needed by front-line managers and supervisors

throughout the organization to support their direct reports in times of change; their proximity to
impacted employees makes them crucial allies.
Training plan: This plan details the efforts to build sufficient knowledge during and after the

change, documenting requirements and positioning efforts within context.

Resistance management plan: This plan lays out the approach for both proactive and reactive
resistance management, including who the key players are for identifying and managing resistance.

Each of the five plans supports specific building blocks of the Prosci ADKAR Model. For example, you
cant train awareness, and you cant communicate ability. ADKAR provides guidance that enables the
team to leverage the right plans and tools at the right time during the change lifecycle. Formal
deliverables are created for each of the five plans and theyre integrated into the project timeline to ensure
that affected employees have ability when it is time for be live on the project.
Phase 3: Reinforcing Change
The final action required in organizational change management is reinforcement of the change. As it is
with individuals, the natural tendency of organizations is to revert. Specific, deliberate activities and
mechanisms must be leveraged to ensure the change sticks and results are sustained. Key activities in
this third phase include:

Proactively collecting feedback;

Listening to employees;

Auditing compliance;

Measuring performance;

Diagnosing gaps;

Identifying and managing resistance, particularly pockets of resistance;

Implementing corrective actions;

Celebrating successes; and

Transitioning the change to the operational owner.

Many times, the project team is disbanded once the project ends, but reinforcement activities are still
required to ensure sustainment. This requires a well-designed approach that transfers ownership and
accountability for reinforcement into the organization.
While projects come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, the universal constant is the affected employees
who must change how they do their jobs. A significant portion of your projects expected results and
outcomes rely on and depend on individuals making their own personal transitions successfully (even
more so for strategic, critical and integration-oriented projects). As a project manager your ability to
support and catalyze those individual transitions is a key part of creating project value and your own
success. Change management provides the structured discipline, milestones and deliverables you need
to manage the harder side of projects and initiatives.
To learn more about change management, visit http://www.prosci.com to access blogs, webinars, tutorials
and tools. Prosci provides role-based solutions for project managers, change management leaders and
business leaders and managers based on decades of research. Its popular book series includes ADKAR:
A Model for Change, Change Management: The People Side of Change, and Best Practices in Change
Management.
Copyright Prosci. Used by Permission.
Have your change management efforts used this framework? Share your experiences with the MPUG
community in the comments below.