The Power Duo: Maximizing Results Through Project Management and Change Management Collaboration
We sometimes hear confusion about the difference between Project Management and Change Management. These two disciplines have their own unique focus areas and together they can be a powerful force to achieve your project goals and objectives.
Project Management is responsible for managing requirements, scope and resources to deliver a solution on time and within budget.
Change Management is responsible for leveraging strategies, tools and tactics to engage end users and to accelerate proficiency and adoption of the solution. Said differently,
Project Management prepares solutions for organizations, whereas Change Management prepares organizations for solutions.
The benefits of implementing both disciplines
There are significant benefits in successfully integrating Project and Change Management. Did you know the integration of these two disciplines is among the top 6 contributors to project success and when Project and Change Management are combined, projects are 17% more likely to achieve their intended objectives.
In addition to this data, benefits appear in an initiative in several ways. Some of these include:
Dedicated focus of each discipline: While Project Management is focused on delivering the technical side of the solution, Change Management is focused on the user experience and people adoption. The magic happens when these two focused plans come together as one. In fact, we often partner closely with the Project Manager to add change activities into the project plan to ensure alignment and sufficient time for the change activities to take place. If a project milestone moves, the timing for our change milestones can stay in sync.
Enhanced communication: Communication is one of the top 3 drivers contributing to the success of an initiative. By having Change Management focused on a communication strategy and plan that is sensitive to the key stakeholders, there will be an increase in program and impact awareness. Lack of awareness has been identified as the top reason why individuals resist change.
Reduced reactivity: Proactively evaluating all stakeholder groups, assessing risk or resistance and intentionally putting action plans in place will reduce program related “spin” and cognitive and emotional burden of getting people “back on the bus” as there will be fewer surprises and derailments.
When to engage Project Management and Change Management
There is a catch with realizing the benefits of this PM / CM duo, and that is timing. A critical mistake organizations often make is thinking about Change Management at or near the launch point of an initiative. “If you build it, they will come” is not an effective strategy. Project Management may be brought in at the very early stage of an initiative to clarify scope and Change Management should be engaged as well to ensure leadership vision is aligned, the right stakeholders are identified and engaged early on and provide input into what it will take (both timing and activities) for change to be adopted. Failure to do so can lead to overlooked key stakeholders, increased resistance due to lack of awareness, and overall poor stakeholder engagement and management, driving decreased adoption and compromising the ability to deliver project objectives.
The Bottom Line
For operational or transformational initiatives that will change the way work is done, you need both Project and Change Management to maximize your success. They both need a seat at the table with the Sponsor to ensure the consideration of both the technical and the people side of the program. Leaders who wait to engage Change Management just prior to launch will experience reactive communications plans or post launch change triage plan that leaves stakeholders feeling the bite of the change and not the benefits.
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