Change Management

• Change management is the context within which a change is managed.
• It is how changes are planned & implemented & not necessarily when.
• The purpose of change management is to create the conditions that facilitate successful implementation.
• The overriding issue for change is how to convince everyone that the change is necessary and the status quo is not in their, nor the organization’s, best interests. 
• This requires consideration of how to motivate everyone to commit to the change. 
• How to develop a sense of purpose for all individuals, teams and the organisation and its stakeholders. 
• To define the compelling vision & the necessary actions and how to grow people’s capability and commitment?

Execution Risk

Once an organisation has decided to move to the execution phase, other considerations kick in. Many a well thought out change has failed due to poor execution.

These are more project management issues rather than change management in nature. They revolve around the competency of the organisation to deliver change in a

controlled way. This includes things such as project governance, planning & budgeting, risk and issues mitigation and project change control. Considerations are:

• How good is your organisation at implementing large, complex change? What does this mean in changing your delivery infrastructure to be more effective? (link)
• Do you understand implementing change quickly, to a high quality and a low cost is not possible? If so, what compromises can you live with? (link)
• The costs of changing projects mid-way rises significantly as you get deeper and deeper into a project. It is therefore a wise investment not to rush into a change but do as much as you can, up front, to analyse the solution, risks & issues, before commencing significant work. (link)
• Once you have commenced a change initiative, it is important to understand it is unlikely to get off to a flying start. Everyone is trying to find their feet, the teams are only beginning to form and stakeholders are nervous and overly demanding. Do not panic. If the change is being managed properly all these things will be overcome.  The key indicator to look for is that schedule and cost variance will start to trend back to the original schedule and budget within the first few months of the change. (link)