38 change management considerations
All proposals represent change. All proposals can add value with change management.
All proposals represent change for the organization considering them. This is true even if you are the incumbent and aren’t really proposing any significant changes in approach. There will still be incremental changes to account for.
All proposals can add value through change management practices. This is true whether the changes are explicit, with the customer expecting change, or if the customer either hasn’t considered or isn’t concerned with change. They may not think the project needs change management. And yet, addressing some of these can show you have a better approach for managing the project.
The following items can be used either to explicitly address the topic of “change management” or to improve your management approach without even using the word “change.”
- How can you engage people to address their concerns about the changes?
- How do the benefits compare to people's concerns about the changes?
- How do the changes relate to missions, goals, and requirements?
- How do the changes align with strategies and plans?
- Who are the stakeholders who will be involved, contribute, participate, or be impacted?
- What are the size, scope, and complexity of the changes?
- What is the gap between the current state and the change state?
- What alternatives are being considered?
- What effort will be required by various stakeholders?
- How will various stakeholders be impacted?
- What timeframes are significant?
- Will change implementation be expert-led, participative, or collaborative?
- How will change progress be tracked and communicated?
- What can you do to provide recognition of impacts and contributions?
- What motivations might impact people's reactions?
- What can be done to help prepare people for the changes?
- What should people anticipate?
- Can modeling or simulation help with change planning, communication, or risk mitigation?
- How can you engage people who are influencers?
- Is there a difference between internal and external impacts and issues?
- How are people concerned with compliance, risk, cost, or uncertainty related to the changes?
- What can be done to mitigate issues?
- Will existing policies, procedures, working practices, culture, budgets, job designs, effort, satisfaction, or prospects be impacted by the changes?
- Do you have a communication plan that will make the change agents visible and accessible?
- What can you do to ensure communications are timely and consistent?
- Who will be responsible for listening and learning during the change process?
- How will you collect stakeholder input?
- Will you communicate and interact with people both one-on-one and in groups?
- Who will you target for communications?
- How can the "who, what, where, how, when, and why?" model help you improve your communications?
- What media and channels will you use for communications?
- How will you match media and channel preferences to communication receivers?
- What can you do to reinforce communications?
- Is a training plan part of your approach?
- What logistics issues should you anticipate or prepare for?
- How will you handle both active and passive resistance to the changes?
- How will feedback be obtained and handled throughout the process?
- What will you do to monitor changes both during and after implementation?
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