Change Management for (IT) Projects

Learned lessons from 300+ ]project-open[ roll-out projects

70% of Change Attempts Fail
(McKinsey)

• Nearly all projects require humans to do work

differently than before. Humans usually don‘t like
this.
• Change Management is an approach of
transition individuals, teams and organizations
[the] desired state (Wikipedia).
• Change Management is the art to design and
manage the transition as painless as possible in
order to reduce friction and inefficiencies.
 Why Resistence to Change
• Human fears:
– Loss of job
– Loss of social status
– Loss of privileges
– Loss of control
– General fear of the unknown
• Need to learn new tools or skills
• Leaving the „comfort zone“
Kübler-Ross Model of Grief
Towards the Green Pastures on the
Other Side of the Dark Valley
 Multi-User Kübler-Ross

• User A

• User B

• User C
 Force-Field Analysis
Supporting Forces Opposing Forces
Steps:
• Identify all relevant Senior Management Support
stakeholders Middle Management Resistance

• Identify forces for and User Support to „Clean Up“

against change Staff Resistence

• Prioritise the forces Some Enthusiastic Users

• Develop strategies to Staff Cynism About Hidden Agendas

strengthen supporting Other BU Already „Done It“
forces
• Develop strategies to Lack of Resources

reduce, weaken or
isolate opposing Kübler-Ross Users

forces.
 Force-Field Analysis Steps
• Perform exhaustive
stakeholder analysis.
Take notes about the
interests of each
stakeholder.
• Prioritise the forces
• Develop strategies to strengthen or leverage
supporting forces
• Develop strategies to weaken or isolate
opposing forces.
Kotter’s Eights Steps to Change
1. Create a sense of
Urgency
2. Build a Guiding
Coalition
3. Form a Strategic Vision
and Initiatives
4. Enlist a Volunteer Army
5. Enable Action by
Removing Barriers
6. Generate Short-Term
Wins
7. Sustain Acceleration
8. Institute Change
Kotter’s Eights Steps to Change
1. Create a sense of Urgency
Craft and use a significant opportunity as a means for exciting people to sign up to change their organization

2. Build a Guiding Coalition

Assemble a group with the power and energy to lead and support a collaborative change effort

3. Form a Strategic Vision and Initiatives

Shape a vision to help steer the change effort and develop strategic initiatives to achieve that vision

4. Enlist a Volunteer Army

Raise a large force of people who are ready, willing and urgent to drive change

5. Enable Action by Removing Barriers

Remove obstacles to change, change systems or structures that pose threats to the achievement of the vision

6. Generate Short-Term Wins

Consistently produce, track, evaluate and celebrate volumes of small and large accomplishments – and correlate them to results

7. Sustain Acceleration
Use increasing credibility to change systems, structures and policies that don’t align with the vision; hire, promote and develop
employees who can implement the vision; reinvigorate the process with new projects, themes and volunteers

8. Institute Change
Articulate the connections between the new behaviors and organizational success, and develop the means to ensure leadership
development and succession
 Reduce User Resistance
• Involve users early in the process of
designing the solution and allow
them to „take control“.
• „Green Pastures on the Other
Side“:
Develop a convincing scenario for
the time after the change and
communicate to all users.
• Identify the negative aspects of the
current situation and emphasize
them in meetings.
• Negotiate with moderately opposing
users and check if you can adapt
the system to their needs.
 Strengthen Supporting Forces
• Create Beach-Heads:
Identify supportive users
and include them in rollout
team meetings as experts
or in pilot groups
 Weaken Opposing Forces
• Deal with individual users using
Kübler-Ross tools
• Provide success stories of other
organizations who have gone
through the same change process.
• „Build bridges“:
Create opportunities for opposing
agents to join the project without
loosing face.
• Apply „Five bases of power“:
Use power to deal with remaining
forces.
 General
• „Build Trust“:
Start with small steps or a „pilot system“ and
celebrate the milestone
• „Shared Reality“:
Make sure you understand and „live“ the reality
of your stakeholders. They need to accept the
change agents as „one of them“.
• Know when not to proceed:
Don‘t execute the project if the opposing forces
are too strong.