A project

manager’s role
in change
management
• In this lesson, you’re learning about how to support the change
management process for your project. To review, change management
is the process of delivering your completed project and getting other
people in the organization to adopt it. In this reading, we will discuss
strategies for approaching change management as a project manager.

• Your project’s success depends on the adoption and acceptance of your

project—whether that entails the launch of a new external tool or a
process that will change operations at a production facility. In both
cases, the greatest impact of the change will be on the people who use
and interact with the product or process that is changing.

• For example, if your website’s user interface changes, the major impact
of that change affects the user. The user must learn how the website has
been reorganized and adapt to the new way to navigate it. If part of the
website’s interface update includes a new brand logo, the major impact
of that change impacts your organization’s employees. They must be
made aware of the new logo and measures must be taken to ensure that
all company communications include the new logo, not the old one.

• You can help ensure your project’s success by embracing changes as

they come and by convincing the wider audience, whether that is the
end user or members of the organization, to embrace changes, too.
When you implement a careful approach to change management, you
can address issues that might occur in the later stages of your project.
 Integrating project
management and change
management
Change management is a major undertaking and a project in and of itself. When it comes to change management, you
may not always be responsible for leading and planning the entire end-to-end process. There will be times when your
manager, a team member, or another senior leader might be responsible for taking on that transition and successfully
implementing the changes. However, although you may not be the one directly leading the change, there are still ways
in which you can support and participate in the successful adoption of your project.
As a project manager, you can think of change management as necessary for the successful outcome of your project.
Both change management and project management aim to increase the likelihood of project success. They also
incorporate tools and processes to accomplish that goal. The most effective way to achieve a project goal is to
integrate project management and change management, and it is your responsibility as a project manager to do so.
When you are thinking about change management as it relates to your project, begin by asking yourself the following
questions:
•How will the organization react to change?
•Which influencers can affect change?
•What are the best means of communication?
•What change management practices will lead to the successful implementation of my project?
The answers to these questions will help you prepare for a variety of possible scenarios and allow you to craft solutions
to effectively support the adoption of your project.
 Be proactive

Communicate
about upcoming
changes
Integrating project
Follow a consistent
process management and
change management
Practice empathy
Let’s look at some best practices for
approaching change management on your
projects:
Use tools
 Be proactive Be proactive. Proactive and inclusive change
management planning can help keep any
potentially impacted stakeholders aware of the
upcoming changes.
•Incorporate change management into your

Communicate project management steps. For example, you

can schedule time during team meetings or
create a feedback document to ensure that
about upcoming your team members know there is a place to
voice their suggestions and concerns.
changes •You can also plan steps towards the end of

Integrating project
your project to introduce the deliverable to
stakeholders in the form of demonstrations,
question and answer forums, or marketing
Follow a consistent videos. You can factor all of these decisions

process management and

into your plan so that any potential changes
are less likely to impact your timeline. If these
steps have not been built into your plan, you

change management
can escalate and stress the importance of a
change management plan to your
stakeholders.

Practice empathy Let’s look at some best practices for

approaching change management on your
projects:
Use tools
 Be proactive

Communicate Communicate about upcoming changes.

Communication should occur regularly among
about upcoming impacted stakeholders, the change
management team, and the project team.
changes Check in and communicate throughout the

Integrating project
project about how the changes will provide a
better experience for end users of the project

Follow a consistent deliverables. In this way, you support the

process management and

process by providing everyone with the
information they need to feel prepared to

change management
adjust to changes once the project is ready to
launch.

Practice empathy Let’s look at some best practices for

approaching change management on your
projects:
Use tools
 Integrating project management
and change management
Be proactive
Let’s look at some best practices for approaching
• Proactive change
and inclusive management
change on yourcan
management planning projects:
help keep any potentially impacted stakeholders aware of the
upcoming changes.
• Incorporate change management into your project management steps. For example, you can schedule time during team
meetings or create a feedback document to ensure that your team members know there is a place to voice their suggestions and
Communicate concerns.
• You can also plan steps towards the end of your project to introduce the deliverable to stakeholders in the form of
about upcoming demonstrations, question and answer forums, or marketing videos. You can factor all of these decisions into your plan so that any
• potential changes are less likely to impact yourimpacted
timeline. stakeholders,
If these steps the
have not been built into your plan,
andyou
the can escalate
team.and
changes Communication
stress
Check the
should
importance
in and
occur regularly
of a change
communicate
among
management
throughout plan
the project to your
about howstakeholders.
change management team, project
the changes will provide a better experience for end users of the
project deliverables. In this way, you support the process by providing everyone with the information they need to feel prepared
to adjust to changes once the project is ready to launch.

Follow a
consistent process • Following a clear change management process helps maintain consistency each time there is a change. The change management
process should be established and documented early on in your project to guide how the project will handle change. Your
organization may also have an overarching change management plan that can be adopted for your project. This may include
when the promotion of the change should happen, when training should occur, when the launch or release will occur, and
corresponding steps for each phase of the process.

Practice empathy
• Changes are inevitable, but we are often resistant to them. By being empathetic to the challenges and anxiety change can bring,
you can support the process in subtle ways.

Use tools • Incorporating tools to assist in the adoption of a change can be very helpful. Here are a few examples you can use on your next
project:
• Feedback mechanisms, such as surveys, can capture input from stakeholders.
• Flowcharts can visualize the project's development process.
• Culture mapping can illustrate the company's culture and how the company's values, norms, and employees behavior may be
affected by the change.
 Waterfall and Agile Comparison

Waterfall Agile

Cost Costs are kept under control by careful Costs and schedule could change with each
estimation up front and close monitoring iteration.
throughout the life cycle of the project.

Quality Project manager makes plans and clearly defines Team solicits ongoing stakeholder input and user
criteria to measure quality at the beginning of feedback by testing products in the field and
the project. regularly implementing improvements.

Communication Project manager continually communicates Team is customer-focused, with consistent

progress toward milestones and other key communication between users and the project
indicators to stakeholders, ensuring that the team.
project is on track to meet the customer’s
expectations.

Stakeholders Project manager continually manages and Team frequently provides deliverables to
monitors stakeholder engagement to ensure the stakeholders throughout the project. Progress
project is on track. toward milestones is dependent upon
stakeholder feedback.
Comparing
Waterfall and
Agile
approaches
Key takeaway
• Now that you better understand the
differences between Waterfall and Agile
project management approaches, you can
use this understanding to determine which
is most effective for your projects.