Articles

Change Management: A single expression with different meanings within a technology project

October 3, 2023

Change is a generic concept that means “something different” and it applies to anything and all aspects of life and business.

“Change management” has been a popular topic for over 30 years. The fact that it means different things to a project manager, product manager, business analyst, IT specialist and change management specialists working together has become a source of confusion.

Let’s try to clarify!

The role of the business analyst (BA) is to clarify the business needs and requirements that bring the need for changes, translate them into operating and technical requirements, and identify the impacts on existing tools and work organization.
Organizational Change Management (OCM) focuses on people, ensuring the transition of organizations from their current state to a desired state, and aims to accelerate the adoption of change that impacts habits, ways of doing things and work organization (relationships). The PROSCI method and CCMP certification are relevant in this context, which is associated with human resources management and industrial psychology.
Change management in project management concerns the controlled management of changes requested by customers during the course of a project, and their impact on deadlines, costs and schedules, while ensuring compliance with the scope and achievement of preset objectives (project charter). PMBoK, project management methods and the PMP certification are relevant from a project manager’s perspective.
Product change management focuses on the controlled evolution of product/solution features in response to identified defects and changing user needs over time. It aims to prioritize the improvements and corrections to be made to each release of a product (iteration), while optimizing allocated budgets and deadlines. The Agile method and certifications in business analysis (IIBA) and product management are relevant in this perspective.
IT Change Management (ITCM) focuses on the implementation of changes to technologies already in operation (production) and deals with technological components, including applications, data and technological infrastructure. Applicable to production, it aims to ensure that system stability, security and traceability are maintained, as well as to reduce downtime during modifications. In software engineering, the terms configuration management or software version control refer to this, and ITSM-ITIL® and CISSP are relevant certifications.

All these perspectives are required to successfully implement changes that meet needs with minimum disruption. All require a structured approach, clear communication, stakeholder involvement and sound risk management.

But each requires a distinct skills profile that can rarely be combined in a single person.

Please don’t contribute to the spread of confusion!

About the author:

Eric Magnan is a career consultant who founded Pragmatik Advisory Services in 2005. Since the late ’80s, he has assisted some 30 private and public companies through more than 70 missions aimed at adopting new technological solutions or new ways of working based on digital technology advances. He holds several professional certifications, which he puts down to good use for his customers through mission-driven commitments tailored to their context, constraints and needs.