The Relationship Between Project Management and Change Management

This may be one of my favorite topics to talk about in change… ever! I think it’s likely because I have worn both project and change hats. I understand the feeling of seeking more strategy and people considerations in the work that I do. Project management considers people, process, and technology, with a major focus on the latter two. Let’s face it – there are many parallels, yet the disciplines both serve incredibly important and distinct goals for change success.

The Distribution of Project and Change Duties

By definition of the ACMP, where project management delivers the change, change management ensures it is embedded and adopted within the organization. An organization is incredibly lucky when a project or team is resourced with two unique individuals leading these charges together. An increasing trend is to combine the discipline (hence, why I aim to really educate any of my project management readers on change), though many will continually argue (including me!) on the enormous importance of separate disciplines. How on earth would one person effectively have time to properly plan for the people side of change, and all of the beautiful and unique factors that make up one person, let alone a group of individuals in an organization?

And for this reason alone, establishing guidelines early on with your project or change partner is so important. Building this relationship together and understanding that both people are lassoing that same North Star. Finding areas of crossover where collaborative work not only decreases time spent but most importantly increases effectiveness and alignment. Taking this aligned front into project team calls immediately builds confidence in not only the project but the team and approach. Diverting from these positive benefits and goals by way of sabotaging for sake of feeling threatened does more harm than good, and some of that harm is potentially impossible to recover from.

An Example: Prosci's PCT Model

I’ll take Prosci’s PCT (Prosci Change Triangle) model as an example to illustrate the need for this healthy balance. This assessment is comprised of a series of sentimental questions with scores ranging from 1-3 (one at the lowest scale). The questions asked are aiming to arrive at an overall “project health” check where success is measured from three angles (three points of the triangle): sponsorship, project management, and change management. This is a repeatable assessment for true effectiveness. Considering this is how project health is generally tracked in Prosci’s terms, can you see how incredibly important this balance is in a project?

Staying Change Curious

So I ask any of my project managers reading this message: if you are lucky enough to have a dedicated change manager on a project you are running, make sure they are embedded and in the know from the start. Make sure they are part of the project and not just “informed” later on. Truly and genuinely build this relationship and realize that together, you both add tremendous value to your organization.

And for my change managers: when you are building the relationship with your project managers, consider that many project managers these days are “change curious”. Help to educate them and fold them into your change plan. Find opportunities and ways that you may be able to collaborate together to once again, deliver the best value possible to your organization and people.

Thanks for flying with me today and keep in mind, I’ll be revisiting this topic in later editions! We’ve only just begun to crack the egg.