Change Project Overview and Development

Instructions:

Use the questions below to begin outlining important aspects of your change project. At this point in the semester, there are questions you might not be able to answer fully or with confidence. You should come back to this document as you learn more about your organization, organizational change, and the various aspects of the change process (e.g., sponsorship, execution, resistance, etc).

For the first assignment, fill in as many items as possible, focusing on the six items in current state/future state. This information will be important as you begin to develop a more comprehensive organizational change project.

Current State / Future State:

What is the current situation? Briefly describe those aspects of the present state that will have to change?

What situation presented itself to demonstrate the need for this change? Who originally identified the situation/issue? What data supports the need to change?

The key players in this change perceive this situation as ...

an opportunity - a situation to be exploited for future success.

a need - a current situation that could become problematic.

A discomfort - an existing problem requiring a solution from the organization.

pain - a severe problem requiring an immediate response from the organization.

no perception.

The people impacted by this change perceive it as ...

an opportunity - a situation to be exploited for future success.

a need - a current situation that could be problematic.

a discomfort - an existing problem requiring a solution from the organization.

pain - a severe problem requiring an immediate response from the organization.

no perception.

What are the consequences if the organization does not make this change?

Briefly describe the desired state of the organization upon successful implementation.

Business (Cost savings, added productivity, etc.)

Technical (Process change, enhanced tools, etc.)

Human Elements (Behavior change, engagement, etc.)

Sponsorship:

What is the budget for implementation?

Who is authorizing budget and the implementation of this change? Who is providing the resources for implementation (distinctive from the design)?

Execution:

What is/was the time frame for design and development of this change?

Who are the persons responsible for making the change happen (Change Agents)? Who is responsible for implementation?

Who else in the organization will need to monitor and facilitate the behavior change?

What milestones have been identified to monitor progress of this change? Who has the responsibility for monitoring this progress after the launch ("go live") date?

What resource constraints exist that may affect project implementation? List money, time, technology, or people issues that may affect implementation success.

Resistance:

Identify the groups that will be directly and indirectly impacted by the change.

What is currently preventing people from engaging in this behavior now? Does this vary from one segment of the target population to the next?

What are some reasons why people might resist making the change?

What reinforcements/motivators could be put into place to help facilitate this behavior change?

If asked, how would you answer the questions "What's in it for me?" (WIIFM) and "What's in it for the company?"

Communications:

Does this description need to be shared? List those people who should have input into this definition or who should understand the description of the project?

How will the content of your communications need to vary for the different sections of the target audience?