Is Change Management Part Of Project Management?
Project management is the discipline of and the process of bringing a product, service or team from A to B. Changes can occur at all stages of the transition: before, during, and after. A successful project has a lasting and significant impact on more than just the stakeholders.
While the project team is focused on the technical and strategic objectives of a project’s completion, another team should handle the uncertainty associated with the project’s changes. If uncertainty is not managed well, it can cause anxiety, confusion, and resistance from other members of the organization, who may not understand the purpose or need for the changes.
Table of Contents
What is Change Management?
Levels of Change
There are differences between project management and change management
Skills required for a Change Manager
Change Management Career Benefits
Are you ready to explore a career in change management?
What is Change Management?
Change management is a structured approach to managing the many changes that occur when an individual, team or organization moves from one state to another. It is the discipline that guides individuals on how to prepare, empower, and support them to successfully embrace change and transition to success, improvement, achievement, desired outcomes, or betterment. Three stages are required for change managers to help people move through:
Plan for change
Change Management
Reinforcing change
Also read: Project Management and Change Management: How to Manage Change Effectively
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Levels of Change
There are many changes that can occur. One way to manage them all is to classify them into different levels. Change managers can help employees adapt to the changes at the right time and support them in their continuous improvement by separating management approaches into different levels.
Individual Change Management
Individual change management is the study of how individuals react to changes and how they adapt. Managers of change are trained to identify what will help employees make positive changes and to use psychology to encourage behavioral change.
Organizational Change Management
Organizational change management involves managing change at the project level. This includes managing individuals and teams to achieve project success. It is difficult to manage change person-by-person. Implementing steps at a project level allows for greater coverage and greater impact. Organizational change must be coordinated with project management to ensure that all parties will accept the solution and the recommendations.
Enterprise Change Management
Enterprise change management is the management of change within an organization that affects its core competency. This results in adaptability and competitive differentiation. Once individuals and teams have accepted changes, the final step is to embed the changes at the enterprise’s core values. This is the final step in implementing the changes into the culture of the organization and meeting the goal of change management.
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There are differences between project management and change management
Because they both involve managing people, processes and projects, project management and change management are similar. They are often used together to achieve their respective goals. However, they are distinct disciplines. Project management is fundamentally about achieving clearly defined outcomes within the three constraints of time, scope and budget. Project management often includes change management. There are two sides to any change to systems, processes or structures. Project management is all about the technical side, while change management is all about the people side.
