Project management and change management: navigating the intersection between the two.
Organisations often find themselves at the intersection of project management and change management, given the similarities and overlapping skills between the two disciplines. When faced with a limited project budget, organisations often decide to merge the roles of the project manager and change manager, by giving a single individual both sets of responsibilities. However, combining these roles often comes at a cost, potentially undermining the effectiveness of change initiatives and increasing the risk of becoming part of the 70% of change initiatives that fail. In this article, we will delve into the similarities and differences between project management and change management roles and explore the reasons why separating these roles will improve your project’s chances of success.
Project management vs. change management
The term ‘project management’ refers to the practice of planning, delivering, and controlling a project from initiation to completion. For example, when constructing a new building, project management is used when defining and documenting the justification for the building, or when outlining the time, scope, budget, and resources required to construct the building.
The term ‘change management’ refers to the process of preparing and supporting people to successfully adopt change. For example, when implementing new technology, change management is used to plan for the technology change, engage stakeholders on why there is new technology being implemented and what this means for them, monitor the success of the change, and make improvements to change efforts as needed.
Similarities
Project management and change management share several key similarities:
Planning: Both disciplines require a focus on planning and using structured approaches to meet an agreed outcome. In the context of project management, the Project Plan outlines the time, scope, and resource requirements of a project. In change management, the Change Strategy and Plan contain key information to manage the change, including 'what' and 'why' the change is happening, to ‘who’, and 'how'.
Stakeholder engagement: Both project managers and change managers need to engage with a variety of different stakeholders. Project managers engage the project sponsor, project team, business SMEs, and external contractors. Change managers focus their efforts on those helping manage the change, such as change leaders and subject matter experts, or those impacted by the change.
Problem-solving: Both project managers and change managers need to identify problems that inevitably arise and respond in a clear and structured way. In the context of project management, this might include responding to challenges associated with timeline delays, scope changes, or cost blowouts. In change management, problems might relate to leaders’ readiness to drive the change through the organisation, groups that are resisting the change, or difficulty getting audience attention is a ‘noisy’ environment.
Continuous improvement: Project managers and change managers are both focused on monitoring feedback and making improvements. In project management, lessons learned from previous projects may drive the project approach of future projects. In change management, employee data is analysed as part of change readiness and adoption assessments, providing valuable insight to improve in the future.
Differences
While sharing some similarities, project management and change management are two distinct disciplines with some key differences:
Outcome: The outcome of the work is different for project managers and change managers. Project managers are focused on the successful delivery of a project by meeting project objectives, delivering according to the project schedule, and staying within budget. Change managers are focused on ensuring employees adopt a people, process, or technology change by delivering tailored change initiatives.
Scope: The scope of project management and change management is different too. The scope of project management is limited to the project itself but often does not address the broader organisational impact of the project. Whereas change management goes beyond just the project and includes the need to consider the impact of other projects on impacted stakeholders and the need to sustain the change.
Timing: Project management is usually temporary, existing for the life of the project, which has a clearly defined start and end date. Change management, due to the need to reinforce the change and sustain the benefits of the change, is an ongoing exercise extending beyond the end date of the project.
Why you should separate the project management and change management roles
Given both disciplines have unique goals and skill sets, organisations should aim to separate project management and change management roles for the following reasons:
Specialised expertise: Separating the two roles bring unique skills and experience to a project. Change managers not only possess strong planning, communication, stakeholder engagement, and problem-solving skills but also empathy, leadership, and influencing skills. This enables change managers to understand stakeholders’ needs, influence others to change, and drive change throughout the organisation.
Focused effort: Separating the two roles allows resources to concentrate on meeting different outcomes. For project managers, this means focusing their efforts on the successful delivery of a product or service, while for change managers this means focusing their efforts on ensuring the human side of the project is adequately addressed.
Role clarity: Separating these roles provides clarity in terms of accountability. Project managers are accountable for project-related outcomes, while change managers are accountable for ensuring the change is adopted. Providing role clarity reduces confusion, improves efficiency, and sets both roles up for a successful outcome.
Signal of intent: Separating the change manager and project manager roles, and investing in change management, sends a clear signal of intent that the organisation is focusing on change. Alternatively, when combining the change and project manager roles, change may be seen as an afterthought for the project, while project management efforts often get prioritised.
Conclusion
Under certain circumstances and due to the similarities between project management and change management, organisations may consider merging the roles of the project manager and change manager. However, organisations should recognise the differences between each discipline and the advantages of keeping them separate. Separating project management and change management roles not only offers the benefit of dedicated and specialised expertise in each field, focused effort, and greater role clarity but a clear investment in change management. Ultimately, the separation of roles is a strategic decision that can greatly enhance the success of your next change project.
Lachlan McDonough, Manager