Change Management Vs. Project Management

In today's world, a particular enterprise's success is highly dependent on its ability to adapt to fresh business environments throughout its development process. To do so, a proper structure must be created so that new innovation and thinking techniques can properly tackle the technical and human sides while also aligning perfectly with the corporate and employee structures of the organization.

It should be realized that even though Change management & Project Management might seem similar, they’re two sides of a single coin. Both of them are management principles that help involve different goals & achievements. However, if both of these procedures can be combined, then the best overall success for an organization can be obtained. Therefore, in today’s topic, we will explore the key differences between Project Management & Change Management.

What is Change Management?

Change Management can be defined as the process of using tools, people, and methods to efficiently assist enterprises in managing various changes that take place mainly due to project initiatives. Additionally, Change Management is also used to manage other factors that can affect the outcome of a project initiative.

The various objectives of Change Management:

• Always work towards change integration and sustainability
• Properly communicate progress
• Managing risks on the people side of things
• Planning & creating strategies for adopting change as well as obtaining timely realization of benefits
• Closely following the life cycle of Change Management
• Manage & motivate people who are experiencing the process of change

What is Project Management?

Project Management can be defined as the process of application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques so that a project can be planned, initiated, monitored, and executed properly. Project Management tends to have a certain start & end date, that includes milestones, tasks, goals, final deliverables, and requirements.

The various objectives of Project Management

• Using the tools and carrying out the procedures for managing a project from the beginning till the end
• Closely follows the Project Management lifecycle
• Always focuses on project cost, time, scope, and quality
• Properly managing risks
• Offer solutions for project delivery
• Communication of progress and the overall impact of the solutions on the goals of the project

Change Management vs Project Management – in brief

Change Management tends to have:

• More focus on people
• No standard guidelines
• Less formal outlook than Project Management
• No specific timeline
• More focus on managing the impact of the change from a project or organizational developments

Project Management tends to have:

• Well-documented standards and guidelines
• A very specific timeline
• More focus on technical systems & procedures
• More focus on managing project activities to meet specific requirements & goals

Change Management vs Project Management – in detail

1. Objectives

According to the definition of Project Management, it’s a set of tasks, processes, and strategies that can be utilized to guide any team throughout a project and thus reach the objective. Projects will always have a defined target date for completion, which can change depending on the circumstances.

Alternatively, Change Management involves a particular strategy and process designed to assist enterprises in adapting to fresh changes. Such a process alters internal and external factors, ultimately impacting the organization.

Thus, it can be easily seen that Change Management doesn’t include a specific list of tasks. Instead, the process adapts over time as the organization experiences the change it’s managing. Even the deliverables are not defined. Unlike project management, Change Management will continue to evolve with the changing challenges and conditions of the organization.

2. Methodology

The methodology used by either of these processes makes the ideal distinction between them. It should be known that Project Management, mainly at the enterprise level, is a highly formal procedure that involves phases, stakeholder roles, methodologies & techniques which are clearly defined.

Even though Change Management may share some of the above-mentioned characteristics in individual cases, they’re not the same at the enterprise level. Change Management is usually highly unpredictable.

Project Managers always chalk out the plan of their entire project beforehand, even before the work begins its course. On the other hand, Change Managers need to be prepared for some of the most unexpected developments and reactions, which is why they might need to alter their approach as they progress and evaluate.

3. Focus

When it comes to Project Management, the primary focus is on the tasks and activities necessary to implement and thus develop technical solutions to complete a project.

On the flip side, Change Management focuses primarily on the employees of the organization, who have been impacted by the change.

4. Responsibilities & training

Since Change Managers and Project Manager's roles handle different types of work, they tend to be different. This means that each manager's training process will be different, and their areas of expertise will also be diverse.

In most cases, Project Managers start their careers by slowly developing expertise in a specific field. And as they gain experience & knowledge, they start leading the projects. Moreover, Project Managers nowadays hone their skills using the PMP or Project Management Professional certification.

On the contrary, Change Managers or management experts usually come from specific management consulting or communication backgrounds. Change Managers tend to have a deeper understanding of how high-level organizational decisions are undertaken, which can directly affect the employees, customers, and vendors. Since there’s no specific course in Change Management, most Change Managers out there build their expertise by earning the PMP or any other Project Management certification for themselves.

5. Reporting procedure

Regarding reporting, the procedure followed by either of the two management processes is different. For instance, the project manager reports directly to the stakeholder or the project sponsor in project management.

But, when it comes to Change Management, the situation is two-sided. On some occasions, the Change Manager will report to the project sponsor directly. And on other occasions, the Change Manager may have to report to the Project Manager, especially if the Change Manager is working with a Project Manager in large-scale projects.

6. Success measurement

The success of Change Management can be measured by the overall speed of change adoption along with the efficiency and achievements obtained by organizational employees.

However, the success of Project Management is measured in technical elements such as meeting the time allocated for the project, the budget, and the achievements.

7. Process followed

Usually, in Change Management, the following procedure is followed:

• Change preparation (Phase 1)
• Change Management (Phase 2)
• Change reinforcement (Phase 3)

On the Project Management side of things, the following procedure is carried out:

• Initiation
• Planning
• Execution
• Control & monitoring
• Closure

8. Tools utilized

In Change Management, the following set of tools are used:

• Training plans
• Individual change model
• Coaching plans
• Communication plans
• Mechanisms for reinforcements
• Managing resistance to change
• Roadmaps for sponsorships
• Readiness assessments

Similarly, in Project Management, the following set of tools are utilized:

• Gnatt chart
• Work statements
• Business case
• Project charter
• Tracking & scheduling
• Estimates for budget
• Breakdown of the overall work structure
• Allocation of resources

Advantages of incorporating Project & Change Management together

Since each management procedure focuses on different aspects of a specific project, using them together will help obtain greater organizational success.

Efficiency enhancement

There will be moments when working independently of each other can lead to miscommunication, redundancies, and inefficiency. There’s no denying that all of these aforementioned factors will directly result in a very messy situation and the outcomes will not be tasteful. But, if Project Management and Change Management teams and procedures can work together in harmony, a strategically & holistically better project outcome can be achieved.

Better alignment

When Change Management and Project Management are integrated into a specific project, it allows the teams to align their procedures in the most logical and effective sequence. Aligning the people and technical activities will help the teams make the correct decision.

Mitigation of risks

When the Project Management and Change Management teams work separately, team members might miss significant opportunities and risks to mitigate or manage them. But when the two procedures are connected, planning milestones and delivery becomes easier.

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Conclusion

From the aforementioned information, it can be easily deduced that Change Management tends to cover strategy implementation and communication during moments of transition within an organization, such as a change of business culture or undertaking a new project. On the other hand, Project Management is all about efficiently handling stakeholder interests so that certain business activities can be completed successfully.
However, the truth is that more than 70 percent of change initiatives undertaken by organizations tend to fail, and only 58 percent of organizations understand the method of sizing up the project management value. Therefore, when two of these methodologies are used separately, they provide less success than using them together. Thus, the ideal step would be to forego the differences between Change Management and Project Management, using them simultaneously whenever necessary. Simpliaxis offers Project Management courses and Change Management training to help professionals and organizations achieve greater success by integrating these crucial methodologies effectively.