Change management and project management feel quite similar, especially considering that they’re both trying to implement some sort of change. But since project management has existed as a field far longer than change management is it right to assume that change management is a part of project management?
Change management and project management are two different disciplines but are both needed to execute a project successfully. Change management focuses on the people’s side when executing change whereas project management focuses on the managerial side of projects such as activities and timelines.
Now there are some similarities such as both disciplines are heavily involved in the execution of projects or initiatives. Let’s explore their differences and verify if change management is currently a required skill to have as a project manager.
Change Management and Project Management are essential but distinct disciplines
Change management and project management are two distinct disciplines. Whereas change management focuses heavily on the people’s side. Meaning that while it is similar to project management since it is also involving people, certain processes, and tools, its focus is slightly different.
Change management focuses on helping organizations manage every change that might occur based on for example ongoing projects, the introduction of new software for example, or adopting other factors such as the coronavirus.
I will go deeper into what change management entails further down but just to stick to the question lets quickly look at project management. The focus of project management lies in making a project happen in time and in budget.
| Project Management | Change Management | |
| Responsibilities | Initiate, plan, execute, monitor, and finalize a project from start to finish. | Plan, execute, adjust and analyze projects which focus on changing behavior within the organization |
| Deliverables | Deliver a project which matches with the customer’s expectations | Ensure a smooth transition from an employees old behavior to new behavior |
| Success Criteria | Finish the project in time and within budget | Employees are following new desired behavior for a long period of time after a change has been introduced and executed |
Imagine you’re buying a house, you planned the construction of your house when the foundation is being laid, before that you might need to get an excavtor to dig a whole if you want a basement.
As soon as that is done the foundation can actually be laid, after that maybe the walls can be installed and so forth (I neve built a house myself, but my friends did and boy was that an undertaking).
You always need to ensure that you are on track with your schedule because the electricians for example can only come at a specific time frame, and if they are not able to install the electric cables then you cannot move on to other parts of your house, which will cost you time and therefore money.
So in short, a projcet manager is keeping track of all the activities people have done to get closer to this completion phase and a successful project.
This includes checking if the project is in budget, constantly interacting with stakeholders to identify if they are able to complete their projects in time, and so on.
Why Change Managment is not part of Project Managment
Now theory and praxis can always differ. This is why I wanted to verify if organizations that are currently looking for project management experts really do not expect them to have change management skills.
In order to do that I went on monster.com and searched for the newest project management positions for entry-level project managers until senior project managers.
I did not find a single job that required change management knowledge.
Now looking at similar research I’ve done about if change management is part of human resources, I’ve found that employees are somehow a little sneaky and request specific certifications.
These certifications for human resources experts do require change management skills.
If you’re curious where you should position change management experts inside an organization and in what depth human resource colleagues should have these skills too then check out this post here.
So I did check a couple of project management certifications such as the Project Management Professional certification.
I went through their curriculum for each level of project management certifications and checked if there are any requirements or expected learning outcomes in regard to change management.
I found exactly zero mentions of change management, which implies that at least the HR department in an organization has understood that a project manager and a change manager have two different backgrounds and are not expected to know each other’s specialization.
Interesting side note if you are considering to become a project manager or are one. According to project management certification companies, employers will need to fill nearly 2.2 million new slots for project-related initiatives every year until 2027.
So if you are a project manager then you are not required to have change management experience and you can continue including your change management colleagues in your project with a clear conscious.
Change Management and Project Management are both necessary for success
Now since project management is an age-old discipline and change management is still only a couple decades old, people have the presumption that change management is simply a part of project management.
It is not, change management and project management are two completely different disciplines. And both are necessary when tackling any kind of project or change initiative.
Think of it, a project manager is responsible for keeping track of activities, budgets and ensures that projects, such as installing new software get completed in time.
He however lacks the knowledge of how this project might impact the people who are affected by it.
This is where the change manager shows his skills set by providing suggestions on how the installment of the new software affects the employees, how the change should be planned, executed, and afterward maintain.
Now if a company decides to start changing something on an organizational level, such as using a new software then both disciplines are needed to ensure a successful outcome.
Gartner did a study on this which revealed that 50% of all organizational change initiatives fail.
Now the study doesn’t mention in particular why these projects fail.
However, if every second project which targets to change something (a process, a behavior, etc.) on the organizational level fails it is certainly recommended to have both disciplines involved to mitigate the risk of failure.
The focus of Change Mangement
Just to make this as comprehensible and easy as possible to understand let me just explain what change managements core responsibility is, its deliverable and its most important success criterias.
A change manager is focusing on preparing, planning, executing, and managing a change initiative inside an organization. Meaning how change affects employees and how the organization can help its employees adopt/embrace change.
The core priority is helping the employees from an organization to transition from an old habit to a new desired one.
Such as switching from Skype to Microsoft Team or Zoom without losing an employee or creating too much resistance when changing processes.
A change manager would start to understand the problems of an organization first, the culture, how employees are driven and the business goals of the organization, and the intended project to change a process for example within a business.
Then the change manager would plan how the change should be executed, how the staff is being affected, what critical indicators for success look like, and tries to project different timelines on when the employees have adapted to the change.
After that, the change manager would execute the change, see how employees are reacting to the planned effort to make the transition to a new process as easy as possible (e.g. using trainings or incentives and such).
And if necessary would adjust the initiative to make the transition as easy as possible.
The change manager is finished with a project when the change has been accepted and the new process for example has been sustained for a longer period of time.
| Responsibilities | Plan, execute, adjust and analyze projects which focus on changing behavior within the organization |
| Deliverables | Ensure a smooth transition from an employees old behavior to new behavior |
| Success Criteria | Employees are following new desired behavior for a long period of time after a change has been introduced and executed |
Through the entire process the change manager needs ensure that every employee is always aware of the status of the change initiative, requiring great communication skills.
The Focus of Project Management
Looking at the project manager in particular. His or her goal lies in enabling strategy, meaing he or she is typically following a well documented guide to managing a project.
The project manager ensures that there is a defined start and end date for each project, which includes tasks, certain milestones, and ultimate deliverables/deadlines when a project should be completed.
This of the building a house example before. It would probably be beneficial if you managed to build it before the winter sets in, so what needs to be done and when in order to move in before the winter.
The project manager usually focusing on implementing a product or service is then ensuring that the objectives are met with success.
He or she meets with stakeholders, such as vendors, company leadership, and so forth to inform the relevant parties about the project and its timelines.
Communication skills as you probably have guessed is one of the key ingredients to being successful in this role.
Their main deliverable is to ensure the successful completion of a project on time and within budget.
| Responsibilities | Initiate, plan, execute, monitor, and finalize a project from start to finish. |
| Deliverables | Deliver a project which matches with the customer’s expectations |
| Success Criteria | Finish the project in time and within budget |