UPDATE: There is an updated version of the change management poster here.

I’ve been doing work for a company that is undergoing large scale change. Well, “change” is putting it lightly actually, it’s more like a complete transformation, so change affects all areas of the business.

This company isn’t the only one that’s doing it, and while observing this process on a daily basis, I thought that a map which supports management of a change within an organisation would be helpful, regardless of the nature of changes - technology, processes or their combinations:


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On the left hand side the map illustrates steps to follow to identify the reasons for change, its scope, driving forces (both negative and positive) and sources of resistance. Small boxes next to the circles give you hints on what to use and what to look at.

On the right hand side the map illustrates steps to be undertaken to keep the change under control and lead the organisational ship through the turbulent waters.

The steps in the map have been tested in many projects both small and large. I would like to emphasise that you can use those steps that are relevant to your case - tailor it where you need rather than just follow the steps. For example, for software development the following steps are common:

  • Identify a reason for change
  • Determine scope of change
  • Recombine
  • Implement change
  • Facilitate acceptance of change

Changes that include business processes and supporting technology (software systems and specialised tools) require applying all steps to make change as painless as possible. The scale of impact is quite a lot bigger in this case, that’s why all steps are important to ensure success.