I like the Prosci methodology because it gives us a research based, structured approach to achieving change adoption & delivering the people dependent benefits of change. In other words, where achieving results requires people to change what they do or how they do it, Prosci gives us a way to not leave this “People Side” of change to chance. 

So Prosci’s change management methodology helps us get the people side of change right, and that’s good. But while it gives us a structured approach to addressing the people side of change, it’s no Panacea. Change management is no “Silver Bullet” - It’s not some sort of magic formula that guarantees success no matter what! 

So, what are the other parts that need to come together for change to succeed? Prosci’s research into change and what makes some changes succeed and others fail points towards four critical elements that are needed to maximise the chances of success and these are defined as: 

• The Success element reflects the need to have a clear shared definition of what success looks like – what the finishing line is for the change. Without this we can't measure progress, we can't know when we have got there or ensure everyone is pulling in the same direction. 
• The Leadership and Sponsorship element reflects the need to have leaders at all levels taking appropriate action to shape the change and support its delivery and adoption. Without such leadership, change delivery and adoption struggle. 
• The Project Management element reflects the need for a disciplined structured approach to delivery of the technical side of the change which is ideally also applied to the people side. Without it the desired change is likely to remain on the wish list rather than become reality.
• The Change Management element reflects the need to take a structured, intentional approach to addressing the people side of change; without it change adoption is likely to struggle. 

Prosci have brought these four elements together into the Prosci Change Triangle, which gives us a useful tool for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a change initiative and helps create a focus on the actions required to maximise the chances of change success. The Prosci Change Triangle is one of the elements of the Prosci Methodology, and helps to identify the elements beyond change management that need to be got right for change to succeed. 

There are a number of aspects of the PCT that require a focused effort on defining a change in a way that will allow change management to be applied effectively. Anyone can define a change, but there are some specific requirements that must be met for a change to be defined in a way that will allow change management to work well. 

So, what’s the hack?  

Hack part 1 is to use the simple checklist below to assess whether the change you are working on is defined adequately. If you find that many of the factors are “No” or “In Progress” then it’s likely that you need Hack Part 2!  

So what does Hack Part 2 involve? The approach we take to change definition (Hack Part 2) is to ensure it is people focused from the outset, and that it results in changes that are meaningful for the people they will impact. 

Hack Part 2 results in a backlog of change opportunities all of which can be traced back to the purpose they contribute to.  Why does this matter? It matters because when it comes to introducing change, it provides a ready-made “what’s in it for me” for those impacted. 

Our change definition approach involves the 7 steps described below. 

• Identify change drivers – why we cannot just stay as we are. These are “Push Factors” to create the desire to do something rather than stick with the status quo.
• Create a vision, consisting of a range of stakeholders and the value the organisation aspires to create for them. This is what any change should contribute to achieving, and provides the motivational “Pull factors” that are so important in generating energy for change. 
• Define the value creation system. This is a model of what the organisation must do to create value for its stakeholder's, and provides a systemic model to help ensure that changes make a positive contribution to value creation. 
• Identify opportunities to improve the value creation system – evaluate how each part works now, and what could be changed to make it work better. 
• Determine the people impact of the proposed changes – understand the impact changes will have on people's jobs. 
• Populate the change backlog with change opportunities and prioritise them based on desirability and feasibility. 
• Group changes into increments for development and implementation. 

In our view taking a structured approach to change definition as outlined above is critical to change success, and an essential pre-requisite for maximising the return on investment from change management. 

If you would like to know more, or would like some help with change definition, please get in touch and we would be pleased to talk to you about our change definition approach, or talk to us about booking on a Change Definition Accelerator for Change to learn how to use these tools and more.