THE INTERCHANGABLE SKILLS BETWEEN PROJECT AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

We are keenly aware of the strong connection between project success or failure, and no consideration for the human aspect. It seems that most project management methodologies do not consider change management when delivering.

Project and Change Managers have different skill sets and their activities are usually driven from opposite places, the former on outputs, time and cost and the latter on behaviour and uptake. 

Would it be possible to integrate project and change management? Both Project and Change Management skills are required to bring a project home and both parties should be able to work in harmony. Taking into consideration timescales, cost and people issues but also allowing one another to carry out their deliverables in order to achieve success.

It seems, if the PM comes from a business background, they are usually more adept at accessing the “…minds, souls and hearts of the people […] and not just purely focussed on the nuts and bolts of implementation…” and this is an instance of when a standalone change manager is sometime superfluous to requirements. Also, regardless of whether the roles are fulfilled by one or two people, both the change and project activities should start at the same time.

A number of project managers feel that they are capable of fulfilling a Change Management role, but that is not the same the other way around. Why is this? Project Management is no mean feat, especially when tackling a large, complex program of work (which was potentially not fully scoped) and is very much a full time focus; time and cost being of utmost importance. Perhaps the people aspect can sometimes take a back seat when firefighting and just needing the project to be delivered?