Apr 3, 20234 min read

EMBRACING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT WITH AGILE WITHIN MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAMS

Photo: Straiton Woods © Al Lee-Bourke

Introduction

Organizational change management (OCM) plays a critical role in ensuring the success of any agile project. It helps facilitate a smooth transition from old processes to new ones and enables team members to adapt to changes more effectively. As a member of a multi-disciplinary team of 10 to 15 people, it’s essential to understand how to integrate change management with agile principles while working alongside technology/product teams. This article will provide practical insights into achieving this integration and effectively delivering change management in an agile environment.

Align the Vision and Objectives

Begin by working with your team to establish a shared understanding of the project vision and objectives. This alignment will help everyone understand the purpose of the changes and the desired outcomes. Encourage open communication and collaboration to build trust and create a sense of ownership for the change among team members.

Embed Change Management in Agile Ceremonies

Incorporate change management activities into agile ceremonies like sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and sprint retrospectives. This will help ensure that change management is an ongoing process throughout the project and that it evolves along with the project’s requirements.
Discuss any upcoming changes impacting the team during sprint planning and plan accordingly.
In daily stand-ups, share updates on change management activities and address any concerns or questions.
In sprint retrospectives, evaluate the change management process’s effectiveness and identify improvement areas.

Foster a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Encourage a culture of continuous improvement within the team by regularly seeking feedback and reflecting on the change management process. This will help identify areas where change management can be improved and ensure that it remains a valuable component of the agile project.

Collaborate with Technology/Product Teams

While you may not be fully embedded within the technology/product teams, it is crucial to collaborate closely with them to ensure seamless integration of change management and agile principles. Establish regular communication channels and joint meetings to discuss project updates, potential roadblocks, and opportunities for collaboration.

Here’s how to do that:

Establish Regular Communication Channels: Set up routine meetings, video conferences, or chat groups to ensure open communication between change management and technology/product teams.
Participate in Agile Ceremonies: Attend sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and sprint retrospectives as a guest or observer to gain insights into the team’s progress and discuss change management initiatives.
Co-create Change Impact Assessments: Collaborate with the technology/product teams to identify and assess the impacts of changes on stakeholders, processes, and systems.
Share Best Practices: Offer expertise and advice on change management best practices while learning from the technology/product teams’ experiences and insights.
Jointly Develop Training and Support Materials: Work together to create training materials, user guides, and other resources to help stakeholders adopt and adapt to new technologies and processes.
Conduct Joint Workshops and Brainstorming Sessions: Organize collaborative sessions to explore new ideas, identify potential issues, and develop creative solutions.
Facilitate Cross-Team Knowledge Sharing: Encourage team members from both sides to share their skills, knowledge, and experiences to foster a collaborative learning environment.
Advocate for the Technology/Product Teams: Serve as a liaison between the technology/product teams and the rest of the organization, ensuring that their perspectives and needs are considered during change management initiatives.
Collaborate on Change Metrics and Success Criteria: Work with the technology/product teams to define metrics and success criteria for the project’s technical and change management aspects.
Celebrate Successes and Milestones: Acknowledge and celebrate the achievements and milestones of the technology/product teams to build a sense of camaraderie and shared ownership of the project outcomes.

Potential objections from a skeptical product team owner and my responses

To counter skepticism from non-change management/very technical individuals, emphasize the value of change management in ensuring project success, its relevance to technical and non-technical projects, and its compatibility with agile methodologies. By showcasing the benefits of collaboration and a holistic approach to managing change, you can help address their concerns and foster a more open mindset toward change management. Here are some examples.

Objection: Change management activities are unnecessary and just add bureaucracy to the project.

Counter: Change management helps ensure stakeholders are well-prepared for the changes and can adopt new processes and technologies more effectively. This leads to increased productivity, higher user satisfaction, and a smoother transition overall.

Objection: The technology/product team can handle change management internally without the need for external collaboration.

Counter: Change management experts bring unique skills and experience in managing organizational change. Their involvement can help identify potential roadblocks and provide guidance on addressing them, ensuring a more successful project outcome.

Objection: Change management initiatives are too time-consuming and slow the project’s progress.

Counter: Integrating change management within the agile process ensures that it is an ongoing, iterative activity that evolves alongside the project. This approach minimizes disruptions and ensures that changes are implemented more efficiently.

Objection: Change management is irrelevant for highly technical projects, where the focus should be on technical implementation.

Counter: Even highly technical projects involve people adapting to new systems, processes, or tools. Change management helps ensure that the stakeholders adopt and use the technical implementation effectively, maximizing the project’s return on investment.

Objection: Agile teams are already adaptable and can manage change without additional support.

Counter: While agile teams may be more adaptable, having dedicated change management support can further enhance their ability to manage change effectively. This allows the technology/product team to focus on their core competencies while change management experts handle the organizational aspects.

Leverage Agile Change Management Techniques

Adopt agile change management techniques to support agile projects’ fast-paced, iterative nature. Some of these techniques include:

User stories: Create user stories to capture the change management requirements and prioritize them in the product backlog.
Minimum Viable Change (MVC): Identify the smallest possible change to deliver the desired outcome and implement it quickly to gather feedback and iterate as needed.
Change canvases: Use change canvases to visualize the change management process and track progress throughout the project.

Measure and Monitor the Impact of Change

Monitor the impact of change by defining key performance indicators (KPIs) or Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that align with the project objectives. Regularly review these to evaluate the effectiveness of the change management process and adjust your approach as needed.

Wrap-up

Successfully integrating organizational change management within a multi-disciplinary team working on an agile project requires collaboration, communication, and a willingness to embrace agile techniques. By aligning on the vision and objectives, embedding change management in agile ceremonies, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, collaborating with technology / product teams, leveraging agile change management techniques, and measuring the impact of change, you can effectively deliver change management in an agile environment and help your team achieve project success.

Action Plan Checklist	Prosci’s® 3-Phase Methodology
2. Align the vision and objectives	Phase 1: Preparing for Change
Establish a shared understanding of the project vision and objectives.	Build awareness of the change and its impact on the organization.
Encourage open communication and collaboration	Foster a sense of ownership among team members
2. Embed Change Management in Agile ceremonies	Phase 2: Managing Change
Discuss upcoming changes in sprint planning.	Develop the desire to participate in and support the change.
Share change management updates in daily stand-ups.	Keep stakeholders informed and engaged.
Evaluate change management in sprint retrospectives.	Identify areas for improvement.
3. Foster a culture of continuous improvement	Phase 2: Managing Change
Seek regular feedback on change management processes.	Encourage open feedback and dialogue.
Reflect on the change management process.	Adjust and iterate based on feedback.
4. Collaborate with technology/product teams
Establish regular communication channels.	Facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Hold joint meetings to discuss project updates.	Address potential roadblocks and opportunities.
5. Leverage agile change management techniques	Phase 3: Reinforcing Change
Create user stories for change management requirements.	Implement change management practices in an agile context.
Identify and implement Minimum Viable Change (MVC).	Measure and adjust change based on results.
Use change canvases to visualize the change management process.	Track progress and adapt as needed.
6. . Measure and monitor the impact of change	Phase 3: Reinforcing Change
Measure against key performance indicators (KPIs/ORKs/North Star)	Evaluate the adoption and effectiveness of the change and Change Management.
Regularly review KPIs & etc. and adjust the approach.	Sustain and reinforce the change over time..