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A Guide on Integrating Change Management with Scaled Agile for Seamless Product Delivery – Part 1

A Guide on Integrating Change Management with Scaled Agile for Seamless Product Delivery – Part 1

by | Agile, Guides, Uncategorized

The need for organizations to remain flexible and responsive to market demands has never been more critical, and scaled agile (SAFe) provide the framework to achieve this. Integrating change management work with SAFe is essential for seamless product delivery but yet is not clearly articulated in literature. However, for agile product delivery to be successful, it must be supported by robust change management work steps.  Those that not ensures that all stakeholders are aligned and engaged throughout the process and also that the consecutive changes delivered are adopted. Let’s explore how change managers can effectively integrate their approaches with scaled agile methodologies to enhance product delivery.

Understanding the Intersection of Change Management and Agile

Change management and agile methodologies both aim to facilitate successful project outcomes, but they approach this goal from different angles. Change management focuses on the people side of change, ensuring that stakeholders are prepared, equipped, and supported throughout the transition through to benefit realisation. Agile methodologies, on the other hand, emphasize iterative development, continuous feedback, and rapid adaptation to change.  

Whilst SAFe acknowledges the importance of managing the people side of change and leading the change, it does not spell out how exactly this work should be integrated with the methodology in a detailed manner. References to change tends to be at a high level and focuses on communication and readiness activities.

What are key call outs of the SAFe methodology:

1) Lean-Agile Principles: SAFe is grounded in Lean-Agile principles such as building incrementally with fast, integrated learning cycles, basing milestones on objective evaluation, and making value flow without interruptions. These principles help ensure continuous improvement and adaptability​

2) Organizational Agility: To remain competitive, enterprises must be agile. SAFe enhances organizational agility by fostering Lean-thinking people and Agile teams, promoting strategic agility, and implementing Lean business operations​

3)  Lean Portfolio Management: Aligns strategy and execution by applying Lean and systems thinking. It includes strategy and investment funding, Agile portfolio operations, and Lean governance to ensure that the portfolio is aligned and funded to meet business goals​

4)  Continuous Learning Culture: Encourages a set of values and practices that promote ongoing learning and improvement. This culture is crucial for adapting to changes and fostering innovation within the organization​ 

5) Agile Teams: Agile teams in SAFe operate using methods like SAFe Scrum or SAFe Team Kanban. These teams are responsible for understanding customer needs, planning their work, and delivering value continuously through iterative processes​ 

6)  Built-in Quality: Emphasizes the importance of quality at all stages of development. Practices include shift-left testing, peer reviews, and automation to ensure high standards and reduce defects early in the process​ 

7)  Value Stream Management (VSM): Focuses on optimizing the flow of value across the entire portfolio. VSM helps organizations improve their value delivery processes by managing and monitoring value streams effectively​ (Scaled Agile Framework)​.

8) Lean-Agile Leadership: Leaders play a critical role in fostering a Lean-Agile mindset. They must model the values and principles of SAFe, provide guidance, and create an environment that supports Agile teams and continuous improvement​

9)  Decentralized Decision-Making: Promotes faster value delivery by empowering teams to make decisions locally. This reduces delays, enhances product development flow, and fosters innovation​ 

10)  Customer-Centric Approach: Agile teams are encouraged to maintain close collaboration with customers to understand their needs better and ensure that solutions deliver real value. Techniques like direct customer interaction and feedback loops are essential​ 

Below is a diagram from Scaled Agile Frameworks on key elements of a scaled agile product delivery framework.

Agile-Style Deliverable Artefacts

To support agile product delivery, change managers need to create agile-style deliverable artefacts early in the product delivery cycle. These artefacts serve as essential tools for aligning the team, stakeholders, and the overall change initiative with agile principles.  They are significantly ‘lighter’ in volume and more succinct in focusing on key analysis points that determine approaches and actions required to plan and implement the change.

Change artefact 1: Change Canvas

An Agile Change Canvas is a strategic tool designed to plan, manage, and communicate change initiatives effectively within an organization. It begins with basic identification details such as the Project NameBusiness Owner, and Author. This section ensures clear accountability and ownership from the outset.

The Change Vision & Objectives outlines the overarching project objectives and intended outcomes of the project. This architecture vision acts as a guiding star, ensuring all actions align with the desired future state of the organization. Following this, Core Challenges are identified to highlight potential obstacles that could impede progress. Recognizing these challenges early allows for proactive mitigation strategies.

Stakeholder Impacts analyses how different stakeholders will be affected by the change. This includes assessing both the positive and negative impacts on employees, customers, and shareholders, ensuring that their concerns are addressed and their needs met. 

The Key Milestones section, presented in a table format, outlines significant checkpoints in the project timeline, often represented in Gantt charts. Each milestone is associated with a particular function, ensuring that progress is measurable and trackable. Similarly, the Resources section details the necessary financial, human, and technological resources required to implement the change, ensuring that the project scope statement is adequately supported.

Why Change section provides the rationale behind the need for change, which could include market demands, competitive pressures, or internal inefficiencies. This section justifies the project’s existence and urgency. Complementarily, What Will Change (WWC) describes the specific changes to be implemented, including processes, technologies, behaviours, and structures, offering a clear picture of the project’s scope.

Key Metrics are identified to measure the success of the change initiative. These metrics are both quantitative and qualitative, providing a comprehensive view of the project’s impact. Change Interventions listed in a table format, detail specific actions or initiatives designed to facilitate the change, ensuring a structured approach to implementation.

To foster a culture of innovation and adaptation, Change Experiments are proposed. These pilot programs test aspects of the change in a controlled environment before full-scale implementation. Finally, Change Risks identifies potential risks associated with the change and outlines strategies for mitigating these risks, ensuring that the project can navigate potential pitfalls effectively.

By incorporating these elements, the Agile Change Canvas provides a comprehensive framework for managing change initiatives, ensuring that all critical aspects are considered, planned for, and communicated effectively to stakeholders.

For a template of the Change Canvas check it out here.

Change artefact 2: Kanban boards of Changes

Using a Kanban board for change management activities provides a visual and dynamic method for tracking, prioritizing, and managing the flow of work while implementing changes. A Kanban board typically consists of columns that represent different stages of work, such as “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” For change management, additional columns might include “Proposed Changes,” “Under Review,” “Implementation Planning,” and “Monitoring.”

Whilst most change practitioners are used to kanban boards In working with various change management activities, there is opportunity to use kanban to plan and prioritise a series of agile-style changes and the associated change activities with each change.  These ‘change cards’ within the kanban board presents a clear way to visualise a series of changes across the ‘delivery train’ where the project team continuously delivers pieces of change.

Prioritizing Change Management Activities

  1. Visualizing Workflow:
  2. Proposed Changes: This column lists all suggested changes, each represented by a card detailing the change’s purpose, impacted areas, and expected benefits.
  3. Under Review: Changes move here once they are being evaluated for feasibility, risks, and alignment with project goals.
  4. Implementation Planning: Approved changes are further detailed, including resource allocation, timelines, and specific tasks needed for implementation.
  5. In Progress: Changes that are actively being worked on are tracked here, showing current status and any blockers encountered.
  6. Monitoring: Recently implemented changes are monitored to ensure they are delivering the expected outcomes and to identify any issues early.
  7. Done: Fully implemented and stabilized changes are moved here, marking their successful completion.
  8. Setting Priorities:
  9. Value and Impact: In conjunction with the project team prioritize changes based on their potential value and impact. High-value changes that significantly improve project outcomes or stakeholder satisfaction should be addressed first.  From a change perspective, the input here is about the readiness of the stakeholder to receive the change, and what timing and work is required to get there.
  10. Urgency and Dependencies: Changes that unblock other work or are time-sensitive should be prioritized. Dependencies between changes must be mapped to ensure logical sequencing.  For example, work required to lift capability/leadership or readiness may be critical dependencies, without which the change cannot be delivered successfully.
  11. Feasibility and Risk: Assess the feasibility and risks associated with each change. High-risk assessment of changes might require more careful planning and monitoring but should not necessarily be deprioritized if their impact is critical.  The change input here is the people impact for the impacted stakeholders with other changes not just within this project/program, but with the overall portfolio or even outside the portfolio (including business-driven changes).
  12. Proposed Changes: This column lists all suggested changes, each represented by a card detailing the change’s purpose, impacted areas, and expected benefits.
  13. Under Review: Changes move here once they are being evaluated for feasibility, risks, and alignment with project goals.
  14. Implementation Planning: Approved changes are further detailed, including resource allocation, timelines, and specific tasks needed for implementation.
  15. In Progress: Changes that are actively being worked on are tracked here, showing current status and any blockers encountered.
  16. Monitoring: Recently implemented changes are monitored to ensure they are delivering the expected outcomes and to identify any issues early.
  17. Done: Fully implemented and stabilized changes are moved here, marking their successful completion.
  18. Value and Impact: In conjunction with the project team prioritize changes based on their potential value and impact. High-value changes that significantly improve project outcomes or stakeholder satisfaction should be addressed first.  From a change perspective, the input here is about the readiness of the stakeholder to receive the change, and what timing and work is required to get there.
  19. Urgency and Dependencies: Changes that unblock other work or are time-sensitive should be prioritized. Dependencies between changes must be mapped to ensure logical sequencing.  For example, work required to lift capability/leadership or readiness may be critical dependencies, without which the change cannot be delivered successfully.
  20. Feasibility and Risk: Assess the feasibility and risks associated with each change. High-risk changes might require more careful planning and monitoring but should not necessarily be deprioritized if their impact is critical.  The change input here is the people impact for the impacted stakeholders with other changes not just within this project/program, but with the overall portfolio or even outside the portfolio (including business-driven changes).

Ordering Change Planning and Implementation

Collaborative Planning:

Engage stakeholders and team members in planning sessions to discuss and agree on the priority of changes. This collaborative approach ensures that all perspectives are considered and that there is buy-in from those affected by the changes.  This includes change champions.

Regular Review and Adaptation:

The Kanban board should be regularly reviewed and updated, within the change team and within the project team. During these reviews, re-prioritize changes based on new information, shifting project needs, and feedback from implemented changes. This iterative approach aligns with Agile principles of flexibility and continuous improvement.

Limit Work in Progress (WIP):

To avoid overloading the change team and ensure focus, limit the number of changes in progress at any given time. This constraint encourages the team to complete current tasks before taking on new ones, promoting a steady and manageable workflow.

Use Metrics and Feedback:

  1. Utilize metrics such as cycle time (how long a change takes to move from start to finish, from awareness to engagement to eventual adoption) and work with the project team on the throughput (how many changes are completed in a specific timeframe) to assess the efficiency of the change management process.  For example, based on the size and complexity of each discrete piece of change delivered, how long did this take and what was the deviance from actual time period planned? Feedback from these metrics should inform decisions about prioritization and process adjustments.
  2. Engage stakeholders and team members in planning sessions to discuss and agree on the priority of changes. This collaborative approach ensures that all perspectives are considered and that there is buy-in from those affected by the changes.  This includes change champions.
  3. The Kanban board should be regularly reviewed and updated, within the change team and within the project team. During these reviews, re-prioritize changes based on new information, shifting project needs, and feedback from implemented changes. This iterative approach aligns with Agile principles of flexibility and continuous improvement.
  4. To avoid overloading the change team and ensure focus, limit the number of changes in progress at any given time. This constraint encourages the team to complete current tasks before taking on new ones, promoting a steady and manageable workflow.
  5. Utilize metrics such as cycle time (how long a change takes to move from start to finish, from awareness to engagement to eventual adoption) and work with the project team on the throughput (how many changes are completed in a specific timeframe) to assess the efficiency of the change management process.  For example, based on the size and complexity of each discrete piece of change delivered, how long did this take and what was the deviance from actual time period planned? Feedback from these metrics should inform decisions about prioritization and process adjustments.

Benefits of Using Kanban for Change Management

Implementing a Kanban board for change management in Agile projects offers several benefits:

  1. Transparency: Everyone involved can see the status of change activities, leading to better communication and coordination.
  2. Flexibility: The board can be easily adjusted to reflect changing priorities and project dynamics.
  3. Focus: Limiting WIP helps the team maintain focus and reduces the risk of burnout and task switching.
  4. Continuous Improvement: Regular reviews and adaptations promote a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring that change management processes evolve and improve over time.

Change artefact example 3: Change Impact Assessment

A Change Impact Assessment (CIA) is an essential component in managing organizational change, particularly in agile projects where the focus is on iterative and incremental improvements. The assessment helps to understand the scope and magnitude of the change, identify affected stakeholders, and plan interventions to manage impacts effectively.  An agile-friendly CIA is more summarised, and gets to the heart of what the impact is, who is impacted, how, to what extent, and when.

Below are the core elements of a change impact assessment, with a comparison to traditional methods:

1. Identifying the Impacts

Agile Approach: In scaled agile projects, the impact identification is ongoing and iterative. Each sprint or iteration is reviewed to assess the impacts of delivered changes. This dynamic approach ensures that emerging impacts are quickly recognized and addressed.

Traditional Approach: Impact identification is typically conducted at the beginning of the project, with periodic reviews. This method can be less responsive to new impacts discovered during the project lifecycle.

2. Stakeholder Identification and Analysis

Agile Approach: Continuous stakeholder engagement is crucial. Stakeholders are regularly consulted, and their feedback is integrated into the process. Agile methods ensure that stakeholders’ changing needs and concerns are promptly addressed.

Traditional Approach: Stakeholder analysis is often conducted early in the project, with limited ongoing engagement. This can result in less adaptability to stakeholders’ evolving requirements.

3. Extent and Nature of Impacts

Agile Approach: The extent of impacts is assessed incrementally, considering the cumulative effect of changes over multiple iterations. This allows for a nuanced understanding of how impacts evolve over time.

Traditional Approach: Typically focuses on a comprehensive initial assessment, with less emphasis on the evolution of impacts throughout the project.

4. Timing of Impacts

Agile Approach: Timing is aligned with the iterative delivery schedule. The impacts are mapped to specific iterations or sprints, allowing for precise planning and mitigation.

Traditional Approach: Timing is generally assessed at the project level, which can make it harder to pinpoint when specific impacts will occur during the project lifecycle.

Typical Sections of an Agile Change Impact Assessment

  1. Impact Overview:
  2. Explanation: Summarizes the nature and scope of the change, providing a high-level view of the anticipated impacts.
  3. Agile Twist: Updated regularly with each iteration to reflect new findings and emerging impacts.
  4. Stakeholder Impact Analysis:
  5. Explanation: Identifies who will be affected by the change and how. It details the extent of the impact on different stakeholder groups.
  6. Agile Twist: Involves continuous stakeholder feedback and updates to capture evolving impacts.
  7. Impact Extent and Nature:
  8. Explanation: Describes the extent (e.g., minor, moderate, significant) and nature (e.g., process, technology, cultural) of the impacts.
  9. Agile Twist: Assessed incrementally, considering both immediate and long-term impacts across iterations.
  10. Impact Timing:
  11. Explanation: Specifies when the impacts are expected to occur, mapped to the project timeline.
  12. Agile Twist: Aligned with sprint or iteration schedules, allowing for detailed timing predictions.
  13. Mitigation Strategies:
  14. Explanation: Outlines plans to manage and mitigate identified impacts.
  15. Agile Twist: Adaptive strategies that are refined continuously based on iteration reviews and stakeholder feedback.
  16. Monitoring and Review:
  17. Explanation: Describes how the impacts will be monitored and reviewed throughout the project.
  18. Agile Twist: Continuous monitoring with iteration-end reviews to ensure timely identification and management of impacts.
  19. Explanation: Summarizes the nature and scope of the change, providing a high-level view of the anticipated impacts.
  20. Agile Twist: Updated regularly with each iteration to reflect new findings and emerging impacts.
  21. Explanation: Identifies who will be affected by the change and how. It details the extent of the impact on different stakeholder groups.
  22. Agile Twist: Involves continuous stakeholder feedback and updates to capture evolving impacts.
  23. Explanation: Describes the extent (e.g., minor, moderate, significant) and nature (e.g., process, technology, cultural) of the impacts.
  24. Agile Twist: Assessed incrementally, considering both immediate and long-term impacts across iterations.
  25. Explanation: Specifies when the impacts are expected to occur, mapped to the project timeline.
  26. Agile Twist: Aligned with sprint or iteration schedules, allowing for detailed timing predictions.
  27. Explanation: Outlines plans to manage and mitigate identified impacts.
  28. Agile Twist: Adaptive strategies that are refined continuously based on iteration reviews and stakeholder feedback.
  29. Explanation: Describes how the impacts will be monitored and reviewed throughout the project.
  30. Agile Twist: Continuous monitoring with iteration-end reviews to ensure timely identification and management of impacts.

To read more about agile tools for change managers, check out Five Agile Change Tool Kits.

Stakeholder Engagement in a Scaled Agile Environment

Planning and designing stakeholder engagement activities in a scaled agile environment requires a dynamic, iterative approach that contrasts significantly with traditional, non-agile methods. In SAFe, the focus is on continuous collaboration, transparency, and adaptability, ensuring that stakeholders are actively involved throughout the project lifecycle.

Iterative and Continuous Engagement

Scaled Agile Approach: Stakeholder engagement is an ongoing process. Agile frameworks emphasize regular touchpoints, such as sprint reviews, planning meetings, and daily stand-ups, where stakeholders can provide feedback and stay informed about progress. These frequent interactions ensure that stakeholder input is continuously integrated, enabling swift adjustments and alignment with evolving needs. This iterative approach fosters a collaborative environment where stakeholders feel valued and engaged throughout the project.  Engagement rhythms and processes should also be established not just at a project, but program, portfolio and enterprise levels as required.

Non-Agile Approach: Traditional methodologies often involve stakeholder engagement at fixed points in the project timeline, such as during initial requirements gathering, major milestone reviews, and final project delivery. This approach can lead to periods of limited communication and delayed feedback, which may result in misaligned expectations and missed opportunities for timely course corrections.

Flexibility and Adaptation

Scaled Agile Approach: Agile projects embrace change, allowing stakeholder engagement activities to be flexible and adaptive. As project requirements evolve, the engagement strategy can be adjusted to address new priorities or challenges. This flexibility ensures that stakeholder needs are consistently met, and any concerns are promptly addressed. Agile frameworks encourage a culture of openness and continuous improvement, where stakeholder feedback directly influences the direction of the project.  Change managers need to ensure that stakeholder understand this fully, and have the skills to work within this context, not just with the project team but in leading their teams through change, when ‘the change’ may be constantly shifting.

Non-Agile Approach: In contrast, traditional approaches tend to follow a rigid engagement plan that is set at the project’s outset. While this provides a clear structure, it can be less responsive to changing stakeholder needs or external conditions. Adjusting the engagement strategy mid-project can be challenging and may require significant effort, leading to delays and potential dissatisfaction among stakeholders.

Collaborative Tools and Techniques

Scaled Agile Approach: Agile environments leverage a variety of collaborative tools and techniques to enhance stakeholder engagement. Digital platforms such as Jira, Confluence, and Miro facilitate real-time collaboration, transparency, and documentation. Agile ceremonies, such as retrospectives and demos, provide structured opportunities for stakeholders to participate and contribute. These tools and techniques help maintain a high level of engagement and ensure that stakeholders have a clear view of project progress and challenges.

Non-Agile Approach: Traditional methods might rely more heavily on formal documentation and periodic reports for stakeholder communication. While these methods ensure thorough documentation, they can sometimes create barriers to real-time collaboration and immediate feedback. Meetings and reviews are often scheduled infrequently, which can lead to less dynamic interaction compared to agile practices.

Planning Stakeholder Engagement Activities

  1. Regular Touchpoints: Schedule frequent meetings and reviews to ensure continuous stakeholder involvement. Examples include sprint reviews, iteration planning meetings, and daily stand-ups.  Business-led rhythm that enable the dissemination and engagement of updates to teams is also critical.
  2. Flexible Engagement Plans: Develop engagement strategies that can be easily adapted based on stakeholder feedback and changing project requirements.
  3. Use of Collaborative Tools: Implement digital tools that facilitate real-time collaboration and transparency. Tools like Jira and Confluence can help keep stakeholders informed and involved.  Non-digital engagement tools may also be leveraged to fully engage with stakeholders, beyond one-way push communication.  Assessment needs to be made of the openness and ability to engage regarding the change through the chosen channels.
  4. Active Feedback Loops: Establish mechanisms for collecting and integrating stakeholder feedback continuously. This can be done through retrospectives, surveys, and informal check-ins.
  5. Clear Communication Channels: Maintain open and clear communication channels to ensure that stakeholders can easily provide input and receive updates on project progress.

As mentioned previously, the change approach, including engagement approaches, need to take into account the broader organisational context of program, portfolio and enterprise levels.  This may mean mapping out the various channels and how they can be used for different changes, stakeholders and organisational levels.

Supporting Agile Delivery Cadence

To align change management activities with agile delivery cadence, it’s essential to integrate them into the core agile events, such as PI (Program Increment) planning and demos. Here’s how:

PI Planning

PI planning, or program increment planning, is a critical event in the agile framework, where teams come together in the PI planning process to plan and commit to a set of objectives for the next increment. During PI planning sessions or PI planning events (including team breakouts), ensure that change management considerations are part of the discussion. This involves:

– Including Change Management Objectives within PI objectives and program vision: Ensure that change management objectives and organizational readiness are included in the PI planning agenda as a critical part of project management. This helps align the change activities with the overall delivery goals.

– Identifying Change Risks and Dependencies: Identify any dependencies related to the change initiative that may impact the delivery schedule and the overall agile release train. This ensures that potential risks are addressed early and do not disrupt the delivery process.  Common considerations include the various people change impacts across the program and how they intersect or overlap

– Engaging Stakeholders: Involve key stakeholders in the PI planning sessions. This ensures that not just product managers but business stakeholders understand the change objectives and are committed to supporting the change initiative during the implementation process.  PI planning is also a great opportunity to assess and see in action the level of engagement, support and potential leadership skills of key stakeholders to reach the common goals and business benefits.

Demos

Demos are an opportunity to showcase the progress of the agile teams and gather feedback from stakeholders as a part of the iteration plans and sprint planning. Use demos to communicate the benefits and progress of change initiatives within the entire agile release train. Engaging stakeholders in these demos can help them see the value and stay committed to the implementation plan. Here’s how:

– Highlighting Change Benefits: During demos, highlight the benefits of the change initiative and how it supports the overall product delivery goals. This helps stakeholders understand the value of the change and its impact on the project.

– Gathering Feedback: Use demos as an opportunity to gather feedback and user stories from stakeholders. This helps identify any concerns or areas for improvement and ensures that the change initiative remains aligned with stakeholder needs.

– Showcasing Progress: Showcase the progress of the change initiative during demos. This provides stakeholders with a clear understanding of how the change is evolving and the positive impact it is having on the project.

By embedding change management activities into these agile ceremonies, change managers can ensure that change initiatives are aligned with the delivery schedule and maintain stakeholder buy-in.

Implementing Change Activities as Small Experiments

One of the key principles of agile is to work in small increments and learn quickly. Change management activities can adopt this approach by implementing small experiments, such as:

Messaging

Test different communication messages to see which resonates best with stakeholders. Gather feedback and refine the messaging based on reactions. This iterative approach ensures that the communication strategy is effective and supports the change initiative. Consider the following:

– A/B Testing: Use A/B testing to evaluate different messages. This involves sending two variations of a message to different stakeholder groups and comparing the responses to determine which one is more effective.

– Feedback Collection: Collect feedback from stakeholders on the messaging. This can be done through surveys, focus groups, or informal conversations.

– Message Refinement: Refine the messaging based on the feedback received. This ensures that the communication remains relevant and impactful.

Stakeholder Involvement

Experiment with various levels of stakeholder involvement to determine the most effective way to engage them. Use these insights to inform future engagement and risk management strategies and your overall implementation strategy. Here’s how:

– Pilot Programs: Implement pilot programs with small groups of stakeholders to test different involvement strategies. This provides valuable insights into what works best and helps refine the engagement approach.

– Engagement Metrics: Track engagement metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of different involvement strategies. This includes participation rates, feedback quality, and overall stakeholder satisfaction.

– Iterative Adjustments: Make iterative adjustments to the involvement strategies based on the insights gained. This ensures that stakeholder engagement remains effective and aligned with the change initiative.

By treating change activities as experiments, change managers can adapt quickly to what works best, ensuring a smoother integration with the agile delivery process.

Best Practices for Integrating Change Management with Agile

Successfully integrating change management with agile methodologies requires a strategic approach. Here are some best practices to consider:

Foster Collaboration

Encourage collaboration between change managers and agile teams, as well as key business stakeholders within the business context. This helps ensure that different disciplines and functions are aligned and working towards the same goals. Consider the following strategies:

– Joint Planning Sessions: Conduct joint planning sessions to align change management activities with agile delivery approaches and schedules. This ensures that both disciplines are working towards the same objectives.

– Regular Communication: Establish regular communication channels between change managers and agile teams. This helps keep everyone informed and ensures that any issues or concerns are addressed promptly.  Specifically focus on various agile roles such as UX (user experience), business analysis, testing, and portfolio management.  There are key intersections of change work and each of these disciplines, beyond general project planning and coordination.

The below is an example of a portfolio level adoption dashboard from The Change Compass.

Enterprise change management dashboard

Change Data-Driven Insights is absolutely a Must-have for SAFe

In SAFe, change management driven by data insights is critical to ensure that changes are not only effective but also efficient and sustainable. Data-driven change management leverages quantitative and qualitative data to guide decisions, optimize processes, and align strategic goals across the organization. By incorporating metrics and analytics, organizations can gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact and progress of change initiatives, allowing for timely adjustments and informed decision-making.

At the portfolio level within a SAFe setting, data-driven insights are essential for prioritizing initiatives and allocating resources effectively.  More than this, change data including stakeholder capability, readiness and impact levels can be critical to determine when releases should happen, the priority of releases, and the sequencing of releases.

Ill-prepared or insufficiently skilled stakeholders may require longer time to adapt to the change.  Also, looking beyond the project itself, by understanding the overall change landscape for the impacted stakeholders, change releases may need to be chunked and packaged accordingly to maximise adoption success.

Key attention should also be paid to the impact on business performance of impacted stakeholders, not just from a change volume perspective, but also from a strategy perspective in terms of how best to reduce risk of performance disruptions.  Is it through exemplary middle leadership?  Or frontline engagement?  Or the power of change champions embedded across the business?

At the enterprise level, data-driven change management enables organizations to scale agile practices consistently and coherently across the entire team across multiple portfolios. This involves the use of enterprise-level dashboards and analytics tools that provide a holistic view of the organization’s agile transformation. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as employee impact data, adoption rates, readiness metrics and productivity metrics help leaders assess the effectiveness of change initiatives and identify areas that require additional support or intervention. For instance, tracking the adoption rate of agile practices across different departments can highlight areas where additional training or coaching is needed to ensure consistent implementation.

Integrating change management with scaled agile methodologies is essential for seamless product delivery in today’s dynamic business environment. By creating agile-style deliverable artefacts early, continuously adapting engagement activities, supporting agile delivery cadence, and implementing change activities as small experiments, measure change progress and outcomes, change managers can effectively support agile product delivery. This integration not only enhances the success of change initiatives but also ensures that product delivery is seamless and aligned with organizational goals and the strategic plan.

By fostering collaboration, embracing agile principles, and using data-driven insights, change managers can create a cohesive strategy that maximizes the benefits of both change management and agile methodologies. This holistic approach ensures that change initiatives are successful, stakeholders are engaged, and product delivery is efficient and effective.

To read more about Change Measurement, check out our library of articles here.

Chat to us to find out more about how to leverage the power of a change measurement platform to sustain your single source of truth to support your scaled agile organisation.

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Why change management is omitted from agile methodology

Why change management is omitted from agile methodology

Agile methodology is fast becoming the ‘norm’ when it comes to project methodology. There are strong benefits promised of faster development time, the ability to morph with changing requirements, less time required to implement the solution, and a better ability to meet project objectives through continuous improvement. There aren’t too many organisations that do not use some form of agile project methodology in how they manage initiatives.

What started out as a way of developing software has evolved into the accepted methodology for managing projects. A scan of literature available on the internet shows a significant outline of the various roles, including the product owner and the development team, and their importance to stakeholders, including end users, in the agile project methodology process. Most roles are clearly outlined and accounted for. There are clear roles established for the business owner, the project manager, the scrum master, developers, testing and quality, product manager, architect, human-centred designer, and even IT operations.

However, there is a glaring gap. What about the role of the change manager?

A review of literature available through project management organisations such as APM (Association of Project Management) and PMI (Project Management Institute) showed glaring omission of the role of the change manager or change management practitioners from agile methodology. The same is also true for Scaled Agile Frameworks where there is a brief mention of the importance of change management in the agile approach, but no mention of the role of the change manager/practitioner.

Is it that there are less projects requiring change managers?

The evidence is against this hypothesis. Jobs in change management are plentiful, with data on ‘Indeed’ online employment portals pulling up over 38,000 job postings. On top of this, there is an increasing number of jobs posted. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “management analytics” which includes change management, is projected to have a 14% growth rate between 2018 and 2028. In Australia, the ‘Seek’ employment platform projected change management job growth to be at 15% growth in the next 5 years.

Is it that agile methodology is more for technical projects and therefore the omission of change managers?

The agile approach and agile manifesto can be used for a range of different projects, but not all projects. There is certainly evidence of agile project methodology used by software developers in a wide range of industries from financial services, government, non-profit, pharmaceuticals, utilities, and retail industries. The agile methodology is commonly cited for being better for projects where the outcome is not clearly known and where the end change has a level of uniqueness. There are times, though, when waterfall methodology is more appropriate, depending on the situation.

However, it is not true that agile methodology is only used for more technical projects. Even for projects where the focus is not on technical development, agile approaches are used widely. Agile changes have been used for re-organisation exercises. Here is an example from the Business Agility Institute. Executive teams also use agile means to manage various strategic initiatives that are not technical. Agile approaches are even applied to managing church initiatives.

What is the likely reason for the clear omission of change management in the agile methodology?

Organisations in charge of documenting agile methodology are mainly focused on project management and software development. If we take the examples of PMI and APMG, both are project management associations, and both are focused on the project management perspectives of agile, particularly in complex environments. The portion on organizational change management is a specialism of project management. It could be that these organisations have not sufficiently developed agile change management methodology to integrate with agile project management.

Organisations in charge of documenting agile methodology are mainly focused on project management and software development, and not include the agile change management process. If we take the examples of PMI and APMG, both are project management associations, and both are focused on the project management perspectives of agile. The portion on organizational change management is a specialism of project management. It could be that these organisations have not sufficiently developed agile change management methodology to integrate with agile project management.

Even at Scaled Agile, which is about applying agile across the organisation, the omission of the role of change managers is still the case. Frameworks from Scaled Agile are quite detailed and rigorous. All aspects of the roles of various organisational members, including scrum teams, are clearly outlined. Even the role of IT departments in DevOps are clearly spelled out to support agile. But not the role of change managers. Again, this could be due to those at Scaled Agile not having a change management background, and therefore not being able to articulate the various role detail.

However, there are some very critical roles that change practitioners play not only at project level, but at program, epic, and organisational levels. Without the right change management support the following are key risks when organisations are working at SaFe (scaled agile) level:

  1. Change sequencing to maximise adoption across the change portfolio
  2. Packaging change to achieve optimal change adoption, e.g. in terms of integrating communications and learning interventions across projects
  3. Establishing business unit based change champions that can support multiple projects and can help piece together different changes for impacted employees
  4. Identify and manage potential change saturation and change fatigue

There are some attempts at closing the gap to document agile change management approaches as a part of the change management process. However, most are conceptual, high level, and not sufficiently detailed to provide clear guidance and practical application for the change practitioner. On the other hand, the work of change management in agile projects should not only be clear for the change practitioner but also be clear for the project manager and other project members.

To access practical agile playbooks visit our agile playbook resources.

What’s the problem of omitting the role of change managers from agile methodologies?

1. The role of change management could easily be omitted. Particularly for less experienced project managers who are starting out in agile. The risk could be that change management is omitted from the project altogether since it is not called out as a clear role

2. Change practitioners and agile practitioners are not clear with the roles they play and therefore are not sufficiently involved in driving and supporting the project in the right way. Since there is not a clear set of guidelines and agile principles methodology for change practitioners, it is common to see varying approaches in how change managers support agile projects within the current business environment, with some still using a similar approach as to supporting traditional change management and waterfall projects which may not be appropriate.

3. Agile projects are not successful because change management work is not sufficiently incorporated into agile processes, particularly in the context of digital transformation. With change management roles not spelt out, the project executes the change without critical change management foundations, and therefore, by embracing agile thinking, it is at the risk of not achieving the adoption, adaptation, and benefit realisation targeted.

What should we do about this?

1. Encourage change management associations such as CMI and ACMP to invest in detailing agile change management methodology in a way that sets standards and guidelines for change management skills practitioners to follow.

2. Influence and work with APMG, PMI and Scaled Agile to include explicitly the role of change managers and agile change management methodology.

Change management is emerging to be a strong discipline that executives are starting to recognise as critical to successful change. The role of change practitioners should be stated explicitly and recognised clearly. Change managers should not have to tip-toe in maneuvering their place in supporting agile change projects, nor should they need to convince other project team members of their place throughout various agile routines and methodology phases. It is now time for the change community to drive this and achieve the recognition that it deserves.

The Peeling the Onion Protocol: Key to Change Management

The Peeling the Onion Protocol: Key to Change Management

Change management, much like peeling an onion, involves uncovering multiple layers before reaching the core. Each layer peeled back in the journey of planning and implementing change reveals new insights about the organization and the stakeholders impacted by the change. This process is essential to understanding the full scope of the change, adapting strategies accordingly, and ensuring successful implementation. By examining the various facets of an organization, such as leadership capability, operational practices, and cultural traits, we can better navigate the complexities of change management. Let’s explore the analogy of peeling an onion in change management and some practical insights for transforming change outcomes.

What is the peeling the onion protocol and how does it work?

The Peeling the Onion Protocol is a change management strategy that involves gradually uncovering layers of resistance within an organization. By systematically addressing concerns and facilitating open dialogue, this protocol fosters understanding and acceptance of change, ultimately leading to smoother transitions and enhanced collaboration among team members.

Peeling the layers – each layer reveals a different facet of the organisation and how they may or may not be conducive to supporting the change.  Here are some ‘layers’ you may want to examine.

Leadership and Managerial Capability in Managing Change

Effective change management begins with strong leadership. Leaders and managers play a crucial role in guiding the organization through the transition. Peeling back this layer reveals whether leaders are equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes to drive change. It also highlights their ability to inspire and mobilize their teams, communicate the vision effectively, and manage resistance. Assessing leadership capability is fundamental, as inadequate leadership can hinder the entire change process.

Operational and Business Practices

The next layer involves examining the organization’s operational and business practices. This includes evaluating current workflows, processes, and systems to identify areas that may need adjustment or improvement. Understanding how daily operations align with the proposed changes helps in anticipating potential disruptions and devising strategies to minimize them. Are existing practices consistent with the end state of the change? Are existing practices consistent? (or NA?) Why or why not? This layer also involves identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) that can measure the success of the change initiatives (https://thechangecompass.com/how-to-manage-a-multitude-of-change-initiatives-including-enterprise-wide/).

Change Governance Practices and Structure

Change governance refers to the frameworks and structures in place to manage and oversee change initiatives. Having the right governance structure ensures that the right oversight and decision making is setup to steer the change to success. Peeling back this layer involves assessing the effectiveness of existing governance mechanisms, such as steering committees, decision-making protocols, and accountability structures. Strong change governance ensures that change initiatives are well-coordinated, resources are allocated appropriately, and progress is monitored consistently. Weak governance, on the other hand, can lead to confusion, misalignment, and failure to achieve desired outcomes.

Key questions to ask here include such as:

  1. Is there sufficient governance bodies in place at different levels of the organisation to support change?
  2. Are there too many governance bodies?
  3. Are decision-making processes clear and effective?
  4. Are the right stakeholders involved in the relevant decision-making areas?

Engagement Channels

Effective engagement is critical in change management.  This is more than just communication. This layer focuses on the channels and methods used to engage with stakeholders throughout the change process. Evaluating engagement channels helps in understanding how information is disseminated, feedback is collected, and concerns are addressed. It also highlights the effectiveness of internal communications and the role of external communications in managing stakeholder expectations and perceptions. What channels are most effective for what audience groups? Are there any gaps for engaging with all groups of stakeholders? (beyond just blasting emails or messages).

Change Champion Network

Change champions are resignated individuals within the organization who advocate for and support the change initiatives. Peeling back this layer involves identifying and empowering these champions. It also includes assessing their influence, credibility, and ability to motivate others. A strong network of change champions can facilitate smoother transitions by promoting buy-in, addressing resistance, and reinforcing positive behaviors. With the right nurturing and experience, an organisation-wide change champion network can act to support a myriad of change initiatives.

System and Process Maturity

The maturity of systems and processes within an organization significantly impacts the success of change initiatives. This layer involves evaluating the current state of technological systems, process automation, and data management practices. Mature systems and processes provide a solid foundation for implementing changes efficiently and effectively. Conversely, immature systems may require significant upgrades or overhauls to support the desired changes.

Change Management Maturity

Change management maturity refers to the organization’s overall capability to manage change. Peeling back this layer involves assessing the maturity of change management practices, methodologies, and tools. Organizations with mature change management capabilities have established frameworks, experienced practitioners, and a culture that embraces change. In contrast, organizations with low maturity may struggle with inconsistencies, resistance, and a lack of structured approaches.

To read more about improving change management maturity visit our article – A Comprehensive Guide to Elevating Change Management Maturity.

Resources and Capacity

This layer examines the availability of resources and capacity to support change initiatives. It includes assessing the organization’s financial resources, human capital, and physical infrastructure. Adequate resources and capacity are essential for executing change plans, overcoming obstacles, and sustaining momentum. Insufficient resources can lead to delays, reduced quality, and increased stress on employees. This does not just include the resources required within the project itself, it points more to the impacted stakeholders and if they have the resources and capacity required to undergo the change.

Culture and Behavioral Traits

Organizational culture and behavioral traits play a significant role in how change is perceived and adopted. Peeling back this layer involves understanding the underlying values, beliefs, and behaviors that influence how employees respond to change. It also includes identifying cultural strengths that can be leveraged and cultural barriers that need to be addressed. A supportive culture fosters resilience, adaptability, and a positive attitude towards change.

Specifically:

  1. Do existing behaviours and practices support the change end state?
  2. Are there potentially inconsistent behaviours comparing the end state and the current state?
  3. Beyond the specific behaviours required in the change initiative itself, how are these in alignment with broader cultural practices?

Key Takeaways from the Onion Analogy in Change Management

1. Each Layer Needs to Be Peeled Before Another Layer Can Be Peeled

The process of discovering and understanding the complexities of change cannot be rushed. Each layer provides valuable insights and learning opportunities that prepare the organization for the next layer of discovery. Skipping layers or rushing through the process can lead to incomplete assessments, overlooked challenges, and ineffective solutions. Patience and persistence are crucial for a thorough and successful change management journey.

Assessing and understanding each layer can take time. Data, both quantitative and qualitative, may be required to truly understand what each layer means and how it implicates the change.

2. How the Onion Appears May Not Be What It Is at Its Core

Initial perceptions of the organization may not reflect its true state. It takes time and effort to uncover the deeper issues, strengths, and opportunities. This requires a willingness to look beyond surface-level indicators and delve into the core aspects of the organization. Attention to detail and a commitment to uncovering the truth are essential for developing accurate and effective change strategies.

For example:

  1. Are publically communicated and reinforced messages acted on?
  2. Do leaders practice what they preach?
  3. Do stakeholders commit to decisions already made? Or do they ignore it?
  4. Is there clear alignment between different layers of the organisation? How is this done?

3. You May Discover Rotten Parts That Need to Be Replaced

During the process of peeling back layers, you may encounter parts of the organization that are severely inadequate or dysfunctional. These “rotten” parts may need to be replaced or significantly improved before the change can proceed. This could involve overhauling critical capabilities, restructuring teams, or implementing new systems. Recognizing and addressing these issues promptly is essential for ensuring the overall health and success of the organization.

You may find, for example:

  1. Stakeholders that are adamant to block the change for various reasons
  2. Teams that simply do not have the right skills or attitude to transition to the required state
  3. Processes that are simply outdated or convoluted, so much that end state targets cannot be achieved
  4. Systems that are outdated and do not provide the right insights to support the end state

4. Different Types of Onions and Organizations

Just as there are different types of onions, organizations vary in size, complexity, and nature. Assessing the complexity of the change at the outset helps in determining the time, effort, and resources required to peel back the layers. A comprehensive understanding of the organization’s unique characteristics allows for tailored change management strategies that address specific needs and challenges.

Practical Steps for Applying the Onion Analogy in Change Management

Step 1: Initial Assessment and Planning

Begin by conducting a thorough initial assessment of the organization. This involves gathering data, engaging with key stakeholders, and understanding the current state of affairs. Develop a comprehensive change management plan that outlines the objectives, scope, and timelines for each layer of the onion. This plan should also identify key metrics for measuring success and mechanisms for tracking progress.

Step 2: Assess Leadership and Managerial Capability

Evaluate the capability of leaders and managers to drive change. This includes assessing their skills, experience, and attitudes towards change. Provide training and support where needed to enhance their ability to lead effectively. Strong leadership is foundational to the success of any change initiative.

Step 3: Examine Operational and Business Practices

Analyze current workflows, processes, and systems to identify areas that may require adjustment. Engage with employees at all levels to gather insights and understand potential bottlenecks. Develop strategies to streamline operations and ensure alignment with the change objectives.

Step 4: Review Change Governance Practices

Assess the existing governance structures and practices in place to manage change initiatives. Ensure that there are clear decision-making protocols, accountability mechanisms, and regular progress reviews. Strengthen governance frameworks as needed to support effective change management.

Step 5: Evaluate Engagement Channels

Review the channels and methods used to communicate with stakeholders. Ensure that there are effective mechanisms for disseminating information, collecting feedback, and addressing concerns. Enhance engagement strategies to foster transparency, trust, and collaboration.

Step 6: Identify and Empower Change Champions

Identify individuals within the organization who can serve as change champions. Empower them with the necessary tools, resources, and support to advocate for the change initiatives. Leverage their influence and credibility to promote buy-in and address resistance.

Step 7: Assess System and Process Maturity

Evaluate the maturity of technological systems and processes. Identify areas that require upgrades or improvements to support the change. Invest in the necessary infrastructure and tools to ensure seamless implementation.

Step 8: Assess Change Management Maturity

Conduct a maturity assessment of the organization’s change management capabilities. Identify gaps and areas for improvement. Develop and implement strategies to enhance change management practices, methodologies, and tools.

Step 9: Review Resources and Capacity

Evaluate the availability of resources and capacity to support the change initiatives. Ensure that there are adequate financial, human, and physical resources to execute the change plans. Address any resource constraints proactively to prevent delays and disruptions.

Step 10: Understand Culture and Behavioral Traits

Conduct a cultural assessment to understand the underlying values, beliefs, and behaviors that influence how employees respond to change. Identify cultural strengths that can be leveraged and barriers that need to be addressed. Develop strategies to foster a supportive culture that embraces change.

To read more about driving behavioural change check out The ultimate guide to behaviour change.

The analogy of peeling an onion provides a powerful framework for understanding and managing change within an organization. Each layer peeled back reveals new insights and learning opportunities that are essential for successful change management. By carefully examining the various facets of the organization, such as leadership capability, operational practices, and cultural traits, organizations can navigate the complexities of change more effectively.

Patience, persistence, and attention to detail are key to uncovering the true state of the organization and developing tailored strategies that address specific needs and challenges. Ultimately, the journey of peeling the onion in change management leads to a deeper understanding, better preparation, and more successful change outcomes.

Why ‘Release on Demand’ is the Hidden Key to Agile Success (and How Change Management Can Drive It)

Why ‘Release on Demand’ is the Hidden Key to Agile Success (and How Change Management Can Drive It)

In the world of scaled agile, “Release on Demand” is a concept that has profound implications for agile teams and their project approaches. It guides teams on how to release and deliver value when stakeholders and customers are truly ready to receive it. However, a crucial, often-overlooked factor in this concept is the role of change management. While Release on Demand has primarily been framed as a technical approach within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), the readiness of people—including end-users, stakeholders, customers, and partners—forms an equally vital part of determining the demand for release.

As change management practitioners, understanding and actively shaping “Release on Demand” can significantly impact project outcomes. In this article, we’ll explore how change management can enhance this core SAFe concept through strategic timing, prioritisation, and thoughtful execution of each release. We’ll also discuss how to structure governance cadences to ensure operational and people readiness, going beyond the technical lens.

Understanding Release on Demand in SAFe

Within SAFe, Release on Demand means that project outputs or new functionality are delivered when the organisation, teams, and stakeholders are ready to adopt and benefit from it. It enables flexible delivery rather than a rigid release schedule. The four key activities for Release on Demand are:

  1. Release – Delivering the product or change to users.
  2. Stabilise and Operate – Ensuring the release is operationally sound and running smoothly.
  3. Measure and Learn – Assessing the release’s impact and learning from the results.
  4. Adjust – Making necessary improvements based on insights gained.

The goal of these activities is to minimise risk, gather user feedback, and optimise the release to maximise impact. While these steps seem straightforward, they demand thoughtful change management to ensure all stakeholders are prepared to support, use, and benefit from the release. Let’s delve deeper into how a change management approach can strengthen each of these activities.

People Readiness as the Core Demand Factor

The “demand” for a release is often misunderstood as being purely about project or market readiness. However, the reality is that it depends on multiple factors, including how ready people are to adopt the change. For any release to succeed, people readiness is crucial and requires focus on:

  • End-User Readiness: Ensuring that end-users are prepared for the new tools, processes, or functionalities. This could mean conducting user training, crafting support resources, and managing expectations.
  • Stakeholder Readiness: Stakeholders at all levels need to understand the change, its rationale, and its anticipated impact. This may involve regular briefings, updates, and even individual consultations.
  • Customer and Partner Readiness: For customer-facing or partner-facing releases, it’s essential to gauge external readiness as well. A clear communication plan and alignment of goals with partners or clients can smooth the path for a successful launch.

These readiness efforts form a significant part of the “demand” in Release on Demand and reflect the reality that people’s capacity to adapt often determines when a release will be genuinely effective.

The Broader Change Landscape

People readiness isn’t only determined by a single project or team but by the broader change landscape within an organisation. Multiple changes or ongoing initiatives can either enhance or inhibit readiness for a new release. For instance, if an organisation is already undergoing a significant digital transformation, adding another change may lead to overload and resistance.

Change practitioners should map the change landscape to identify concurrent changes and evaluate how these may impact readiness for Release on Demand. By assessing the timing and impact of other changes, change managers can:

  • Avoid change fatigue by spacing out initiatives.
  • Synchronize related changes to reduce redundancy.
  • Communicate the overall strategic direction to help stakeholders and users understand how individual changes fit into the bigger picture.

By accounting for these interdependencies, change management can improve people readiness and ensure the Release on Demand aligns with the organisation’s capacity to handle it.

Applying the Four Key Steps in Release on Demand

Let’s explore how change management activities can amplify each of the four Release on Demand steps:

1. Release: The release phase requires both technical and people preparation. Beyond deploying the technical elements, change management practitioners should:

  • Develop targeted communication plans to inform all affected stakeholders.
  • Offer targeted training sessions or resources that build users’ confidence and competence.
  • Ensure adequate support is in place for the transition, including help desks or peer mentoring.

2. Stabilise and Operate: After a release, it’s crucial to monitor adoption and support operational stability. The change team can:

  1. Collect feedback from end-users and support staff on initial challenges and address these promptly.
  2. Identify and celebrate quick wins that demonstrate the release’s value.

Work closely with operations teams to resolve any unforeseen issues that may inhibit adoption or cause frustration.

3. Measure and Learn: This step goes beyond tracking technical metrics and should also capture change-specific insights. Change management can contribute by:

  1. Conducting surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gauge user and stakeholder sentiment.
  2. Monitoring adoption rates and identifying any training gaps or knowledge shortfalls.
  3. Collaborating with product or project teams to share insights that may refine or prioritisation subsequent releases.

4. Adjust: Based on insights gained from the Measure and Learn phase, change managers can advise on necessary adjustments. These might include:

  1. Refining future communication and training plans based on user feedback.
  2. Addressing any gaps in stakeholder support or sponsorship.
  3. Adjusting the timing of subsequent releases to better align with people readiness.

The iterative nature of these four steps aligns well with agile methodologies, allowing change managers to continuously refine and enhance their approach.

The Critical Role of Sequencing, Prioritisation, and Timing

FFor change management practitioners, Release on Demand isn’t just about executing steps—it’s about doing so in the right sequence and at the right time. The impact of a release depends significantly on when it occurs, who is prepared for it, and how well each group’s readiness aligns with the release cadence and continuous integration.

Here are some tips to help change managers get the timing right:

  1. Analyze stakeholder engagement levels: Regularly assess how engaged and ready stakeholders are, tailoring messaging and interventions based on their feedback and sentiment.
  2. Prioritisation change activities based on impact: Not all releases will have the same impact, so change teams should focus resources on those that require the most user readiness efforts.
  3. Create phased rollouts: If full-scale readiness across the board isn’t achievable, a phased rollout can provide users with time to adapt, while allowing the change team to address any emergent issues in stages.

By managing the release cadence thoughtfully, change managers can avoid the disruptions caused by hasty releases and ensure the deployment feels both manageable and meaningful for users.

Expanding Release Governance Beyond Technical Focus

Release governance in SAFe is often perceived as a predominantly technical or project-focused process. However, effective governance should encompass business operations and people readiness as well. Change management plays a pivotal role in designing governance cadences that account for these critical aspects.

To integrate change governance within release governance, change practitioners should:

  1. Establish clear communication channels with project teams and product owners to ensure people readiness factors are consistently part of release discussions.
  2. Implement a readiness checklist that includes technical, operational, and people readiness criteria. This checklist should be reviewed and signed off by relevant stakeholders before any release.
  3. Maintain a cadence of review and feedback sessions where project teams, change managers, and stakeholders discuss readiness progress, key risks, and post-release outcomes.

This approach ensures that each release is evaluated from multiple perspectives, minimising disruption and maximising its potential for success.

The above is from Scaledagileframework.com

Developing a Change Cadence that Complements Agile Delivery

SAFe’s principle of “develop on cadence; release on demand” is central to effective agile delivery. For change management practitioners, developing a strong change cadence is equally important. This cadence, or rhythm of activities, aligns with the agile teams’ development cadence and helps build stakeholder momentum, maintain engagement, and reduce surprises.

Here’s how to develop a cadence that works in tandem with agile teams:

  • Planning Cadence: Hold regular planning sessions to align change activities with upcoming releases and identify readiness gaps. This could be quarterly for major releases or bi-weekly for smaller, iterative releases.
  • Execution Cadence: Establish a reliable cycle for change interventions, such as training, communication, and stakeholder meetings. This cadence helps stakeholders build expectations and fosters a predictable rhythm in change activities.
  • Feedback Cadence: Collect feedback at consistent intervals, aligning it with release intervals or sprint reviews. Consistent feedback keeps the change process agile and responsive to evolving needs.

A well-defined change cadence not only prepares users effectively but also reinforces trust and transparency in the change process.

Release on Demand may have originated as a technical concept within SAFe, but its success is deeply tied to how well people, stakeholders, and users are prepared for each release. For change management practitioners, Release on Demand is an opportunity to enhance the broader release process by prioritizing people readiness, orchestrating thoughtful sequencing, and establishing governance that prioritisations user success as much as project outcomes.

By proactively engaging in each of the four stages of Release on Demand—Release, Stabilise and Operate, Measure and Learn, and Adjust—change management can ensure releases are not just technically ready but fully integrated into the people and business context they serve. Embracing this role allows change managers to become essential partners in agile delivery, maximising the impact of each release for end-users, the organisation, and the overall success of the project.

Change Management Impact Analysis: A Human-Centred Approach

Change Management Impact Analysis: A Human-Centred Approach

What is change management impact analysis and why is it important?

Change management impact analysis assesses how changes affect an organization, its processes, and employees. It identifies potential risks and facilitates smoother transitions by preparing stakeholders for adjustments. This analysis is crucial as it minimizes disruptions, enhances employee buy-in, and ensures successful implementation of change initiatives for long-term success.

Map change impacts along user journey and

create experience-based change impact assessment.

60 min

4+ People

What you’ll need

REMOTE

Video conferencing with screen sharing

Digital collaboration tool (Zoom, Hangout)

IN-PERSON

Whiteboard

Markers

Post-it notes

Timer

Instructions for running this Playbook

1. Background

In organizational change, change impact assessments or change impact analysis are usually conducted from a ‘top down’ perspective where the process/system or solution that is changed is translated into what it means for the impacted group of users. In terms of best practices, this may not sufficiently take into account detailed impacts that users undergo and related experiences throughout the change journey.

A human-centred approach to assessing the impact of change takes a bottom-up and humanistic approach to successful change. This integrated well with agile projects where there is focus on user journey and user profiles. The design of this session is aimed to leverage from a wide-range of project and business representatives to holistically understand stakeholder impacts.

This is a workshop with key stakeholders to map key user impacts which informs the content of detailed impact assessment.

2. Prep

This session is beneficial when there is sufficient understanding of what the change is in the scope of the change, i.e. the defined solution from the project, areas of impact and initial assessment findings. You can also organise a session for each iteration given there is sufficient change to warrant the session.

The following elements are critical before organising the session:

  1. User journey – To ensure this can be referenced and utilised to illustrate the journey the user will go through in using the solution
  2. User role profiles – To ensure that critical user profiles are clearly understood so that these can be utilised to outline their usage journeys
  3. Change approach or Change Canvas – To help illustrate critical aspects of how users will be engaged be supported to use the designed solution
  4. High level change impact assessment
  5. Business representatives from impacted areas that can be leveraged to paint a picture of what stakeholder experiences could be
  6. Empathy Map Canvas template. Visit this link to download the template by Dave Gray.

Scheduling:

Schedule the meeting when there is sufficient understanding of the solution and business processes to aid your data collection and a sufficient understanding of the change. Clarify this with your project manager or business analyst as required.

Who:

Include key project team members such as the following job roles: the project manager, business owner, lead developer, business analyst, and user-design specialist. Also include business representatives from the different groups of impacted business areas who are familiar with potential consequences of change impacts, potential disruptions and likely mitigation strategies.

Organisation:

Prior to the session undertake the following preparation in you session resource allocation:

  1. Thoroughly understand the user journey process and anticipate potential change impacts ahead of the session (even if you don’t have the thorough change impact assessment)
  2. Map out impacted stakeholder groups by role across each impacted business area. Decide key roles that you want to focus on in the session as a part of the proposed change, versus trying to cover all roles
  3. Work with business representatives to highlight change impacts ahead of the session if there is a lot to cover or if the change is particularly complex. Capture these visually to show during the session
  4. Organise key artefacts such as empathy map, user journey, etc.

TIP: DESIGN

Focus as much on what a typical experience would be like from an end-user perspective versus on the technicalities of the solution itself.

Position the various scenarios and challenges that the user faces and walk through how these are resolved by the solution.

TIP: WHAT TO AVOID

Focus on the change impacts of the user in terms of experiences. Don’t just focus on the user experience and profile without sufficiently capturing what the impacts mean to the user’s experience.

3. Run the session

Intro – 5-10 min

Walk through the purpose of the session and why this is required. Emphasise how important it is to incorporate a user-centric view of change impacts in order to design effective change experiences.

  1. Overview user journey and key impacted roles – 10 min
  2. Review key user journeys for selected key impacted stakeholder groups
  3. Highlight key change impacts
  4. Use empathy map to discuss the impacts for key user roles – 40 min
  5. Walkthrough the empathy map concept and explain key components
  6. Create an empathy map for each key impacted role
  7. For each empathy map, refer back to the user journey and key identified impacts from the high level impact assessment as a start
  8. Key focus and capture is on the IMPACTS of the change after understanding the user experience. E.g. The customer service rep needs to answer customer enquiries efficiently and they often feel frustrated by how slow the system response is. The impact of the new system is that it will alleviate this pain for them.

4. Capturing outcomes

At the end of the session, capture any key actions, timeline, valuable insights, stakeholder engagement ideas and a follow up session as required.

What to do with the output?

After you’ve written up the empathy map for each impacted role. Utilise these to build the detailed change impact assessment as a core part of effective change management in a systematic way. As a result, the change impact assessment will incorporate user experiences that are valuable when you start to create the change plan and the change strategy in driving towards the future state from the current state, ensuring smooth transition.

Revert back to business representatives and others in the session to verify the details captured and ensure nothing critical is missed.

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