We sometimes use change management and project management interchangeably. Also, the skills required for both processes are often similar. However, there are certain striking differences. For instance, change management gives a relatively structured framework to change (transition) persons and business set up from a state to another. Project management is about fulfilling a defined outcome. You would expect this outcome to have constraints of budget, scope, and quality. The lack of understanding of the difference between these two subjects could be the determining factor of your success. Therefore, we deem it necessary to highlight the basic differences so you can apply them appropriately.

WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

According to the PMBOK Guide, project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet its requirements. You can accomplish this application by integrating the main project management processes- initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
Project and change management are both tailored towards moving an organization into the future state from its current state, through a transition process. However, project management focuses on the tasks required to achieve the project requirements, while change management concentrates on the people impacted by the change. Any changes made to processes, systems, organization structures and/or job roles will have both technical and human impacts.

WHAT IS CHANGE MANAGEMENT?

Intuitively, many of us know what change management means and the things it encompasses. Yet, there is always a problem with conveying the actual definition to other people. Meanwhile, where you have professional and certified project managers like at The Swiss Quality, communicating the actual definition of terms is one of the easiest things for us.
Change management is the process, tools, and techniques used to manage the human aspect of the change for the purpose of achieving the desired business outcome. In essence, change management incorporates the diverse organizational tools that can help individuals transit successfully. This results in the adoption and realization of the proposed change.
Thus, it is important to highlight the goal of change and compare with that of project management. In simple terms, the goal of change management is to improve the mode of delivery by changing the process of doing the work.
Ultimately, introducing change management impacts any of the processes, systems, the structure of your firm or company, and job roles

The Swiss Quality boast of qualified, PMP-certified, experienced, and professional project managers. We provide detailed and world-class management services as it suits your business.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT HAS A UNIQUE AND MEASURABLE GOAL

One important difference between project and change management is the nature of the desired outcomes. In project management, there is a defined goal. This goal must also be measurable. You must be able to determine, establish, and evaluate the status of the goal. Conversely, change management involves an inconsequential but measurable idea about the things the company is trying to achieve. To ensure that you are deploying either of these management processes, we can provide adequate guidance and advisory in that regard.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT HAPPENS WITHIN A TIMELINE

Another critical part of project management is working within a timeline. This timeline will dictate specific dates when you must make the project deliverable. Change management requires getting specific input from the stakeholders for the entire business process. The process of developing the idea and its implementation could happen within a short or long period.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT INVOLVES MILESTONES

Milestones are an integral aspect of the project management process. With these milestones, the project stakeholders can keep track of the project and measure its progress. You should establish the milestones at the commencement of the project.

Contrariwise, there are no specific milestones with change management techniques. Rather, it is an open process which when done properly, involves input from the employees. These inputs can then change the progression in a way or the other.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT HAS A LIMITED SCOPE

Limited scope is one characteristic of project management. A well-defined project scope highlights what the project will achieve and the things outside the project. This concept is important to the project, otherwise project creep might occur. The project will continue to expand unnecessarily without achieving its defined goals.

In contrast, change management has a broad and undefined scope.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT REQUIRES THE INPUT OF MANY IDEAS

Change management is only effective when it involves and carries every stakeholder along. Therefore, it will require multiple ideas and perspectives to achieve the vision of the change.

Project management, in contrast, only requires a single idea. A project is hence developed from this idea.

Imagine a situation where you want to enhance the performance of your organization’s employees with enterprise software; the focus might be specifically on error reduction or ensuring speed and efficiency under project management while change management emphasizes the bigger picture. Unfortunately, it could be tricky to determine. That is where we come in- to provide experience and professionalism.

Again, merely prescribing the change and expecting it to automatically validate does not suffice. To create a change, you must put a lot of hard work in place. Not only that, due understanding of the actions to make the change happen is essential. So, what do you do when you are caught in the web of uncertainty, not knowing which is the right or best approach? Reach out to a top-notch consulting and project management firm- The Swiss Quality. We would meet every of your concern satisfactorily.

You can deploy several other approaches to the improvement of your business endeavors. All of them have an ultimate function, which is to prescribe the right adjustments to one or more of the parts of a firm as listed above. Typically, change results from a reactive process to the problems or opportunities an enterprise is facing based on internal and external influences.
The process of change definition ranges from identifying the notion- which could range from being more competitive to ensuring better customer relationships and improving business efficiency. After that, there would be a point of transforming the goals into their actual impacts on the processes, systems, job roles or organizational structures.

Project management, as earlier said, involves the following processes: Initiating, planning, executing. monitoring and controlling, and closing. Also, the tools involved are Statement Of Work, Project Charter, Business Case, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Budget Estimations, Schedules, Risk Identification And Mitigation, Resource Allocation, Performance And Compliance Reports, and Tracking.

Conversely, change management can only be successful by following these steps: Identifying The Need To Change, Communicating The Change With Your Team, and Efficiently Implementing The Strategy.

The above-listed steps provide a blueprint for change management and this is what we recommend to stakeholders to help them understand the current state of the business and the things they need to do to actualize the change with time.

Therefore, project and change management have recently become disciplines that provide requisite structure and tools used to manage and realize the change in the human and technical aspects. Since they (project and change management) are both focused on achieving success in the long run, and because we are interested in your success as an individual and that of your business, we believe the two must work in tandem to achieve the intended outcomes and the overall success. These would ensure greater alignment, increased efficiency, risk mitigation, and effective communication.

Why would you have to wait any further? Since we know of the importance of the knowledge of change and project management, why would you look any further?

Get in touch today, let’s bring your project to the limelight and hand it the much-deserved height.