Prosci's change management methodology is developed based on research with over $3,400$ participants over the last twenty years. What is unique about the methodology is that it comes from real project leaders and teams reflecting on what worked, what did not and what they would do differently on their next project.

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The Prosci ADKAR$$ Model

The Prosci $3-$Phase Process

Research on change management methodology

At its core, Prosci's methodology is the collective lessons learned by those implementing change across the globe. Based on this research, Prosci has developed a methodology that is holistic and easy to use. The resulting process, tools and assessments have been developed with one goal in mind: that you can put them to use on your projects while building your $($and your organization's$)$ own internal change management skill set.

Change management requires both an individual and an organizational perspective

Individual change management

Individual change management means understanding how one person successfully makes a change.

Organizations don't change, individuals do$.$ No matter how large of a project you are taking on$,$ the success of that project ultimately lies with each employee doing their work differently, multiplied across all of the employees impacted by the change. Effective change management requires an understanding for and appreciation of how one person makes a change successfully. Without an individual perspective, we are left with activities but no idea of the goal or outcome that we are trying to achieve.

Organizational change management

Organizational change management understands what tools we have to help individuals make changes successfully.

While change happens one person at a time, there are processes and tools that can help facilitate this change across groups and organizations. Without a structured approach, change management tools can be limited to only communication and training. When there is an organizational change management perspective, a process emerges for how to scale change management activities and how to use the complete set of tools available for project leaders and business managers.

ADKAR: AN EASY$-$TO$-$USE MODEL FOR INDIVIDUAL CHANGE

The first step in managing any type of organizational change is understanding how to manage change with a single individual. Prosci's model of individual change is called the Prosci ADKAR Model, an acronym for awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement$.$ In essence, an individual needs:

Awareness of the need for change

Desire to participate in and support the change

Knowledge on how to change

Ability to implement required skills and behaviors

Reinforcement to sustain the change

ADKAR describes successful change at the individual level. When an organization undertakes an initiative, that change only happens when the employees who have to do their jobs differently can say with confidence, "I have the awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement to make this change happen."

Because it outlines the goals or outcomes of successful change, ADKAR is an effective tool for:

Planning change management activities

Diagnosing gaps

Developing corrective actions

Supporting managers and supervisors

THE $3-$PHASE PROCESS: A STRUCTURE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Prosci's organizational change management process was first introduced in $2002$ after the third change management benchmarking study. This process is built in three phases that a project or change manager can work through for the changes and initiatives they are supporting. The methodology includes research$-$based assessments and templates to support each phase, as well as guidance for completing each step most effectively.

Phase $1$ change management process methodology

$1.$ Preparing for change

The first phase in Prosci's methodology helps change and project teams prepare for designing their change management plans. It answers these questions:

"How much change management does this project need?"

$$Who is impacted by this initiative and in what ways?$$

$$Who are the sponsors we need to be involved to make this initiative successful?$$

The first phase provides the situational awareness that is critical for creating effective change management plans. The outputs of this phase are:

Change characteristics profile

This provides insight into the change at hand, its size, scope and impact.

Organizational attributes profile

This gives a view of the organization and groups that are being impacted and any specific attributes that may contribute to challenges when changing.

Change management team structure

This structure defines how many change management resources are needed for the effort and where they are positioned in relationship to the project team and project sponsor

Sponsor assessment, structure and roles

This provides an understanding of the leader