IT Change
Management
Merle P. Martin
MIS Department
CSU Sacramento
Agenda
Challenge of change
 Change process
 Selling change

Dilbert Change
“People hate change, and with good
reason. Change makes us stupider,
relatively speaking. Change adds
new information to the universe;
information we don’t know. Our
knowledge - as a percentage of all
the things that we know - goes down
a tick every time something
changes.”
Dilbert Principle, pg 18
Challenge of Change
Disrupts frames of reference
 Presents a future where past
experiences do not hold true
 What value seniority?
 Engenders reluctance to IT change

Types of Resistance
Avoidance:
 pretend new systems
don’t exist
 maintain informal / redundant
record-keeping systems
 Projection: blame all application
problems on new system

Resistance (Cont.)
Hostility:
 users antagonistic
 particularly to advocates
of new system
 Sabotage: try to make new system
fail

High Change
Low Change
Business
Business / Technology
Rate of Change
Low Change
High Change
Technology
Change Process
Develop need
 Assess change environment
 Secure end-user
commitment
 Shift from reliance to
self-reliance

Develop Need
Point out alternatives
to existing problem
 Dramatize end-users
importance in solving problem
 Convince end-users they
are capable of solving problem

Assess Environment

AMS identifies people who
can accelerate, slow, or
block change initiative. Who:
 is driving initiative?
 seems to be resisting?
 is empowered to make
decisions?
 can make change succeed
or fail?
AMS People

WHO:
 will be affected by
the change?
 will take an interest in
change and its effects
(e.g., regulators and public)?
 will be responsible for
change when implemented?
Secure End-user
Commitment
Build user competence
 Make changes easier
 Human Factors
 Training

Making Change
Possible
Change
agent
IT
Make
system
more
usable
EndChange
users
Acquire
knowledge
& skills
Change Team
Credibility

Establish credibility in
 competence
 honesty
 objectivity
 empathy
Assume End-User
Perspective
Go to end-user work areas
 Use end-user oriented tools
 Play the role of the end-user
 The Memo exercise

Use End-users to
Spread Commitment

Identify / select leaders
Assign them to steering
committees
 Assign them to project teams

Freeze Positive
Behavior
Give rewards for change
 latest equipment
 off-site training
 Establish continuous training
 rather than ad-hoc

Shift from Reliance
to Self Reliance
Make end-users less
reliant on you
 Sacrifice your ego
 Build end-user ownership

“Old change-agents never die;
they just fade away.”
Selling Change
Ferguires (1991)
 Areas of end-user concern
 Relative Advantage:
 What’s in it for me?
 How will my relative position be
enhanced by this change?

Selling Change
Compatibility:
 What is the same in
the new and old systems?
 What won’t I have to learn?
 Complexity:
 How long is the learning curve?
 Will I be able to learn
the new system?
 How long will it take?

Selling Change
Try-ability:
 Can I try it before
I commit?
 Prototyping
 Observability:
 Can I see it in action?
 Who else is using it?
 Do they like it?

Points to Remember
Challenge of change
 Change process
 Selling change
