PMP lesson · Business Environment · The world around the project · lesson 2 of 2 · about 7 minutes
Organisational change: helping people adopt what the project delivers
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Goal: After this lesson you can explain why people resist change, use a simple model (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, reinforcement) and choose actions that lead to real adoption.
1The situation
“The spreadsheets work fine”
The new production scheduling system passed every test. Training sessions were full. Six weeks after go-live, planners are back on their old spreadsheets, and some supervisors say the new system “will be gone in a year anyway”.
The project delivered a system. The organisation did not adopt it. Without adoption, there are no benefits.
2Why people resist
People resist when they don't understand why, fear losing competence or status, don't have time to learn, or expect the change to fail. Resistance is information, not stubbornness.
Why
Awareness
Leaders explain the reason for the change.
Want
Desire
Involve people; address “what's in it for me?”
How
Knowledge & ability
Training, practice, support on the floor.
The last step is reinforcement: recognise adoption, measure it, remove the old way.
Training fixes how, not why. If people ask “why do we need this?”, start with awareness and desire, led by business leaders.
3The change curve
Performance often dips before it improves. Support people through the dip.
4How it looks on the exam
Exam-style question 1. A new scheduling system will replace spreadsheets used for years. Training is well attended, but planners keep asking why the change is needed and say the spreadsheets work fine. Go-live is in six weeks. What should the project manager do?
A. Add more training sessions
B. Work with business leaders to communicate the reasons and benefits clearly, and let planners raise concerns, before more training
C. Remove spreadsheet access immediately
D. Postpone go-live until all planners agree
Show the answer and the decode
Answer: B.
In simple English
People don't understand why.
What is the question really asking?
How to build acceptance.
Key words / trigger
“keep asking why the change is needed”
PMP logic
Change starts with awareness and desire; training covers knowledge.
Why the wrong answer looks attractive
More training seems logical, but the problem is 'why', not 'how'.