Project Management Central

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Should Change Management Be the PM's Job or Should They Get Support? Francisco Herrera Community Champion Program Manager, PPM&PMO Specialist.| Coppel, Mexico. Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico I've always thought that managing change in a project is a lot of work for just one PM, and that it's better to have someone else help with it. It's interesting that change management isn't a specific knowledge area or performance domain in the PMBOK®. In your organizations, what's the expectation? Is the PM usually responsible for change management, or do they get support from someone else? I'm curious to hear about your experiences and how it works in your teams. Saving Changes... Posted: May 9, 2025 1:33 PM

Sort By: Newest First Chronological Votes < 1 2 > Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada Francisco - On smaller projects, the PM might partner up with a BA or the business lead for the project to do the change analysis, develop a change strategy & plan and work with the appropriate communications and learning leads to develop and implement change tactics. On larger or more complex change projects a dedicated lead with sufficient change management experience is advisable and their cost can be justified based on reducing the risk of unsustainable changes. Kiron ... 1 reply by Francisco Herrera May 12, 2025 1:36 PM Francisco Herrera ... Kiron I like that approach for smaller projects – partnering with the business side. It even makes sense to 'sell' them on why these change strategies are important. For bigger projects, having a dedicated change lead sounds like a good way to reduce risks. Thanks Kiron! Saving Changes... Posted: May 9, 2025 3:07 PM Aaron Porter IT Director| Blade HQ Salem, UT, United States I've been on a few projects where I was the change manager and the project manager. This is part of why I attended Prosci training and took some other change management classes, a few years ago. On most of my projects, however, especially the larger projects, it's usually been a leader from the affected business unit, partnered with HR for training, that took the lead on adoption and resistance to change. I've also seen projects with formal change managers. The discipline is different enough that, if adoption is vital (it often is on internal projects), the project manager will need some level of support that can vary by project. ... 1 reply by Francisco Herrera May 13, 2025 3:23 PM Francisco Herrera ... That makes a lot of sense Aaron Porter. I think the same way. Especially for bigger projects, having someone focused on change management, maybe from the business or HR, seems like a better approach. Thanks! Francisco Saving Changes... Posted: May 9, 2025 5:50 PM Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States As others have pointed out, it really depends on scale from where the PM manages the change processes, a project level focal, department level, or even a function of a different department. Some of my earliest PM experience was as the "change manager" for large complex projects. The role was one part navigating the change process itself, but more so working with multiple contributing groups to evaluate the changes, cost and schedule estimation, and formally documenting it within the WBS. ... 1 reply by Francisco Herrera May 14, 2025 11:49 AM Francisco Herrera ... Keith Novak I agree it depends a lot on the project size. Maybe there should be a matrix that recommends when a PM needs support with change management. In your experience leading change, did you find that the PM appreciated having your help? Regards! Francisco. Saving Changes... Posted: May 9, 2025 8:33 PM Luis Branco CEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, Ldª Carcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal For internal and external projects, across varying levels of complexity and scale, the answer is: "it depends" — but we shouldn't normalize overload. In small or low-impact projects, it’s often assumed the PM “owns” everything — scope, schedule, communication, and yes, change management. While this may be manageable in the short term, it usually comes at the cost of depth, sustainability, and meaningful people engagement. In large-scale or transformational initiatives, treating change management as a side task is a strategic risk. Expecting the PM to lead technical delivery and support behavioral, cultural, or structural change — without dedicated support — is simply unrealistic. The best outcomes I’ve seen stem from clear role separation: the PM leads execution, while a change leader supports the people transition — and they work in close partnership. You're also right to point out that change management isn’t yet explicitly defined as a performance domain in the PMBOK® Guide — although the "Stakeholder" and "Team" domains do touch on aspects of it. In more mature organizations, I’ve seen Change Management Offices embedded within the project structure, or at least specialized roles assigned to complex initiatives. Ultimately, change is not just a deliverable — it’s a journey for people. And supporting that journey often requires more than one backpack. I’d love to hear how others have handled this in different organizational settings and maturity levels. ... 1 reply by Francisco Herrera May 15, 2025 12:45 PM Francisco Herrera ... Luis I agree with all your points. I've also seen Change Management Offices in some companies, sometimes even as part of Human Resources. However, it often seems focused on specific projects and doesn't have a very wide reach. I think having a clear separation of roles, with the PM focusing on execution and a change leader supporting the people side, leads to much better results. Regards! Francisco Saving Changes... Posted: May 10, 2025 7:21 AM Fabian Crosa Community Champion Speaker | PMO leader | Teacher | Writer | PMP| Universid Catolica del uruguay Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay Your reflection is very accurate, and in fact opens the door to an important conversation about the limits of the project manager's role and how organizational change management issues are addressed. It is true: change management (in the sense of changing behaviors, culture, or ways of working) is not a formal knowledge area in the PMBOK®, although it is mentioned as a critical complementary skill, especially in transformational environments. The guide recognizes that projects bring about change, but leaves it up to the organization to define how that impact is managed. ... 1 reply by Francisco Herrera May 16, 2025 12:12 PM Francisco Herrera ... Fabian I agree with you, and based on what are you saying, shouldn't change management really be led by someone other than the PM? Maybe someone from the business side, like we were discussing earlier, to really focus on the people and organizational impact? What do you think? Let me know! Regards, Francisco Saving Changes... Posted: May 11, 2025 9:34 PM Francisco Herrera Community Champion Program Manager, PPM&PMO Specialist.| Coppel, Mexico. Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico May 09, 2025 3:07 PM Replying to Kiron Bondale ... Francisco - On smaller projects, the PM might partner up with a BA or the business lead for the project to do the change analysis, develop a change strategy & plan and work with the appropriate communications and learning leads to develop and implement change tactics. On larger or more complex change projects a dedicated lead with sufficient change management experience is advisable and their cost can be justified based on reducing the risk of unsustainable changes. Kiron Kiron I like that approach for smaller projects – partnering with the business side. It even makes sense to 'sell' them on why these change strategies are important. For bigger projects, having a dedicated change lead sounds like a good way to reduce risks. Thanks Kiron! Saving Changes... Posted: May 12, 2025 1:36 PM Francisco Herrera Community Champion Program Manager, PPM&PMO Specialist.| Coppel, Mexico. Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico May 09, 2025 5:50 PM Replying to Aaron Porter ... I've been on a few projects where I was the change manager and the project manager. This is part of why I attended Prosci training and took some other change management classes, a few years ago. On most of my projects, however, especially the larger projects, it's usually been a leader from the affected business unit, partnered with HR for training, that took the lead on adoption and resistance to change. I've also seen projects with formal change managers. The discipline is different enough that, if adoption is vital (it often is on internal projects), the project manager will need some level of support that can vary by project. That makes a lot of sense Aaron Porter. I think the same way. Especially for bigger projects, having someone focused on change management, maybe from the business or HR, seems like a better approach. Thanks! Francisco Saving Changes... Posted: May 13, 2025 3:23 PM Thomas Walenta Global Project Economy Expert| self Hackenheim, Germany A transformation is a significant change that must be led by the business that wants to change. It should be run as a program, as it will be evaluated by the benefits it delivers to different stakeholder groups. Plus, it will include a portfolio of projects, some of which might be run by contractors who see their project as most important, like technology implementation or process improvement. I have run several SAP roll-out projects for clients, and the client always retained responsibility for the business transformation intended by implementing SAP. Sometimes, parts of the change management scope, like training, stakeholder monitoring, or communication, were contracted too. ... 1 reply by Francisco Herrera May 17, 2025 2:24 PM Francisco Herrera ... Hi Thomas, I agree completely that the business needs to lead a transformation. In my experience, business involvement has always been key. I actually think it's very important that they drive it, since they are the ones who will ultimately realize the benefits. Regards! Francisco. Saving Changes... Posted: May 13, 2025 4:56 PM Amanda Loewy I think project managers have a large role to play in change management, certainly, since we handle so many of the specific pieces that bring process changes to life through projects we manage. However, PMs already handle so many domain and practice group areas that I think it's unfair to solely rely on a PM to conduct change management on a large scale. As others have said, depending on project scope the PM can manage an integrated change process within the project itself, but projects of increasing size/complexity that touch on other arms of the business will need assistance -- in my experience, usually from VP-level or above personnel. The organizations I've worked in are pretty flat and it's rare to have a dedicated business analyst role, so change comes with support from above. ... 1 reply by Francisco Herrera May 19, 2025 12:44 PM Francisco Herrera ... Amanda LoewyeExactly, that's the point I was trying to make. It feels like a lot to put solely on the PM. I've seen many in the forum agree that partnering with the business side or key stakeholders is important. You even mentioned getting support from VP-level or higher, which makes sense to get buy-in from upper management. Thanks for sharing your perspective! Regards! Francisco. Saving Changes... Posted: May 13, 2025 11:35 PM Francisco Herrera Community Champion Program Manager, PPM&PMO Specialist.| Coppel, Mexico. Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico May 09, 2025 8:33 PM Replying to Keith Novak ... As others have pointed out, it really depends on scale from where the PM manages the change processes, a project level focal, department level, or even a function of a different department. Some of my earliest PM experience was as the "change manager" for large complex projects. The role was one part navigating the change process itself, but more so working with multiple contributing groups to evaluate the changes, cost and schedule estimation, and formally documenting it within the WBS. Keith Novak I agree it depends a lot on the project size. Maybe there should be a matrix that recommends when a PM needs support with change management. In your experience leading change, did you find that the PM appreciated having your help? Regards! Francisco. Saving Changes... Posted: May 14, 2025 11:49 AM < 1 2 >

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