What is most important for managing the changes a project will cause?

It's a hot topic in business skills development: improving the way we manage change. Often this can be the trickiest and riskiest part of a project truly achieving the desired outcomes.

By "change" we mean the tangible differences people and organizations as a whole experience in how things work, get work done, etc., as the result of a project. A new product launch can cause changes to processes, manufacturing efforts, sales quotas, etc. A new application can require users to learn new tools or change how they do a daily task.

Although the person or entity affected by the concrete change may perceive a very binary "switch" to the new environment, in reality, there is a process of transition from the old state to the new state. The key to handling change is to truly manage a transition process as an explicit part of the project—the activities needed to make the transition to a new way of doing things, as well as the moods, emotions, and reactions people may have along the way. And because people are impacted by change and aren't guaranteed to like the impacts they experience, the most important aspect of managing the transition is good communication. Consider these tips:

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