After fifteen years of experiments, it should be clear that effective organizational change management (OCM) is more than just training.  It should also be just as clear that it is not an afterthought.  A serious business transformation program will change technology, practices and processes.  These are three projects, with three different, yet interrelated outcomes.

The first effort by management is to determine the end result in terms of organizational capability.  For the last twenty five years, capability has been assessed over five progressive levels and across the three symbiotic elements of technology, practices and processes.  Effective capability is the level all three share.  So, we can ask, is the organization at level 5 maturity in its compliance with the generally accepted principles and practices of the profession?  If yes, are they at level 5 complying with the best practices of their industry?  If yes, then touch nothing.

However, if the answer is no to either question, examine the requirements of the next progressive level of capability.  Most organizations have technology that is far more robust than their practices or processes.  This means, most organizations should be looking at OCM long before they need to look at changing technology.  Unfortunately, most organizations still subscribe to the myth that new technology will force the organization to change.

How do you know if your organization is subscribing to the myth?  If the organization has had to customize state of the art software in order to support its processes and practices, then it is out of touch with the state of the art of processes and practices.