Do traditional change models still have merit?
We examine whether the change model is still viable or should be laid to rest.
The Era of Clickbait and Constant Evolution
You’ll find clickbait headlines proclaiming the death of something in every news feed.
Cobalt Blue is the new black, ChatGPT is the new agony aunt, and PowerPoint is dead; you’ve missed the boat on NVIDIA stocks.
In every area of our lives, something old and tired is replaced by something faster, slicker, brighter, shinier, and new.
What About Our Beloved Change Models?
For many of us working in change, ADKAR was our introduction to change. The first time you hear the explanation of those five letters, it hits you like a lightbulb and you understand why projects with no change support fail spectacularly at basic change management.
The ADKAR Breakdown
A: Are the audience aware that the change is happening?
D: Do they desire this change?
K: Do they know how to navigate this change?
A: Do they have the ability to perform the tasks required to complete the change?
R: Have we set up reminders to reinforce the adoption of the change?
When ADKAR Doesn’t Fit the Project
An experienced change practitioner could provide you with specific examples of where ADKAR wasn’t suitable for particular projects they worked on.
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“The change was unpleasant, so they did not desire it.”
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“No reminders or reinforcement were needed. The old system was decommissioned, so they couldn’t continue to use it.”
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“A great design meant no training was required.”
Practitioners would likely say the same about the SCARF Model, the Bridges Transition Model, and the McKinsey 7S framework.
Why Change Practitioners Still Keep These Models
But the savvy practitioner still keeps all these models in their toolkit. Why?
Because these models relate to the journey of the impacted stakeholder, not the change delivery.
Delivery vs. Stakeholder Focus
Change delivery is typically linked more closely with project delivery, making delivery via project phases—such as initiation, design, build, deliver, and execute—more pertinent than ADKAR.
And where project delivery is Agile, the change manager works in short sprints, aligned to the project deliverables.
The Value of Empathy in Change
But no matter what the delivery cadence or duration, while being mindful of deliverables, the change manager is responsible for walking in the shoes of the impacted user—which is when they benefit from taking all these models from their back pocket and seeing if any fit.
A Practitioner’s Perspective
One change manager shared:
“I have one-pagers for all these models. I design my approach to align with the project priorities outlined in the business case, but I frequently review the models to ensure I’ve considered things from different angles.
Have I overlooked any peer pressure considerations?
Do I need to check the ability post-training?
Does our management structure present problems with cascading this change?
Sometimes, running through these scenarios with different stakeholder groups in mind, I uncover things I hadn’t considered in my original planning.
Change models are like trusted advisers sitting around a table. You don’t need to take their advice, but it’s well worth listening to, just in case!”
Final Word: Are Models Really Dead?
It seems, rather than being dead and buried, all the popular change models have great merit when used—likely for their initial intention of better understanding the user journey.
ChangePlan Supports All Models
ChangePlan software is model agnostic. Whether you want to use ADKAR, SCARF, or align with a PMBOK project framework, our software will support your change journey.
