ISYS90050 · It Project and Change Management
Organisational Change Management
Week 11 treats change as people and organisational change, explicitly distinct from scope, requirements or technical change. It teaches why projects fail when people do not adopt them (acceptance is key), the change roles (sponsors, agents, targets), Leavitt's interacting elements, Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze and the four change strategies. Diagnosing roles and choosing a change strategy for a resistance scenario is the highest-value item here and central to the individual critical-analysis report.
What this chapter covers
- 01Change here = people/organisational change, NOT scope/requirements/budget/technical change
- 02Most projects fail because people do not adopt them — acceptance is key; assimilation is slow (a change threshold)
- 03Change roles: sponsors (willingness and power to back it), agents (the change team), targets (who must change)
- 04False beliefs of technical teams ('they'll love it', 'training will cover it', 'it's only small')
- 05Leavitt's model: people, structure/organisation, technology and task/process changes interact
- 06Lewin: present -> transition -> desired state via unfreeze -> change -> refreeze; driving vs resisting forces
- 07Kubler-Ross change curve: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, acceptance
- 08Four change strategies: rational-empirical, normative-reeducative, power-coercive, environmental-adaptive; resistance and its resolution
Assign change roles and choose a strategy for a resistant rollout
- +1Assign the roles. Sponsor = the practice owner (has the willingness and power to initiate and back the change and fund it). Agents = the project and change-management team who make and manage the change. Targets = the staff who must change their way of working, including the two resisters.
- +1Diagnose the receptionist. Her resistance is fear of the technology and low confidence, not opposition to the goal. A rational-empirical strategy fits partly (explain the benefits), but the stronger lever is normative-reeducative: hands-on retraining, pairing and involvement in testing to rebuild confidence and shift her sense of what is normal.
- +1Diagnose the nurse. The rumour is a false belief driving active resistance, so the priority is a rational-empirical strategy: consistent, accurate, timely information that directly corrects the layoff rumour and states the real reason for the change, removing the fear of the unknown.
- +1Anchor and monitor. Frame both in Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze (surface the concerns, support the transition, then embed the new routine) and set up two-way communication and progress tracking, with a contingency if either remains unhappy after the strategy. Often a combination of strategies is used.
Key terms
- Change roles
- Sponsors have the willingness and power to initiate and back the change; agents are the project and change-management team who make and manage it; targets are the individuals or groups who must actually change.
- Acceptance / assimilation
- Most projects fail because people do not adopt the solution, so acceptance is key. Assimilation — the ability to adapt to change — is a slow process, and people have a change threshold beyond which too many simultaneous changes cannot be absorbed.
- Leavitt's model
- Organisational change usually combines four interacting elements — people, structure/organisation, technology and task/process — so changing one affects the others.
- Lewin's three-stage model
- Change moves from a present state through a transition to a desired state via unfreeze -> change -> refreeze; driving forces push toward change while resisting forces push back (force-field analysis).
- Four change strategies
- Rational-empirical (persuade with logic and benefits), normative-reeducative (retrain and shift group norms), power-coercive (mandate via authority/incentives), and environmental-adaptive (change the environment, e.g. remove the old option). Often combined.
- Resistance to change
- Opposition to be anticipated and identified (foot-dragging, politics, negative word-of-mouth), strongest where change is forced, seen as not worth it, uncomfortable or inconvenient; resolved with the negotiation-week strategies and by involving early adopters.
Organisational Change Management FAQ
What does change management mean in ISYS90050?
It means managing the people and organisational side of adopting a new IT solution — explicitly not scope, requirements, budget or technical change. The subject's premise is that most projects fail because people do not accept or use the system, so acceptance is key, and the change team's job is to smooth the transition for the users who must change.
Who are the sponsors, agents and targets?
The change sponsor has the willingness and power to initiate and back the change (often a senior executive or owner). The change agents are the project and change-management team who make and manage the change. The change targets are the individuals or groups who must actually change their way of working. Identifying all three early is a first step in any change plan.
How do I choose a change strategy for a resistance scenario?
Match the strategy to the source of resistance. Rational-empirical (accurate, timely information and benefits) suits false beliefs or fear of the unknown; normative-reeducative (retraining, involvement, shifting norms) suits low confidence or entrenched habits; power-coercive (mandate) uses authority but risks mere compliance; environmental-adaptive removes the old option. In practice a combination is often used, anchored in Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze.
Can AI help me with change management in ISYS90050?
Yes, as a study aid. Sia can drill the change roles, set resistance scenarios to diagnose, and rehearse choosing and justifying a change strategy anchored in Lewin and Kubler-Ross. Use it to learn the method for the exam and the critical-analysis report; it does not do your graded assessment, and University of Melbourne academic-integrity rules apply — confirm details on Canvas.
Exam move
This is the subject's headline people topic and central to the individual critical-analysis report, so make the roles-then-strategy frame automatic: fix sponsor/agent/target, then match a change strategy to the source of resistance and justify it. Learn Leavitt's four interacting elements, Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze with force-field analysis, and the Kubler-Ross curve so you can anchor a plan in theory. Keep the false-beliefs list ready to explain why change fails, and remember acceptance is the whole point. For the closed-book exam, rehearse a full diagnose-roles, assess-resistance, choose-strategy, monitor answer under time pressure.
Working through Organisational Change Management in ISYS90050? Sia is AskSia’s AI IT Project Management tutor — ask any ISYS90050 Organisational Change Management question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how ISYS90050 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
