--- title: What is Agile Change Management? description: We take a look at what Agile Change Management is at the different levels of business and what its role is in an Agile Environment, as well as a few Agile Myths image: https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/Blog%20main%20image.png --- [![Changefirst_logo_Hubspot.png](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo/Changefirst_logo_Hubspot.png?width=174&height=61&name=Changefirst_logo_Hubspot.png "Changefirst_logo_Hubspot.png")](http://www.changefirst.com) [Contact us](https://changefirst.com/contact-us) [+44 (0) 1444 450777](tel:+44-0-1444-450777) [Solutions](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions) ### Solutions Change Management Solutions matched to your specific business needs. #### [![orgainizations](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/orgainizations.jpeg) For Organizations Engage more of your people in change with a cost effective and scalable solution that builds sustainable capability.](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/organisations) #### [![consulting-firms](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/consulting-firms.jpeg) For Consulting Teams Digitalize and differentiate your Change Management practice, quickly on-board new hires and create ‘sticky’ client relationships](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/consulting-firms) #### [![change professionals](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/change%20professionals.jpeg) For Change & Project Experts Deliver strategic projects, support Executives through continuous change and add new tools, skills and Certification to your playbook](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/change-and-project-professionals) #### [![technology companies](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/technology%20companies.jpeg) For Technology Companies Take advantage of the missing ingredient in your Adoption Services model. 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People - Centred Implementation Changefirst’s research-based, highly practical, results-oriented methodology, for planning and executing the people-side of change, to achieve sustainable organisational results](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pci) #### [![pai](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/pai.jpeg) PAI – Personal Adaptability Inventory PCI® People-Centred Implementation Changefirst’s proprietary psychometric, with development system, help leaders and their teams develop resilience and adaptability for change](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pai) [Resources](https://www.changefirst.com/resources) ### Resources All the resources you need to help build your Change Management capability. #### [![resources](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/resources.jpeg) Whitepapers Download our latest Change Management whitepapers.](https://www.changefirst.com/resources) #### [![videos](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/videos.jpeg) Videos Watch our latest Change Management videos.](https://www.changefirst.com/resources#videos) #### [![blog](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/blog.jpeg) Blogs Read our latest Change Management blogs.](https://blog.changefirst.com/) [About us](https://www.changefirst.com/about-us) [Contact](https://www.changefirst.com/contact-us) Solutions [For Organizations](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/organisations) [For Consulting Teams](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/consulting-firms) [For Change & Project Experts](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/change-and-project-professionals) [For Technology Companies](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-solutions/technology-companies) [Drive up adoption](https://www.changefirst.com/business-issues/drive-up-adoption) [Deliver projects more succcessfully](https://www.changefirst.com/deliver-projects-more-successfully) [Build ECM capability](https://www.changefirst.com/build-ECM-capability) [Quickly upskilling your teams](https://www.changefirst.com/business-issues/upskilling-of-teams) [Develop an agile change culture](https://www.changefirst.com/business-issues/agile-change-management) Products [Roadmap Pro® - digital OCM platform](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-products/roadmap-pro) Training [Leaders, Heads of Business & Steering Teams](https://www.changefirst.com/training/executive) [Change, Project and Internal development professionals](https://www.changefirst.com/training/change-agent) [Line Managers, local teams, HRBPs & Communication Experts](https://www.changefirst.com/training/manager-and-local-teams) [Employees, large groups & accidental/new change agents](https://www.changefirst.com/training/on-demand-individual) [Project and Programme Managers (Introductory)](https://www.changefirst.com/training/change-projects-introductory) [Project and Programme Managers (Intermediate)](https://www.changefirst.com/training/change-projects-intermediate) [Train-the-Trainer](https://www.changefirst.com/training/train-the-trainer) [Content licensing](https://www.changefirst.com/training/content-licensing) [Certification](https://www.changefirst.com/training/certification) [Application Coaching and Consulting](https://www.changefirst.com/training/application-coaching-and-consulting) Methodologies [PCI® - People - Centred Implementation](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pci) [PAI – Personal Adaptability Inventory PCI®](https://www.changefirst.com/methodologies/pai) Resources [Whitepapers](https://www.changefirst.com/resources) [Videos](https://www.changefirst.com/resources#videos) [Blogs](https://blog.changefirst.com/) [About us](https://www.changefirst.com/about-us) [Contact](https://www.changefirst.com/contact-us) # [Welcome to the Changefirst Blog](https://blog.changefirst.com) # What is Agile Change Management? Posted by [Audra Proctor](https://blog.changefirst.com/author/audra-proctor) So, what is [Agile Change Management](https://www.changefirst.com/business-issues/agile-change-management) - and how do we go about creating a useful definition for us? ![Blog main image](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20main%20image.png?width=800&height=400&name=Blog%20main%20image.png) In other posts in our Agile Change Management series, we explored some of the background to Agile as an approach including: - [Why Agile organisations need Agile Change Management](https://blog.changefirst.com/why-agile-organizations-need-agile-change-management) - [Enterprise Change Management: the key building Block of Enterprise Agility](https://blog.changefirst.com/enterprise-change-management-the-key-building-block-of-enterprise-agility) In this post, we get a little more prescriptive and practical with a working definition of Agile Change Management itself.  We also take a look at a few Agile myths we come across on an almost daily basis and their impact on people’s view of the role of Change Management in an Agile environment.  ## **Creating an Agile Change Management definition to work from** A good starting point is to consider the two levels of Agile that organisations are working on right now, namely: - Agile at the **organisational level** - Agile at the **development processes level** ### Agility at an organisational level **Agile at an organisational level** is strategic and concerned with the direction and velocity of the organisation as a whole. It is about making the entire entity more Agile in the way it responds to the market, and for us, this means that Agile is about everyone being ready and able to; evolve their role and practices quickly, and to make (what are often) cultural adjustment to support new business models.    Being able to deliver Agile at an organisational level demands a model of [Enterprise Change Management support](https://blog.changefirst.com/enterprise-change-management-the-key-building-block-of-enterprise-agility) that is responsive and relevant to the needs of organisations having to transform themselves in a way that is all-encompassing.  It demands a change capability that can quickly scale to support and prepare people up, down, and across the organisation to deliver Agile at this level.  In our high-velocity world of change, change management has to be everyone’s business –and not just the special sauce of a small number of experts. Wherever people are around the world – remote or distributed – individuals, leaders, and teams need to be able to gear up quickly and manage the risk of perpetual loading; release sufficient capacity for business-critical changes; plan and execute individual initiatives right the first time and with the right resources.  ![TransoformationEcosystem](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TransoformationEcosystem.jpg?width=550&height=333&name=TransoformationEcosystem.jpg) ### Agility at a development/process level **Agile at the development-processes level** is concerned with evolving solutions through the collaborative efforts of different teams.  It is about breaking projects into smaller iterative pieces – based on the assumption that circumstances change as a project develops, and planning, design, and development must be prepared to evolve as it makes contact with people.  Agile project managers are not too different from other project managers, in terms of their focus on delivering successes to time, cost and scope, and for real results to be achieved, we still need change management to support adoption and usage.  It is just the pace and nature of an iterative development process that requires change management to adjust to being most effective. Agile at the development-processes level still requires strong sponsorship, local manager engagement, effective communication, learning, and reinforcement.  It still requires an understanding of change impacts capturing and reporting on [change data and key potential risks](https://blog.changefirst.com/changefirst-research-2018-analysis-of-past-projects-identifies-5-key-risks-contributing-to-low-commitment-on-your-change-projects) around commitment levels etc via [a Change Management toolkit](https://www.changefirst.com/change-management-products/diagnostics-pro).  It’s just the *way* that you work on these activities and integrate them with the Agile team processes that will dictate change managers’ relevance and success.   The diagram below shows an example of how we see this working in client environments, with change management able to operate at pace and ready to pivot as sprint reviews and retrospectives drive adjustments in project direction. ![How change management activity maps to an agile approach](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/How%20change%20management%20activity%20maps%20to%20an%20agile%20approach.png?width=550&height=308&name=How%20change%20management%20activity%20maps%20to%20an%20agile%20approach.png) ## **Challenges for Change Management – and the emergence of Agile myths** Challenges for bringing Change Management into an Agile environment, whether at an organisational level or business-processes level, play into the hands of some Agile myths which we feel are worth debunking.  Perhaps the greatest challenge is the tendency to be less strategic and planful about the necessary process of getting people to adopt new solutions.  From our discussion with clients, this is driven by 2 common Agile myths - - **Less process** – i.e. with Agile there is less of a need for a structured Change Management process. What we see in practice is that leaders and their teams are exposed to change solutions earlier, with engagement and potential disruption being more immediate and constant. Our clients are finding that Agile requires Change management that supports more people engagement and that is an accessible risk dashboard for the people side of change – ensuring that these iterative sprints can be assimilated by individuals and the organisation. - **Less architecture** – i.e. with Agile there is less opportunity to formalise and integrate change management templates and tools are less useful. We don’t see the lack of architecture argument in our client work, but what is evident is that time taken to start from scratch and re-invent change management plans is the enemy of Agility.  Our clients are calling for change plans that can be designed quickly and are easy to modify as needed.  Our clients are asking for more data, on a just-in-time basis, to help them quickly capture new project realities and challenges to help decision-making and dynamic iteration. [![AgileEbookMockuperForWebsitePanelTP](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20and%20Website%20EbookPromoImages/AgileEbookMockuperForWebsitePanelTP.png?width=350&height=247&name=AgileEbookMockuperForWebsitePanelTP.png)](https://info.changefirst.com/why-agile-organizations-need-agile-change-management)   ## **How organisational level and process level Agile differ** At an organisational level, Agile Change Management is *institutional*.  - It is a **core competency**; Change Management skills are an integral part of leader & manager development, and consistent role-based practices and tools are adopted throughout the organisation, it is baked into the culture as “the way things are done around here”. - People’s **capacity and limits to changing successfully is a key metric** of strategic decision-making; even the best Change Management processes will struggle to get traction if people are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of change. - It **is everyone’s business**; enterprise-level capability is easy and quick to build; cross-functional teams can be mobilised cost-effectively and without geographical limitation. At a development process level, Agile Change Management is adaptive and flexible. It starts with the basics; after all, change management is still about standing in the shoes of people who need to adopt new solutions and putting a plan together to get them there.  Thereafter, it is about: - **letting go of “perfect”** and feeling confident about where to relax and flex. - getting off to a quick start and being **ready to refine and re-focus** as solutions evolve - facilitating **more conversation, earlier and being more precise** about the issues and requirements - knowing **how to respond to new information** about what’s happening in the moment What is clear is that the requirements and demand of Agile development processes mean that organisations need more Change Management not less, but change management must become Agile too.  Project delivery and people adoption must have a harmonious rhythm and pace if the benefits of Agile are to be realised.   | ### [![AgileEbookEmailGraphic-1](https://blog.changefirst.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AgileEbookEmailGraphic-1.png?width=303&name=AgileEbookEmailGraphic-1.png)](https://info.changefirst.com/why-agile-organizations-need-agile-change-management) | Read our Comprehensive Guide to Agile Change Management To help you navigate the topic of agile successfully, we have created [a single, comprehensive guide](https://info.changefirst.com/why-agile-organizations-need-agile-change-management) that considers: - What exactly Agile "is" - and **what it means for Change Management** at a strategic and operational level? - How to **adapt your Change Management approach** to successfully align with it - Why Enterprise Change Management capability is the **key building block of Enterprise Agility** | | --- | --- | | ### [![Download eBook](https://hubspot-no-cache-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/2401974/2bd4b07f-e770-488b-8824-e8a66fb03521.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/2401974/2bd4b07f-e770-488b-8824-e8a66fb03521) | | ![Audra Proctor](https://blog.changefirst.com/hubfs/Audra200x200.png) Posted by [Audra Proctor](https://blog.changefirst.com/author/audra-proctor) Audra is Managing Director at Changefirst and has over 30 years' experience of enabling organisations leaders and their teams to deliver complex Organisational Change. She leads an amazing, diverse team of highly experienced multi-industry Change Practitioners, Consultants, Coaches, Trainers, Technology Experts and trusted Strategic Partners to help organisations to deliver more effective Change through their people. Audra is a regular speaker at events focusing on Change and Transformation globally on a number of key themes including Agile Change Management and the use of digital in Change and Transformation. Find me on: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/audraproctor/) Tags: [change management expetise](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/change-management-expetise), [agile change](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/agile-change), [agile change managment](https://blog.changefirst.com/topic/agile-change-managment) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ### Leave a comment Search Blog ### Keep me updated ### Recent Posts ### SHARE THE BLOG ### Posts by Tag [![](https://changefirst.com/images/Icons/Social_LI.svg)](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/changefirst) [![](https://changefirst.com/images/Icons/Social_TW.svg)](https://twitter.com/Changefirst) [![](https://changefirst.com/images/Icons/Social_VM.svg)](https://vimeo.com/changefirst) [![](https://changefirst.com/images/Icons/Social_FB.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/Changefirst-129807110363683/) [Website T&Cs](https://info.changefirst.com/website-tcs)    |     [Security Policy](https://info.changefirst.com/security-statement)    |     [Privacy Policy](https://info.changefirst.com/privacy-policy)    |     [Cookie Policy](https://info.changefirst.com/cookie-policy)