Change Analysis

The reality for every organization is that change is necessary, if you don’t change you can’t survive. But, how we manage change can mean the difference between improving the organization or harming it. 

Too often strategic change, whether it be new products, market segments, infrastructure, etc., is approached with overemphasis on the perceived benefits, without fully considering the cost and risks. Sound risk management practices require that change is always approached with a thorough understanding of the potential benefits, costs, and risks. Once again, the templates from ERM Advantage are wholly focused on helping organizations make better business decisions. 

Common Challenges

The most common challenges we see when it comes to strategic change is in failing to ask the right questions, leading to an unbalanced assessment. 

  • Focusing primarily on the potential benefits, which can mask cost and risk
  • Considering only known hard dollar costs, not the larger soft dollar
  • No structure for thoroughly considering a range of potential risks
  • Inability to identify key unspoken assumptions, often significant in retrospect
  • Failure to consider input from all stakeholders and subject matter experts
  • Weak or missing formal change approval process

These time-tested templates help solve those problems, by creating a structure to fully analyize and assess any type of change.

Change Analysis Worksheets

The Change Analysis pack comes with three sets of templates, each relating to initiatives with different scopes.

  • Enhancements – minor changes that likely don’t require cross-functional efforts, but that could still have risk factors. Example could include a system field change but that could trigger a compliance implication. Elements captured include:
    • Project sponsor, owner, etc.
    • Project description and timeline
    • Key assumptions and risks
    • SME declarations and issues
    • Management conclusion
  • Moderate Initiatives – changes that frequently involve cross-functional efforts with multiple stakeholders, but don’t involve large project teams or represent significant change. This template includes the same fields as with enhancements, plus:
    • Expanded breakdown and rating of benefit, cost, and risks
  • Major initiatives – large projects, with significant stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and broad operational implications. These could include major infrastructure initiatives, new products, new business lines, all the way up to a business acquisition. Template includes all fields from the Moderate template plus:
    • Over 80 different questions that help evaluate details related to the initiative benefit, cost, and risk
    • Appendices to document related business process additions/changes, overview of the intended implementation process, and information on any proposed new third parties

Templates can be modified any way the company sees fit, such as adding factors unique to that business.  

Key Benefits of the ERM Advantage change analysis templates

  • Provides the company with a comprehensive tool to properly evaluate major changes
  • Supports the risk management principles of transparency and accountability
  • Documents key assumptions so that they can be reviewed and challenged by subject matter experts
  • Estalishes clear criteria for success, and definition around an expected outcome
  • Ensures that a consistent approach and methodolgy is used for evaluating all major changes

All template packs include several completed examples, recommended procedures for using the templates, a basic project plan where appropriate, and an overview of the overall ERM Advantage framework for reference. Email support is available for questions, with options for live advisory services or support.  

Change Analysis Pack

Includes:

  • Worksheets for three levels of change
  • Example completed worksheets
  • Suggested procedures for utilizing the templates as part of a larger change management process

Price: $ 1,500

This pack can be purchased in a bundle. For bundle options and pricing see Product Pricing.

To order this pack or if we can answer any questions, please use the Contact Us form.