C.A.P.

CHANGE ACCEPTANCE PROCESS

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Integrate the 5
Focused
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j us
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a nd t 1
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Engage Mobilised Powerful

Assess

Adjust
Commitment Business
Support and
Resistance 1 Case
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Map the 9
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Transition
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Tool: C.A.P. Audit

Tool: C.A.P. Audit

• DESCRIPTION
– The CAP profile is a matrix intended to give the project team a single view on
current state as it relates to change acceptance, using the CAP elements as a
foundation. It compiles individual perceptions of how well the organisation is
currently doing Acceptance work into a collective view, then fosters a discussion
of their views. The process of completing the matrix is, in many ways, more
important than the end result itself; it engenders a quality dialogue within the team
on Acceptance work that has been and needs to be, completed

• APPLICATIONS
– It is often the first CAP tool used in a change intervention, providing a baseline
that can be very helpful to the team in uncovering gaps and building the eventual
Transition Map. Its primary use is to offer a mechanism for the group to begin
discussing what Acceptance work is most critical to attend to. It can also be used
later in the project to assess progress to date. It is both a gauge of current efforts
and a planning tool for the future.
 MOBILIZED COMMITTMENT
Tool: Stakeholder Action Plan
Who Data/Input
Issue/ Stance What behaviour
Gain/ Loss Observed/Reported
Name Priority Concern Actions/Behaviours SA A N S SS do we need?
Group
Name
Name

Group

Name
Name
Priority: A – Most B – Next C – Following Stance: SA – Strongly Against A - Against N – Neutral S – Supportive SS – Strongly Supportive

Action Plan
What and by who? Who has influence? By When? Done?
Tool: Stakeholder Action Plan

• DESCRIPTION
– Once key stakeholders have been identified and team members have had
conversations to listen and understand their position on the change
(Partnership Building), the job turns to one of building and action plan for
maintaining or building their support. Equipped now with information, the
team is prepared to make some decisions on how best to engage each
stakeholder with the goal of gaining their acceptance to the change.

• APPLICATIONS
– This should be used iteratively throughout the course of the change at major
milestones in taking a status of the stakeholders and what potential actions
should take place. It is definitely a living document. It becomes the ‘project
plan’ for gaining stakeholder acceptance
 FOCUSED LEADERSHIP
Tool: External Communication
Leadership Focus 9
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Attention 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Resources
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Modelling
Tool: External Leadership Focus

• DESCRIPTION
– A simple tool to give you a snapshot assessment of how various critical
leaders related to your change are focusing their leadership

• APPLICATIONS
– To be used early on in your change process after your initial contact with
key leaders and then periodically during pre-determined milestones when
you check in to see how leadership focus is evolving. Also at any time in the
stakeholder engagement process to focus your efforts towards producing
desired actions and behaviours on the part of leaders. Finally, by combining
several/all of the Leadership Focus Assessments you do.
 FOCUSED LEADERSHIP
Tool: Internal Leadership Focus
Attention Communication
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Modelling Roles/Goals
Tool: Internal Leadership Focus

• DESCRIPTION
– A simple tool to give you a snapshot assessment of how various critical leaders
related to your change are focusing their leadership

• APPLICATIONS
– To be used early on in your change process to assess the extent to which the
project champion, the team leader and each of the team members are
demonstrating the four aspects of internal leadership. Also periodically during
pre-determined milestones when you check in to see how the internal
leadership focus is evolving. Also at any time in the stakeholder engagement
process to focus your efforts towards producing desired actions and
behaviours on the part of leaders. Finally, by combining several/all of the
Leadership Focus Assessments you do.
 POWERFUL BUSINESS CASE
Tool: T.O.P. Analysis
Implications for
Proof the business &
Threats if we don’t Opportunities if (Data, Application, Modeling) mobilizing
do the change we do the change D.A.M. stakeholder
support

Key Elements of the Need:

Tool: T.O.P. Analysis

• DESCRIPTION
– Building the story is the crucial process in creating your description of the
compelling business need. It involves thinking about the potential threats if we
don’t change, the potential opportunities if we do. Then, choosing the most
compelling of those for our stakeholders and associating some proof with those
key points. Finally, we look at the implications of those key points to the
organisation and our stakeholders. From all this data, we establish the key
elements of our change story that the team can utilise in communicating to others
in the organisation

• APPLICATIONS
– Use this tool early in a project to help the team come to agreement on the key
reasons and logic for the change. This is the beginning of your communication
plan about the change to the organisation. This should be revisited and adapted
following meetings with key leaders and stakeholders that give you more
information about what issues and concerns may be most important and
compelling for them
 SHARED FUTURE STATE
Tool: Vision Affinity Diagram

Environment
New
People
Actions/
Saying
Behaviours

Vision
Theme
Customer Key
Impact Results

?
Tool: Vision Affinity Diagram

• DESCRIPTION
– The Vision Affinity Diagram is a structured way to do your initial thinking as a
team about your Vision. It offers several key areas for you to consider in the
building of your Vision. These are meant to be starting points and neither
necessary nor exhaustive in terms of your particular vision. In other words, add
new areas to the ones listed or subtract any of the areas you think are
inappropriate. There are several “starter” questions related to each category. Use
them to get things going, but don’t be limited by these either

• APPLICATIONS
– Use this early on in the life of your team, anytime after you are clear of the scope
and boundary of your project and after any necessary analysis about the problem
definition and measurement. In a DMAIC project, you can do a very preliminary
vision early on, just to be able to describe the potential benefits of your project to
your key stakeholders, but a real detailed version of your Vision will not be
completed until into the Improve phase
 SHARED FUTURE STATE
Vision Affinity Diagram

•What do you see around you?

Environment •How has the environment changed?
•What new resources/technology have been added?

•What’s the personal impact?

People
•What anecdotes do people tell?
Saying
•What is a metaphor that describes the change?

•New values in action?

Key
•New mindsets/attitudes
Results
•Outcomes achieved and benefits acquired?
 SHARED FUTURE STATE
Vision Affinity Diagram

•What do the customers say?

Customer
•How has this added value to the customer?
Impact
•What new customers are you serving?

New •What are people doing differently?

Actions/ •What actions are people taking?
Behaviours
•How have these actions supported the change?

? •Any other topic/area that should be considered?

 SHARED FUTURE STATE
Tool: Compiling the Story
Key Elements of Need: Key Elements of Vision:
What is the compelling How will the change affect
need? customers?

How is this connected to What new

our strategy? actions/behaviours will we
be doing?

What proof can we offer?

What will people be saying
about the change?
 MAP THE TRANSITION
Tool: Transition Map

Vision
Context: Culture:

M1 M3
M2
What is your current acceptance action plan?
•Stakeholder Action Plan •Team Action Plan
• DESCRIPTION
– The Transition Map takes the current and future state and creates a clear roadmap that addresses how the
change will transpire. It specifies the gap between our current and future state, and who’s accountable for
what. It is a topographical “lay of the land” that identifies the potential route or routes in order to achieve the
change. The map takes into account the conditions that exist in the organisation and creates a transition plan
for how to reach the vision.
– In practical terms, it is manifested in a minimum of three meetings during the lifecycle of a project,: EARLY,
MIDDLE, LATE. The discussions that will ensue during these meetings focus in three specific areas.
Following are the graphic representations we use in every Mapping meeting to focus attention and measuring
progress in those key areas

Key Areas of Focus Graphic Representation

Key Leaders External Leader Diamond
Other Key Stakeholders Internal Leader Diagram
The Project Team CAP Profile
Overall Acceptance

– These graphics form the basis of a team discussion that looks primarily at what needs to be done in the key
areas to optimise commitment. They also provide the team with trending tools that show progress on the
Acceptance side of the equation. This leads to action planning for the period before your next Mapping
session
• APPLICATIONS
– Since the “Acceptance” side of the equation is often the least attended to, the Transition Map keeps the
major elements of acceptance front and centre. The organisation is always changing (especially the people),
so it is important to stay current wit how things have shifted from one phase of the project to the next. The
Map itself is the collecting point for our most important actions, responsibilities and targets for change. It
allows for flexibility, since we may need to change strategy or tactics due to unforeseen barriers of pitfalls
that could impede the effectiveness of the change
 MAP THE TRANSITION
Tool: Context/Culture Implications to Change Effort
Context Questions:
•How does the change fit with our business strategy?
•What competing initiatives might there be?
•What current internal and external events and
activities are taking place?
•What are the internal resourcing conditions?
•What’s the current competitive environment?
Culture Questions:
•What are the prevalent assumptions and beliefs?
•How are decisions made and carried out, how are
priorities set?
•What actions are rewarded and recognised, which
ones are punished?
•What are the most dominant values-in-action?
•What are typical work patterns/structures?
•What kind of orientation to process?
Tool: Context/Culture

• DESCRIPTION
– This tool helps the team think about what’s existing in the culture and the
environment that has implications on the effectiveness of the change. It
helps the team acknowledge some of the elements of reality that could be
impediments to the change that need to be recognised and accounted for, as
well as some of the elements that can be leveraged for support and
momentum

• APPLICATIONS
– Use this early in the planning process as part of developing the story of the
change. If it gets put off, do it as part of your Transition Mapping session.
Revisit several times during the process, minimally at Transition Map
milestones or when significant changes occur internally or externally that
might have ramifications on the change effort
ENGAGE SUPPORT & DEAL WITH RESISTANCE

Tool: Partnership Building

The Opening

What Questions, Concerns or Needs Do They Have?

What Do You Want/Need?

Setting Agreements and Actions Going Forward

 Tool: Partnership Building

• DESCRIPTION
– This is a checklist for planning the early discussions with key leaders (positional,
technical/functional, and thought leaders), initiating a long-term partnership with
those leaders that clearly articulate what you need from them, what they need
from you, how best the two of you can work together.
– To a large extent, the tool is about clarifying expectations and seeing how you will
hold each other accountable for living up to those expectations. Beginnings are so
critical, that set the stage for success – and the first contact you make with a
prospective leader of change requires real sensitivity on your part to take best
advantage of their knowledge, insight and experience, whilst recognising that you
have certain requirements of them to.
• APPLICATIONS
– This tool is especially important in the first phases of the project, but you will no
doubt identify new leaders during the project lifecycle, so planning for Partnership
Building will be as important in those instances as well. It sets the stage for
critical, ongoing stakeholder relationships
 ENGAGE SUPPORT & DEAL WITH RESISTANCE
Tool: Partnership Building (A)

The Opening
Let them know the short version of why this project is taking place, what you hope it
might achieve if successful (should be your ‘Story’)
Let them know how important their input and involvement will be to make it
successful

What Questions, Concerns or Needs Do They Have?

Focus on listening, first by getting their reaction to what you’ve articulated
Probe for understanding and clarification, as necessary
Get them to specify any specific concerns they have; in that same vein, try to identify
what possible ‘gains’ might be there for them
Listen carefully for anything that suggests a need of theirs that you might be able to
fulfill
 ENGAGE SUPPORT & DEAL WITH RESISTANCE
Tool: Partnership Building (B)

What Do You Want/Need?

Having prepared beforehand, lay out what you need/want from them in the early stages of the
project (i.e. their ideas, anything they’re concerned about, how this change might benefit them
and their group, help in making contact with some of the people who they have influence
over….essentially partnership throughout the life of the project).
Express to them the actions/behaviours you identified from the completion of the Leadership
Focus Tool. What do you need from them as a leader to exhibit their commitment and help the
organisation know where they stand?

Setting Agreements and Actions Going Forward

Try to leave the meeting with:
•Identified need of theirs you will go and pursue in some form
•Identified reason to see them again in a defined period of time, and…
•A specific request of them between now and the next time you get together again
 ENGAGE SUPPORT & RESISTANCE
Tool: Risk Assessment for Change
Threats Opportunities
if we do the change if we don’t do the
change
Short Term
Long Term

- What are the implications of this analysis?

- What actions will we take as a result of this analysis?
- How does this change our story?
 INTEGRATE THE CHANGE
Tool: More of/Less of
Mindsets
More of Less of

Actions/Behaviours

More of Less of
Tool: More of/Less of

• DESCRIPTION
– More of/less of, is a tool to help your team get more specific about what it will
take to fulfil your vision. Starting with the vision itself, you guide the team to
think about mindsets that will support the vision and those you no longer want to
see in operation. Then the next step is to specify the actions and behaviours that
will be happening to support the new mindsets and the vision. The end result is
clarity about what people will be seeing and doing More of/Less of when the
change is successfully implemented

• APPLICATIONS
– This tool is typically combined with the “Vision Fulfilment Model” and the
“Vision Affinity Diagram” or other visioning exercises. Should be done as soon
as you have clarity around the specific solution (the “Q”) and the vision of its
success. In the Quality world, this would typically be later in the Improve phase.
However, there may be cases when you want to do an early vision of More
of/Less of to analyse impacts on systems and structures and involve other
stakeholders
 INTEGRATE THE CHANGE
Tool: Helping/Hindering Behaviours
More of Less of

System Considered

Given desired state behaviour, what aspect of this system: Helps?

Hinders? No effect?
Helping Hindering
Tool: Helping/Hindering

• DESCRIPTION
– A simple tool to begin looking at the different systems and structures, how
they may be helping or hindering the change effort, and what actions need
to be taken. As a result it relies on well articulated actions and behaviours
needed to be in place when the change is successful to drive the analysis of
which systems and structures are thus being affected

• APPLICATIONS
– This should be used when the team has a fairly well articulated technical
solution (“Q”) and are at the stage of then assessing what is in the system
that may be an enabler or inhibitor to accomplishing the change. Use this
after you have done your vision and the “Vision Fulfilment Model” and or
“More of/Less of.”
Tool: In/Out of Frame
Tool: In/Out of Frame

• DESCRIPTION
– This tool is used to help a team clarify boundaries and scope their project.
Output of the tool is clearly identifying elements which are ‘in the frame’ –
within the scope of project boundaries – ‘out of the frame’ (not part of a
project), or ‘on the frame’ (where there is confusion and need for further
discussion).In and Out of the Frame is the focal point for discussions to
consider differences of opinion about the nature and scope of the project you
are working on.
• APPLICATIONS
– It is a great tool to use at any time within the project lifecycle to allow team
members to discuss their views around boundary issues. The primary use of the
tool is early in the project, possibly as a way for the team to begin ‘testing the
waters’ of collaborative work. It can also be extremely helpful if one notices
certain team members backing off from the direction the project is going (either
verbally, or non-verbally). You’ll notice that ‘in the frame’ becomes part of
your team’s lexicon if you use it early and effectively
Tool: Communication Plan
Intended outcome When, where,
Key Types of Communication
for the by whom
Audiences Message Channel
communication
Tool: Communication Plan

• DESCRIPTION
– Every project should have a communication plan. This version is a simple set
of steps to prepare a basic communication plan. There are much more
complicated versions, consult a communication professional if you think the
project requires one. This approach focuses on matching key messages and
audiences to the proper communication channel and the timeline for doing
so.

• APPLICATIONS
– Think about starting your communication plan early in your project’s
development. This should be connected with the Stakeholder Action Plan and
guided by how you need to influence stakeholders. Continue to update your
communication plan throughout the course of your project and it should be a
specific outcome of each transition map session.
Tool: Left-hand Column

Left-hand Column Unspoken Right-hand Column

thoughts and feelings What is actually said
 QUESTIONS FOR THE LEFT-HAND COLUMN

• What was your intended outcome

– For the conversation?
– Why didn’t it happen?
– Why didn’t you say the literal contents of your left-hand column?
– What were the consequences?
– What would you guess was in the other persons left-hand column at
the end of this conversation?
– What key assessments/conclusions did you reach at the end of the
conversation?
– Evidence?
– Why? Make your reasoning for the assessments/conclusions you
reached explicit.
Tool: Left-hand Column

• DESCRIPTION
– The left-hand column exercise allows you to reflect on the public and private
aspects of a conversation you had that did not turn out as you wanted it to. This
opens the opportunity for you to understand how you contributed to the outcome
of the conversation and learn options about how to approach a similar situation
differently.

• APPLICATIONS
– Particularly useful with conversations that were very important to you, where you
had an outcome in mind, but they’ve turned out in an unsatisfactory way – you
did not achieve the desired outcome. Even more useful if the conversation is one
you’ve ‘been in before’, change the names and the players, but the pattern of the
conversation is similar to other conversations you have had before. Can be used to
help a team mate deal with a difficult stakeholder conversation with the intent to
improve the conversation with a follow-up interaction. Also can be used if thorny
issues and strong differences of opinion emerge between team-mates.