Compare Change Management Tools: Why Prosci Stands Out

Companies often conflate models, methodologies, technologies and other resources to make their change management tools appear to be all you need to drive successful change.

Don't be fooled.Each tool serves a specific purpose during change. With so much misinformation available, how can you find what you really need? 

In this article, we've used our 25 years of research and client experiences to show you that you will achieve the best outcomes when tools are part of an effective overall methodology.

What Are Change Management Tools?

Change management tools are resources, models, methodologies or software that change practitioners use for specific change activities. These tools enable smooth transitions during the change process and minimize disruptions.

Change management tools vary in focus and capabilities, but no single tool does it all. Typically, organizations and practitioners face three common challenges when choosing change management tools:

• They struggle to compare tools that aren't always equivalent.
• They’re searching for a single tool to address all challenges. However, each tool has a unique application.
• They believe success lies in the tool, but true success comes from skilled practitioners applying the right tools strategically.

Organizations can also make the mistake of thinking “tool” refers only to software, but this is not true in the context of change management. For example, standard planning and project management software, like Jira and Trello, are digital solutions that are used in combination with other change tools, like models and methodologies.

The Prosci Methodology is a repeatable process practitioners apply to create change management strategies and plans that increase adoption and usage on an initiative. When applied effectively, a structured change management program increases the likelihood of project success by seven times.

Correlation of Change Management Effectiveness With Meeting Objectives

Change management tools can also be used to:

• Measure the impact of change initiatives
• Provide insights and data to make informed decisions
• Refine strategies and improve future efforts
• Improve communication and collaboration
• Streamline workflows
• Mitigate the root causes of resistance

Let’s explore different types of tools in change management and how they’re commonly applied.

Types of Change Management Tools

Change management tools can be grouped into categories based on their primary function. These include tools for assessment, alignment or planning, among others. Some tools fit into multiple categories based on their application, offering flexibility in their use. For example, a change management model can be used to align, educate, assess and guide planning.

One key category of change management tools focuses on assessments. These tools are essential for evaluating the progress and effectiveness of change initiatives.

Change Management Tools for Assessment

Assessments are structured evaluations that reveal strengths, challenges, and areas for improvement. 

Assessments come in many forms, each designed to address specific challenges or goals during the change process. Common examples include risk assessment and the ADKAR Assessment, which leverages our ADKAR® Model to help identify specific barriers to change for individuals. 

Prosci's 10 Aspects of Change Impact Canvas is among the most comprehensive assessment tools.

The 10 Aspects of Change Impact Canvas

The 10 aspects of change impact help practitioners assess how individual roles will change and equip them to create effective strategies for smoother transitions. Change practitioners can create targeted strategies that provide clarity, eliminate obstacles that cause resistance and smooth the transition.

10 Aspects of Change Impact

This assessment contains 10 areas that may influence individuals and groups during change, including:

• Processes – The actions or steps taken to achieve a defined end or outcome
• Systems – A combination of people and automated applications organized to meet a set of objectives
• Tools – An item or implement used for a specific purpose; can be a physical object such as mechanical tools or a technical object such as a web authoring tool or software program
• Job roles – A description of what a person does including competencies essential to performing well in that job capacity
• Critical behaviors – Vital or essential response of an individual or group to an action, environment, person or stimulus
• Mindsets/Attitudes/Beliefs – Mental inclination, disposition or frame of mind reflected in behaviors
• Reporting structure – The process and indicators of how performance is measured and assessed relative to objectives
• Performance reviews – Determine the process and key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure and assess change progress.
• Compensation – Amount of the monetary and non-monetary pay provided in return for work performed
• Location – A physical geographical place that provides facilities for a stated purpose

In summary, assessment tools play a crucial role in helping change professionals better understand the organization’s capabilities and areas for improvement. These insights are vital for refining change strategies and driving long-term success.

Change Management Tools for Alignment 

Alignment tools are critical to ensuring all stakeholders work toward the same goals and that the change initiative is supported at every organizational level.

These tools help integrate the different aspects of a change initiative, such as leadership, communication and implementation. Building alignment across the organization helps create a change management plan that supports the overall business strategy and goals.

The Prosci Change Triangle (PCT) Model and 4P's Model are examples of change management tools for alignment. The Sponsor Coalition Map is another, which we’ll look at below. 

Sponsor Coalition Map

A Sponsor Coalition Map identifies key individuals within the sponsor coalition, as well as their reporting relationships, and assesses their level of support for a change. It helps the primary sponsor and change practitioner monitor coalition health, identify risks, and take action to build necessary support.

Sponsor Coalition Map

Supporting and enabling sponsors is crucial because effective sponsorship is the biggest contributor to change success.

Contributors to Success Over Time

The sponsor coalition is a team of key leaders who champion change by aligning on goals, communicating with the organization, and supporting successful implementation across different areas. They ensure that everyone is on board and help the primary sponsor drive the change to success.

By ensuring strong alignment among sponsors, the Sponsor Coalition Map helps create a solid foundation for the change initiative.

Change Management Tools for Planning 

Change management planning tools and templates help practitioners document activities required to achieve individual and organizational change outcomes. This approach or strategy outlines how they will communicate the change, who will be involved, what resources are needed, and how progress will be tracked.

Planning tools define goals, timelines, and responsibilities to ensure everyone understands their role. Examples of planning tools include Change Management Plans, Role Roster, and others.

ADKAR Blueprint

One powerful tool that guides planning in change management is the ADKAR Blueprint. It’s an extension of the Prosci ADKAR Model, which focuses on the five building blocks of individual change—Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.

Here's how the ADKAR Blueprint can be applied:

• A guide for small changes – The ADKAR Blueprint can be your sole guide during a low-risk, small or incremental change.
• Accommodating differently impacted groups – A major change can lead to differences in how employee groups are affected. To accommodate their needs, you can create one ADKAR Blueprint for the organization and one for each group.
• A simpler plan for novice practitioners – The ADKAR Blueprint can be a starting point for planning the application of change management by novice practitioners.
• A foundation for change management plans – The ADKAR Blueprint serves as the foundation for a plan that supports individuals through change.

Ultimately, effective planning is the foundation of successful change management, and the right tools make all the difference in achieving the desired outcomes.

Change Management Tools for Adoption

Change management prepares and equips people to adopt and use organizational changes that lead to desired outcomes. Change management tools for user adoption can include methodologies, models and processes that support employees as they move through their transitions.

The methodology is grounded in best practices and extensive research, providing a clear approach for managing change. It is adaptable to various types of change, including new technology, business process improvements or cultural shifts.

Prosci offers three primary tools to drive change adoption:

Prosci Methodology

The Prosci Methodology is a structured, adaptable and repeatable approach to enable the people side of change and deliver organizational results. It is one of the world's most widely used approaches to change management.

The methodology is grounded in best practices and extensive research, providing a clear framework for managing change. It is adaptable to various types of change, including new technology, business process improvements or cultural shifts.

The Prosci Methodology has three main components:

• The Prosci Change Triangle (PCT) Model – for connecting the four critical aspects of successful change.
• The Prosci ADKAR Model – to guide individuals through the transition.
• The Prosci 3-Phase Process – for managing change at the organizational level.

The Prosci Methodology

By applying the Prosci Methodology, practitioners can address the specific needs of their organization and its people. This increases the adoption and use of critical change projects and initiatives.

Prosci ADKAR Model

The ADKAR Model describes the five building blocks for successful change at the individual level. It is an outcome-oriented model to help employees transition through the change process by addressing their needs at each stage. This focus on outcomes helps guide the necessary actions to support individuals through their change journey.

The ADKAR Model

The ADKAR Model breaks down the change process into building blocks. By addressing each element, change practitioners can help employees successfully navigate the transition and make informed decisions to drive adoption.

Prosci 3-Phase Process

The Prosci 3-Phase Process is a structured approach linking individual and organizational change management. It enables practitioners to leverage and scale change activities to help impacted individuals move through their transitions.

The Prosci 3-Phase Process

In addition to laying out detailed change management activities, this process guides change practitioners with a set of helpful, plain language questions:

• Phase 1 – Prepare Approach – What are we trying to achieve? Who has to do their jobs differently and how? What will it take to achieve success?
• Phase 2 – Manage Change – What will we do to prepare, equip and support people? How are we doing? What adjustments do we need to make?
• Phase 3 – Reinforce Change – Now, where are we? What is needed to ensure the change sticks? Who will assume ownership and sustain outcomes?

The Prosci 3-Phase Process is valuable because it provides a clear roadmap for managing change from start to finish. It guides practitioners through high-value activities to achieve change success. Each phase also ends with a key deliverable to ensure alignment among stakeholders.

Digital Tools for Applying Change Management

Digital tools, like project management tools, workflow automation software, and training platforms, can increase efficiency during the change management process.

These tools offer advanced features for planning, implementing and monitoring change initiatives. Integrated with change management, they streamline processes, enhance communication, and improve decision-making.

A variety of digital tools can support change management activities. Each focuses on certain tasks: 

• Digital adoption platforms like WalkMe and WhatFix provide structured guides to help employees navigate and learn new technologies and workflows. 
• The Change Shop is a set of tools for communicating, assessing impacts, developing plans, and measuring results.
• Cognician is a digital change management platform that helps organizations drive behavior changes.
• Howspace is an employee engagement platform that allows key stakeholders to share ideas, feedback and resources. They can also track progress and results.
• Kaiya™ is Prosci's expert AI change management tool, which enables change teams to unlock productivity throughout the change process.
• Proxima is a comprehensive change management tool that guides the user through the Prosci Methodology. 
• Prosci eLearning is a set of online modules developed to introduce teams to change management, empower people to move through their transitions, and speak a common language around change.
• Prosci Hub Solution Suite is a collection of digital resources and tools designed to support change management practitioners. It includes access to Research Hub, Knowledge Hub and Proxima.

Out of this list, two tools stand out for their unparalleled features and specific focus on change management—Kaiya and Proxima.

Kaiya

Kaiya is an AI assistant that integrates deeply with the Prosci Methodology, including models, tools, Prosci research, and Prosci Body of Knowledge. Kaiya is available to you as a license. It’s an expert assistant that can guide practitioners through every stage of the change management process.

Kaiya AI Change Management Tool

Key features of Kaiya include:

• Comprehensive knowledge access – Kaiya is built upon extensive Prosci research over the last 25 years. This vast database allows Kaiya to provide expert, research-backed insights instantly. Users also receive advice and solutions grounded in our proven methodology, making it far more reliable than generic AI tools.
• Real-time, contextual assistance – Kaiya provides real-time, tailored support, allowing practitioners to focus on strategic activities while automating repetitive tasks.
• Customization and versatility – Kaiya adapts recommendations to fit the context and specific project needs, making it a versatile tool that scales with the complexity of your change management efforts.

Proxima

Proxima is a cloud-based web application that guides you through the Prosci Methodology. A change management practitioner can simply work through the methodology provided within Proxima to create, customize, and implement a comprehensive change management plan.

Unlike generic project management tools, Proxima allows practitioners to manage the change management process using its intuitive interface. This comprehensive approach reduces the risk of fragmented change management efforts.

Practitioners can tailor the tools, templates and processes within Proxima to match company culture, structure and goals. It provides the foundational structure for overall success but can also be used with other software to enhance specific tasks.

Why Prosci Tools Are Superior

Prosci change management tools are considered best-in-class solutions because:

• They’re developed based on 25 years of Prosci research on best practices as well as experience working with clients through our expert Advisory Services.
• Prosci offers a comprehensive system of resources and tools that work together seamlessly at the individual and organizational levels.
• The different tools allow you to address diverse challenges efficiently, ensuring high-quality outcomes and promoting preparedness and innovation.
• Prosci tools align precisely with the Prosci Methodology, including the Prosci ADKAR Model, PCT Model and 3-Phase Process.
• Our tools, models and frameworks are structured, repeatable and scalable. Organizations can apply the same approach to different changes, maintaining consistency and reliability across all initiatives.
• The Prosci Methodology covers all aspects of change management, from initial planning to post-implementation follow-up. This end-to-end support is critical for ensuring that changes are implemented successfully and sustained long-term.

You don't have to take our word for it. We have real-life examples of how Prosci tools have helped our clients across multiple industries.

Examples of Effective Change Management Using Prosci

Let's look at three case studies that showcase how Prosci change management tools and training programs effectively help organizations build their change management capabilities:

Crowley

Crowley, a global logistics solutions company, wanted to implement large-scale organizational changes, including huge acquisition and transformation initiatives. To successfully drive these changes, they adopted the Prosci Methodology and Prosci tools.

They conducted Strategic Alignment Workshops, tailored training programs, and applied the Prosci 3-Phase Process to key projects.

Within a year of implementing their Prosci-driven change management strategy, Crowley showed remarkable results. They saw a rise in organizational change maturity score from 1.8 to 3.0 (on a 5-point scale) and an increased rating in employee satisfaction in handling change initiatives from 72% to 88%.

Suz Michel, VP of Organizational Development and Change at Crowley underlined the importance of Prosci, saying:

“Prosci has been a critical partner for Crowley as we build our internal change management competence… They have been instrumental in supporting our efforts to build a full enterprise change capability, including structure, training, tools and advisory services support. Most importantly, they have helped us set a strategy and roadmap that we can use for years to come.”

Avangrid

Avangrid, a leading global sustainable energy company, worked with Prosci in their mission to build enterprise-wide change management capability.

Avangrid's Change Management Office chose the Prosci Methodology because of its practical application, scalability and proven reputation. The team attended the Change Management Certification Program, Enterprise Change Management Boot Camp, and developed an ECM Roadmap. 

As they built their Change Management Network, the Avangrid team used the boot camp to identify gaps in their change program and adjust the roadmap.

Diane M. Schreiner, Director of Change Management at Avangrid, lauded the Prosci team for their support and expertise, saying:

“The AVANGRID/Prosci partnership is very rewarding. Prosci’s team is knowledgeable, responsive, and consistently seeks to evolve the change management discipline through quality research and benchmarking. Their three-day base certification program is one of the best trainings I have experienced in my career!”

Avangrid now has over 30 certified change management practitioners throughout the organization and is continuing to steadily rise in change management capability.

Velera

Velera is the United States' premier payments credit union service organization and provides integrated financial technology solutions. The company faced rapid growth that required a formal change management program.

They decided to design and deploy an Organizational Change Management (OCM) practice to better manage change initiatives and deliver positive outcomes.

To do this, Velera obtained a Prosci Organizational Change Competency License to access Prosci training materials and tools and deliver customized training to employees at all levels of the organization.

The OCM team also collaborated with Prosci change practitioners and used the Train-the-Trainer Program to build change competencies across the organization, from senior leaders to front-line employees.

Dorothy Patrick, Business Partner, Organizational Change Management at Velera highlighted how Prosci helped build enterprise change capabilities, saying:

“Hands down, the difference has been the knowledgeable and supportive Prosci partners. I leaned into the Prosci team a lot over the past three years, especially around getting the most value as a Prosci License holder, and they are a considerable contributor to Velera’s change management success.”

Velera now has a solid enterprise change management foundation, with the OCM team providing direct project support and acting as consultants to help reach change objectives.

Prosci Change Management Tools For Success

The Prosci suite of change management tools equips organizations with the knowledge, tools and strategies they need to holistically navigate the people side of change. Our structured methodology, frameworks, training programs and Advisory Services ensure the successful long-term implementation of change initiatives.