A framework is just a named way of working. Pick the lightest one that answers the question you have today. Each card below says what it is, when to use it, how a Change Manager might apply it, what goes wrong, and where to read more.
Cards start folded. Expand one at a time. The open card fills the width and the rest move below.
Individual change
ADKAR
Prosci model of individual change: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement. A diagnostic sequence for where people get stuck.
When to use it
Quiet non-compliance after training
Need precise interventions by audience
Resistance is being mislabelled as attitude
Example for a Change Manager
Diagnose the stuck stage before adding activity. Do not train Desire problems. Pair ADKAR reports with readiness RAG so sponsors see where to act.
Things that go wrong
Training before Desire exists
No Reinforcement after go-live
Treating ADKAR as a comms plan only
Organisational change
Kotter's 8 steps
John Kotter's model for mobilising organisations: urgency, coalition, vision, communicate, empower, quick wins, consolidate, anchor.
When to use it
Large transformation needing organisational energy
Sponsorship and coalition are weak
Change stalls after early announcements
Example for a Change Manager
Use Kotter at programme level to build urgency and coalition, then use ADKAR for audience-level interventions. Brief sponsors that the valley is expected.
Things that go wrong
Fear theatre as fake urgency
Coalition of titles without time
Declaring victory before anchoring
Transition psychology
Bridges' transition model
William Bridges' model distinguishing change (situational) from transition (psychological): endings, neutral zone, new beginnings.
When to use it
People are grieving the old way
Productivity dips after go-live
Sponsors misread the valley as failure
Example for a Change Manager
Name endings explicitly. Increase support in the neutral zone. Do not pile optional scope during the dip. Help sponsors interpret emotion without aborting the change.
Things that go wrong
Ignoring endings and skipping to cheerleading
Punishing productivity dips
No new beginnings rituals or reinforcement
Classic change
Lewin's 3-step model
Unfreeze, change, refreeze: a simple lens for preparing, moving and stabilising new behaviours.
When to use it
Need a simple shared language with non-specialists
Stabilisation after change is being skipped
Explaining why go-live is not the end
Example for a Change Manager
Use Lewin as a teaching frame, then deepen with ADKAR and reinforcement design. Emphasise refreeze: systems, KPIs and habits that lock the new way.
Things that go wrong
Over-simplifying complex digital change
Refreeze that blocks later iteration
Unfreeze without psychological safety
Organisation alignment
McKinsey 7S
Alignment model across Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared values, Skills, Style and Staff.
When to use it
Change fails because systems and skills disagree
Need a diagnostic beyond communications
Operating model change sits beside technology change
Example for a Change Manager
Run a lightweight 7S diagnostic when readiness is red despite strong comms. Fix misaligned Systems and Skills before blaming Desire.
Things that go wrong
Giant 7S workshops with no owners
Strategy slides unchanged while Systems punish the new way
Ignoring Style and Shared values as soft fluff
Stakeholders
Stakeholder power / interest
Classic grid: Monitor, Keep Informed, Keep Satisfied, Manage Closely based on power and interest.
When to use it
Engagement effort is spread too thinly
High-power low-interest leaders are neglected
Need a shared map with Delivery and Project Managers
Example for a Change Manager
Map sponsors, managers, unions or staff networks, and users. Manage Closely those who can stop adoption. Keep managers equipped before mass broadcasts.
Things that go wrong
Static maps never updated
Over-investing in low-power noise
Missing informal influencers outside the org chart
Programme
MSP (Managing Successful Programmes)
Programme framework with principles, themes and processes for outcome-led change across multiple projects, including benefits.
When to use it
Multiple projects serve one transformation outcome
Benefits span years and organisations
Need programme governance above project delivery
Example for a Change Manager
Sit change management inside programme tranches and benefits themes. Ensure business change managers and SROs own outcomes beyond project closure.
Things that go wrong
Programme as a big project with more slides
Benefits registers with no operational owners
Change work treated as optional workstream colour
Benefits
Benefits management
Practices for identifying, planning, measuring and realising benefits so outcomes are evidenced after delivery.
When to use it
Business case claims need operational proof
Go-live success is being confused with benefits success
Need leading and lagging adoption indicators
Example for a Change Manager
Build a benefits map with owners before go-live. Track leading adoption measures weekly in hypercare. Report residual risk when behaviours do not move.
Things that go wrong
Benefits owned only by the project team
Measuring activity (training seats) as benefits
No baseline, so success is unverifiable
Business case
Green Book / Five Case Model
HMT appraisal guidance and five cases for public funding, including Management Case delivery and benefits realism.
When to use it
Public funding or benefits accountability is live
SRO needs a defensible benefits story
Change costs must sit next to delivery costs
Example for a Change Manager
Ensure change and adoption costs, risks and benefits measures appear in the Management Case. Challenge optimism bias that assumes training alone realises benefits.
Things that go wrong
Business case fiction written once
Adoption costs omitted until mid-delivery
Benefits claims with no measurement design
Transition psychology
Kübler-Ross change curve
Adapted grief curve often used to normalise emotional responses through shock, anger, depression, experiment and acceptance.
When to use it
Sponsors expect linear enthusiasm
Teams show anger or withdrawal after announcement
Need a simple empathy tool for managers
Example for a Change Manager
Use carefully as a conversation aid with managers, not as a predictive science. Pair with Bridges and ADKAR so emotion maps to practical interventions.
Things that go wrong
Treating the curve as a mandatory sequence
Pathologising normal challenge as denial
Using the curve to dismiss legitimate objections
Adaptive change
Lean change / feedback loops
Treat change interventions as experiments with hypotheses, MVPs and feedback rather than a fixed big-bang enablement plan.
When to use it
Uncertainty about what will drive Desire is high
Need to adapt interventions Sprint by Sprint
Classic waterfall change plans are failing
Example for a Change Manager
Pilot comms, learning and reinforcement tactics with one audience. Measure leading indicators. Scale what works; kill what does not without ego.
Things that go wrong
Endless pilots with no scale decision
Experiments without ethics or inclusion care
Using lean to avoid planning sponsorship
Civil Service standard
GovS 002 Project Delivery
Mandated functional standard for portfolios, programmes and projects, including expectations that touch change and benefits governance.
When to use it
Government programme delivery
Need mandatory governance clarity with PMO and SRO
Pushing back on invented local bureaucracy
Example for a Change Manager
Map change milestones, readiness gates and benefits reporting to GovS 002 expectations. Use shall clauses to insist on SRO-visible adoption risk.
Things that go wrong
Gold-plating beyond the standard
Ignoring shall clauses until assurance arrives
Change work invisible in formal governance
Service management
ITIL organisational change enablement
ITIL practice focusing on people aspects of IT and service changes so improvements are adopted and value is realised.
When to use it
Technology changes land in operational IT organisations
Need shared language with service management
CAB culture ignores people readiness
Example for a Change Manager
Join organisational change enablement to technical change schedules. Ensure standard technical changes still carry proportionate people readiness when behaviour must shift.
Things that go wrong
Confusing technical CAB with people change
Process compliance without Desire work
No hypercare after service transitions
Accountability
RACI for change roles
Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed matrix clarifying who leads adoption tasks versus who must be visible as sponsor.
When to use it
Sponsor, change manager and delivery roles blur
Champions are unclear what they own
Escalations bounce between teams
Example for a Change Manager
Publish a simple RACI for sponsorship, comms, training, readiness and benefits. Make Accountable sponsors explicit. Review when workstreams multiply.