Transition Plan Template
The Transition Plan is used to describe how the changes to the business unit(s) environment will be implemented. The Implementation Plan focuses on changes that are anticipated, planned ahead of time (e.g. a reduction in the number of staff). However, other changes may result, such as those that emerge and are unintended (e.g. increased salaries). At a minimum, these changes or issues will require tracking.
1. Current Situation
Briefly describe the current situation within the business unit(s) that will be impacted by this transition plan in the areas of:
- Culture
- Physical Environment
- Structure
- Job Designs/Responsibilities
- Skills and Knowledge
- Policies/Procedures
- Workflow and Processes
The following sub-headings are intended as a guide only. Depending on the size and complexity of the project and the business environment, not all headings may be required, some may be merged, new ones created etc.
Culture
Briefly describe the current culture of the business unit(s).
Physical Environment
Briefly describe the current physical environment of the <organisation / business>. This may include location (e.g. suburb), centralised/de-centralised localities, furniture, floor plan layout etc.
Structure
Briefly describe the current <organisation / business> structure. This may be covered by the inclusion of an organisational chart.
Job Design / Responsibilities
Briefly describe the current <organisation / business> jobs and their responsibilities e.g. position descriptions.
Skills / Knowledge Requirements
Briefly describe the current skill / knowledge requirements of the <organisation / business>.
Policies / Procedures
Briefly describe the current <organisation / business> policies and procedures.
Workflows / Processes
Briefly describe the current <organisation / business> workflows and processes. Diagrams of current processes and workflows may be included as an appendix.
2. New Situation
Describe the new situation within the business unit(s) that will be impacted by this transition plan in the same areas you identified in 1. The following sub-headings are intended as a guide only.
Culture
Briefly describe the planned culture of the business unit(s).
Physical Environment
Briefly describe the planned physical environment of the <organisation / business>. This may include location (e.g. suburb), centralised/de-centralised localities, furniture, floor plan layout, new desktop aids etc.
Structure
Briefly describe the planned <organisation / business> structure. Some examples may be decreased management numbers, altered reporting relationships, self-managing teams, down sizing of <corporate services>, increased role for <business> etc. This may be supported by the inclusion of an organisational chart as an appendix.
Job Design / Responsibilities
Briefly describe the planned <organisation / business> jobs and their responsibilities e.g. position descriptions.
Skills / Knowledge Requirements
Briefly describe the planned skill / knowledge requirements of the <organisation / business>. The following questions are provided for assistance:
- What new skills / knowledge will be required (e.g. in-house technical expertise to administer new technology). Cross-reference to the Training Plan (are these new skills addressed?).
- Are there any skills / knowledge that will no longer be required?
- Is there a need to transfer skills?
Policies / Procedures
Briefly describe the planned <organisation / business> policies and procedures. The following questions are provided for assistance:
- Are current policies and procedures documented? Up to date?
- What policies and procedures will become redundant, require revision or new ones created? Identify resources and responsibilities (e.g. working party).
- Are new standards and best practices to be introduced?
Workflows / Processes
Briefly describe the planned <organisation / business> workflows and processes. Diagrams of proposed processes and workflows may be included as an appendix.
3. Transition – Current to New
Describe how the business unit(s) that will be impacted by this transition plan will make the necessary changes to any affected areas of:
- Culture;
- Physical Environment;
- Structure;
- Job Designs/Responsibilities;
- Skills and Knowledge;
- Policies/Procedures;
- Workflow and Processes
- Employee Motivation / Incentives; and
- Human Resource Management.
Changes described here should provide key issues for addressing in the Communication Plan, in particular the key issues sections for applicable stakeholders; the Risk Management Plan; and the Training Plan
Culture
Describe how the planned changes for the culture of the <organisation / business>will be achieved. Some examples may be devolution, change in power bases, improved client focus, increased accountability, cost focus. It is important to recognise that cultural issues cannot be entirely manageable, but can be influenced.
Cross-reference to the Communication Plan to ensure cultural issues are included in the key communication issues.
Physical Environment
Describe how the planned changes for the physical environment of the <organisation / business> will be achieved. Some examples may be change of location (e.g. suburb), centralising or decentralising of localities, refurbished offices, introduction of ergonomic furniture, a move to open plan, new desktop aids etc.
Structure
Describe how the planned changes for the <organisation / business> structure will be achieved. Some examples may be decreased management numbers, altered reporting relationships, self-managing teams, downsizing of <corporate services>, increased role for <business> etc.
Job Design / Responsibilities
Describe how the planned changes to <organisation / business> jobs and their responsibilities e.g. position descriptions, will be achieved.
Technology can impact dramatically on job satisfaction. The following pointers are provided:
- the nature and structure of an employee’s task changes usually for standardisation purposes. By structuring these tasks appropriately, it can have a positive effect rather than being perceived as de-skilling;
- review job tasks with employees to ensure jobs are not designed around the system(s);
- establish appropriate management practices;
- evaluate career path opportunities;
- restructure job tasks and responsibilities accordingly (i.e. ensure authority matches accountabilities); and
- during the implementation of new technology / systems, local system experts emerge and become established. These users are viewed by their colleagues as a source of system / technical reference.
Skills / Knowledge Requirements
Describe how the planned changes for the skill / knowledge requirements of the <organisation / business> will be achieved. Cross-reference to the Training Plan to ensure that all new skills and any transfer of skills are addressed.
Policies / Procedures
Describe how the planned changes for the <organisation / business> policies and procedures will be achieved.
Workflows / Processes
Describe how the planned changes to the <organisation / business> workflows and processes will be achieved.
Employee Motivation / Incentives
Describe what management strategies are planned. Often when a computer system or new technology is to be implemented within an organisation, there is a tendency to ignore the following issues that systems can cause or create for employees – personal anxiety, alienation, invasion of privacy, unemployment and displacement, loss of individuality etc.
Be aware of the following issues which can cause systems / technology to be rejected:
- workplace acceptance of the system / technology is often related to the user’s perceptions of job enhancement and increased self-esteem.
- the system / technology results in a change to the employee’s power and influence within the business unit / organisation.
Human Resource Management
Describe what changes and management strategies are planned, and how they are to be achieved. Areas of potential include:
- industrial / union issues;
- occupational health and safety;
- personnel recruitment, redeployment and redundancy; and
- staff counselling, performance review and development.
2. Transition Schedule
The strategy for the development of the transition schedule will more than likely be driven by the approach taken with the project’s plan for the output delivery stages. The preferred approach is to develop a detailed implementation schedule prior to the commencement of the implementation phase. The following table is an example of a high-level schedule (major milestones only), however other on-going tasks such as management meetings, risk reviews etc may be listed:
Transition Plan
| Key milestones | Responsible | Start Scheduled | Scheduled Finish |
| Milestone A | |||
| Milestone B | |||
Where transition involves substantial ‘change’ to the status quo, it is recommended that the transition period be kept to as short a period of time as possible. The longer the period of transition, the greater number of problems that will have to be faced (e.g. other organisational changes will assume priority and resources).
5 Communication Plan
The Communication Plan is used to describe the communications framework between:
- the staff in the business area(s); and
- the business area(s) and the stakeholders.
Some of this section may have already been addressed by an overall project communication plan, for example within the Project Business Plan. The Communication Plan may be formal, informal, detailed or broad, depending on the needs of the project. Communication is a major component of a successful project. Two leading causes of project failure are insufficient involvement of stakeholders and infrequent communication with sponsors. Therefore, ensure stakeholders have input into this document, in particular this plan
Key Communication Issues
Summarise the key communication issues for the project which have been discussed with the relevant stakeholders. Communication information can consume project resources; therefore, communication should concentrate on information which will contribute to the project’s success or where a lack of communication can lead to failure.
Communications Strategy
Broadly describe the direction and overview of the guidelines that will be used for communication. Consider any assumptions and constraints here that may need to link into the risk management section. Examples may include:
- Use of diverse means of communication with face to face as the primary method;
- Regular <define the frequency> communication;
- Information presented via a variety of medium and formats;
- Strategy for responding to unexpected information requests;
- Mechanisms established to ensure two-way communication; Some communication technology factors to consider:
- Will project success require up to date information at a moment’s notice?
- Are communication systems currently in place appropriate?
- Are communication systems proposed compatible with staff skills and experience? (is training required?)
- Will the technology alter during the life of the project?
Stakeholder Groups
Stakeholders are often classified according to pre-defined categories. The purpose of which allows for management of and communication with groups of similar needs / interests.
- Stakeholders of the <project title> have been identified and classified <accordingly in the latest version of the Project Business Plan>.
- For the purposes of communication, these stakeholders have been grouped according to the key issues that the communication plan will need to address for that stakeholder group.
Communication Milestones
Summarise the major events that are planned to occur within the communication plan. The level of detail will depend on the current status of the project.
| Major event | Responsible | Scheduled Start | Scheduled Finish |
| <Launch of project Newsletter (within agency)> | |||
Full details of the work involved, resources and time frames would be included in the project plan (schedule of tasks).
6. Training Plan
The Training Plan is used to describe how the training requirements within the business area(s) will be addressed to support the transformation in business processes. The structure of this section will vary depending on the nature of the project and the business unit needs. Separate Training Plans may be required for different business units. The following list is provided as potential sub-headings for the Training Plan including some example issues:
- Strategy
- What is the overall objective of the Training Strategy?
- Describe the approach that will be This will largely depend on the implementation approach for the project (e.g. big bang, parallel, site by site).
- Ensure employees and managers are provided with the skills and information to integrate the new technology/system into their jobs and business This is essential if maximum benefits are to be obtained.
- Training should be seen as a reward for good
- Preparatory training needs will also require
- Responsibilities
- Who is responsible for co-ordinating training activities?
- Will there be a “Train the trainer” approach?
- Who will be involved in facilitating and conducting the training -internal staff, external consultants etc.
- Ensure managers and supervisors are trained appropriately to enable them to oversee the introduction of the new technology (i.e. to have realistic expectations of what the users can learn).
- Resources
- What resources are required – human, physical, financial etc
- Users frequently require more training than generally thought by vendors and
- What is the scope of the training to be conducted?
- Environment
- Preferable if training is conducted off-site unless it is on the job
- Assess training conflicts with periods of high processing demands or reduced staffing
- Documentation and other materials
- Describe what types of documentation (electronic and paper) and materials are required prior, during and after training. How will they be developed, supplied and maintained?
- Schedule
- It may be appropriate to attach the training schedule as an
- Course Structure
- Training may be accomplished through external and internal courses (e.g. team building exercises), on the job training (OJT), computer-based training and self-development (e.g. books).
- Training must be relevant to actual
- Ensure non-technical users are provided with the opportunity to articulate their requirements (consultation).
- Training is tailored to suit different types of users (needs analysis).
- On-going Training requirements
- Ensure that users have the capability to reinforce their learning by application usage post
- Ensure adequate and appropriate backup support is available to avoid reliance upon individuals.
- Establish a timetable for a minimal level of proficiency of new technology / systems to be demonstrated by impacted
- Ensure that any training is assessed for relevance, effectiveness, adequacy etc after it has been
- Identify the on-going training requirements for the <business unit> over the next <12 months>?
- Training Budget
- Is there to be a separate training budget detailed? It may be appropriate to include as appendix.
7. Maintenance Plan
The Maintenance Plan is used to describe the maintenance requirements for the project outputs once they have been accepted by the Business Owner, and how they will be achieved. Maintenance requirements may include the following (examples):
- computer systems and applications;
- hardware and other peripherals;
- technical / business manuals or documents;
- communications equipment;
- externally produced manuals, methodologies etc;
- security arrangements;
Other issues that may require consideration:
- what warranty periods are required together with on-going maintenance requirements?
- what contracts and / or service level agreements will be required for internal / external suppliers?
- what processes and responsibilities will need to be established?
- For systems / applications, describe how modifications, enhancements. Effects and / or deficiencies shall be recorded (e.g. problem reports, change requests etc), actioned and managed.
- Costs associated with maintenance requirements.
