Change and project management aim to achieve specific outcomes but approach them from different perspectives.
Project management focuses on executing a specific endeavor with a defined start and end date, as well as constraints around scope, resources, and budget. It involves planning, organizing, and directing resources (people, equipment, and materials) to achieve project goals.
Change management, on the other hand, is a system for dealing with the transformation of a company’s objectives or processes. It can fall under project management or stand by itself. Change management implements strategies for effecting change, controlling change, and helping people adapt to change.
To visualize the connection between project management and change management, think of the former as delivering a technical solution on time and within budget, and the latter as a way of ensuring that changes within a project or organization are smoothly implemented and lasting benefits are achieved.
In the first change management example above, project management would ensure that an EHR system is built to fit the hospital’s needs and requirements and change management would onboard and train all hospital employees to use the new system to improve performance across the board.