“Change is good. You go first.”
Dilbert
If you’re implementing an OSS, you’re already being changed whether you like it or not, as is your organisation. The reason you’re implementing an OSS project is because someone somewhere within the organisation thought the change will be for the betterment of the organisation.
But it is highly likely that the are people within the organisation who don’t want to be changed by the OSS. There are people who don’t want to be changed. Are you one of them? Are you one of the change agents? Like most people, I’d rather initiate (or be involved in) change rather than having change thrust upon me.
John Kotter’s Leading Change is a classic book that lays out the following eight step process for leading change within an organisation when introducing a new project. The OctopOSS is no exception and can be more readily controllable if you consider the following steps:
Step 1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency
Step 2: Creating the Guiding Coalition
Step 3: Developing a Change Vision
Step 4: Communicating the Vision for Buy-in
Step 5: Empowering Broad-based Action
Step 6: Generating Short-term Wins
Step 7: Never Letting Up
Step 8: Incorporating Changes into the Culture
More detailed descriptions of the eight steps above can be found on the page about OSS Change Management or by reading Dr Kotter’s book for a non OSS-specific perspective