Is any change really about change, or could it be an improvement? Is the situation afterwards any different or is it more of the same. In either way, the impact can be very high. As we can see with the inauguration of a new terminal at the Barajas airport in Madrid.

Like the destination of a journey, any change will require a goal. And therefore, the Barajas Airport serves well as a decor.

Where do we want to go to or what do we want to achieve? And you is in this case the organization. The Airport.

This checklist is for your organization. What does it mean to add a new terminal to an existing Airport?

If you try to define WHAT will change within the organization, you can think about the business process, specific functions or fundamental (base) requirements. In this example, the business process remains the same. So do the functions that are offered to the public. Yet some basic requirements will be enhanced; this is most of all (in the airport example) about scalability and capacity.

Once the goal is clear and the functional impact is sketched, than you should check whether the resources will be impacted. In this example they will. The changes are at the supporting level, and the new infrastructure will be integrated with an existing one. The challenge is to hide disturbance from the travelers. But during the inauguration-days that will be nearly impossible.

The environment is often a source of alterations. Many triggers come from outside the company, but in this example, the change is from within. The impact on the environment however is, again in this Airport case, very big.

In the last place, the most profound changes are those that drive the organizational behavior. The inauguration of the new terminal interfered with the normal organization and provided a lot of delays. Yet, the change as such was not really profound. The most profound changes are those where the fundaments of the organization are no longer valid. That was not the case in Madrid. In fact, after a few days, it is business as usual.

So any change is about (filled in for the Barajas airport):

• Functions - no change; a new terminal is more of the same
• Goals more capacity, scalability
• Resources That is where this change is all about
• Environment Very high impact. Think only of suburbs that are effected.
• Principles The main principles in the airport organization are not effected. Planes take-off as before

Whether you are dealing with an improvement or a real change depends on a combination of these five factors.

2006 Hans Bool