Change Readiness
What you must understand
Readiness is the extent to which individuals and the organisation are willing and able to adopt the change. Assess both willingness (awareness, desire, leadership commitment) and ability (knowledge, skills, resources, capacity). Consider organisational capacity - time, money, people, competing changes - and change history, culture and stakeholder buy-in. Use readiness assessments (surveys, interviews, workshops), readiness indicators and go/no-go gates. Readiness is not the same as capability: capability is having the skills and resources; readiness also includes motivation and capacity. Beckhard and Harris: D × V × F > R.
Traps
Readiness is not a one-off event before launch; it changes over time. Do not confuse readiness with capability or with the absence of resistance. High willingness with low capacity still fails. A common error is treating go-live as proof of readiness. Readiness must be assessed at multiple levels - individual, team, organisation.
Rule of thumb
Before go-live, check four questions: Do people know why? Do they want to? Can they do it? Do they have the time and support? If any is missing, act before launch. If capacity is consumed by another project, sequence, delay or reduce scope.