Change Delivery Strategies
Change delivery strategies are the options for how a change reaches the people affected: all at once (big bang), in stages (phased), first in a limited area (pilot) or alongside the old way (parallel running). Change delivery strategies trade speed against risk, cost and the support people need, and many rollouts combine them.
Quick facts
- Type
- Concept (implementation choice)
- Origin
- Information-systems implementation literature (conversion strategies) and strategic change literature on the change path
- Used when
- Deciding how and in what order a change will reach sites, teams or user groups
- Related models
- Diffusion of innovations (trialability) · Change kaleidoscope (change path) · Tipping point
- Exam relevance
- APMG CM Foundation, Organizational Context & Approach (OA0205); Practitioner (OA0303)
What are the main change delivery strategies?
Information-systems texts, such as Laudon and Laudon's, describe four classic ways of moving from an old system to a new one, and change practitioners use the same options for changes of any kind:
- Big bang (direct cutover): everyone switches to the new way on the same date.
- Phased: the change reaches people in waves, by site, by group or by function.
- Pilot: the change goes live in one limited area first, and the findings shape the wider rollout.
- Parallel running: the old and new ways run side by side for a period, until the new one is trusted.
Many rollouts combine them, for example a pilot followed by phased waves. Other texts use different labels and add further options. In strategic change, Balogun and Hope Hailey treat the pace of change, incremental or big bang, as one of the design choices of the change path.
Change delivery strategies are therefore a small set of building blocks that a change team combines to fit its situation.
What are the trade-offs of each strategy?
| Strategy | Strengths | Risks | Demands on people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big bang | Fast; no period with two ways of working | Problems hit everyone at once; little room to learn | Intense support around one date |
| Phased | Lessons from early waves help later ones; support is spread out | Long period of mixed working; momentum can fade | Repeated, smaller peaks of support |
| Pilot | Tests the change in real conditions before scaling | Pilot area may not be typical; can stall in "pilot mode" | Heavy for the pilot group, lighter for others |
| Parallel running | A fallback if the new way fails | Double workload; people may cling to the old way | Duplicate effort for the people affected |
None of the options is free of risk; each moves the risk somewhere else.
Change delivery strategies should therefore be compared on where they place risk and workload, not only on speed.
How do you choose a delivery strategy?
Several questions narrow the choice:
- Can old and new coexist? A single shared ledger or rota may force a big bang.
- How reversible is the change? Changes that are hard to undo favor a pilot first.
- How much is unknown? New ways of working that need learning in practice favor a pilot or phases.
- What can support teams absorb? Limited support capacity favors phases.
- Are there fixed deadlines? Regulatory dates can rule out a long phased rollout.
Everett Rogers lists trialability and observability among the attributes that speed adoption, and a pilot offers both.
At Larchfield Logistics, new handheld scanners go to twelve depots. The team pilots at one depot, then rolls out in three waves, and rejects parallel running because double scanning would double the workload.
Choosing among change delivery strategies is therefore a judgment about dependency, uncertainty and capacity.
What are common mistakes with delivery strategies?
- Choosing the keenest site for the pilot, so its results do not predict how other sites will react.
- Not letting the pilot change anything, which turns it into a small big bang.
- Parallel running with no end date, so people never let go of the old way.
- Long phased rollouts without renewed sponsorship, so later waves get less attention.
- A big bang without extra support in the first weeks after the switch.
Most failures of change delivery strategies come from how the option is run, not from the option chosen.
Change delivery strategies vs. change strategy: what is the difference?
| Change delivery strategies | Change strategy | |
|---|---|---|
| Question answered | In what order and grouping will the change reach people? | How will the organization move from the current to the future state? |
| Scope | One choice within the approach | The whole approach: case, impacts, stakeholders, roles, risks, measures, timeline |
| Options | Big bang, phased, pilot, parallel running and hybrids | A combination of choices fitted to the context |
| When decided | After the overall approach is clear | Before detailed planning begins |
A delivery strategy is one decision inside the change strategy, so the two should be chosen in that order.
Exam focus
At Foundation level (OA0205) expect comprehension of the main ways of delivering a change and their trade-offs. The course text uses its own set of delivery strategies and labels; learn that list from the official study guide, because this entry uses the options common in implementation literature. A common trap treats a pilot as a small big bang rather than a test whose findings can change the design. Practitioner (OA0303) applies the choice to a case study.
Practise this syllabus area →FAQ
What is the difference between a big bang and a phased rollout?
In a big bang rollout everyone switches to the new way on the same date, which is fast but exposes the whole organization to any problem at once. In a phased rollout the change reaches groups in waves, which spreads support and allows learning, but leaves a longer period of mixed working.
What is the purpose of a pilot in change management?
A pilot tests a change in one limited area under real conditions before it is rolled out more widely. Its purpose is to learn: to find problems, refine the design, training and support, and build evidence that the change works. A pilot whose findings change nothing has missed its purpose.
When is parallel running a good idea?
Parallel running fits when failure of the new way would be serious and a fallback is needed, for example in payroll or safety-critical processes. It doubles the work for the people involved, so it should be short, with a clear end date and agreed criteria for switching off the old way.
Can you combine delivery strategies?
Yes, and most rollouts do. A common pattern is a pilot in one area, followed by phased waves across the rest of the organization, sometimes with a short period of parallel running in each wave. The combination should follow the context, not a standard template.
Sources
- Laudon, K. C., Laudon, J. P. & Traver, C. G. (2025). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (18th ed.). Pearson.
- Balogun, J., Hope Hailey, V. & Gustafsson, S. (2016). Exploring Strategic Change (4th ed.). Pearson.
- Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.). Free Press.
- APMG International — Change Management certification (syllabus topic OA0205)
- Last reviewed