Article Idea:

Being an agent of change

suggested by Matthew C. Clarke on 2007/07/24

I've written an article on the IA as an agent of change. I had it substantially written, specifically for Boxes and Arrows , before reading the submission guidelines and finding that I should have posted the idea here earlier. So here, belatedly, is the idea. Several previous articles on B&A have mentioned the thought that IAs often act as change agents. Bob Goodman goes into the most detail -- introducing the term “change architecture” and summarising Kurt Lewin's three-phase approach of Unfreeze, Transition, and Refreeze. In my article I argue for the importance of this part of the IA role, and provide half a dozen practical pointers about what change management entails in the context of IA.
Patrick C. Walsh's avatar

Patrick C. Walsh

31 Reputation points

Posted 2007/07/26 @ 05:39AM with

As I work in enterprise IA I find this of great interest. Making IA work well in the enterprise often involves having to change processes or structures ( and people's minds). However might this cover some of the same area as Austin Govella's idea on alignment? (http://www.boxesandarrows.com/idea/view/8348) Not sure that I like the idea of 'freeze, transition and unfreeze' as I come from a culture where continual incremental improvement is considered the best option but I would still like to know more about it.
Christina Wodtke's avatar

Christina Wodtke

560 Reputation points

Posted 2007/07/26 @ 13:44PM with

Hi Matthew, As long as it hasn't been posted anywhere else, we're good to go... we don't do reprints! But if you have it in your hands, I'm sure Chris and the crew'd enjoy seeing it..
Matthew C. Clarke's avatar

Matthew C. Clarke

49 Reputation points

Posted 2007/07/26 @ 17:56PM with

Patrick, I read Austin Govella’s idea and don't understand what he's getting at. Maybe I'll write a comment over there to pursue that. But I don't think anything in my article would make him think "Damn, he beat me to it". I might add some comparison of "Unfreeze, Transition, and Refreeze" with "continual incremental improvement", though maybe that would be an interesting article in its own right.
Matthew C. Clarke's avatar

Matthew C. Clarke

49 Reputation points

Posted 2007/07/26 @ 18:00PM with

Christina: thanks for the comment. The article certainly hasn't appeared anywhere else. I spoke with Lou Rosenfeld about the idea of such an article for B&A back in 2002 and starting writing it. Then got distracted -- for 5 years!!! -- and just returned to it. So do I email it to someone, or does an editor contact me?
Christina Wodtke's avatar

Christina Wodtke

560 Reputation points

Posted 2007/07/27 @ 17:46PM with

An editor will contact you. This idea will hang out here until then, gathering insightful comments!
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