Not all change challenges are the same. Some block adoption — others just shake things up. Use the MECE (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) principle to clearly separate risk from impact, so you can tackle each with the right strategy.
Risk Assessment
- Focus: Barriers to adoption
- Purpose: to identify and mitigate threats to successful people-side adoption.
- Assesses the likelihood that stakeholders won't adopt, support, or sustain the change.
- Looks at readiness, resistance, leadership support, competing priorities, and communication breakdowns.
Impact Assessment
- Focus: Effects of the change
- Purpose: to inform planning of communications, training, and engagement strategies.
- Evaluates who and what will be affected by the change — roles, processes, tools, behaviors, and structures.
- Focuses on scope and magnitude of disruption for each group.
In summary:
Risk = barriers to adoption
Impact = scope of disruption
This structure ensures complete, non-overlapping analysis of change challenges.