Changing Software Development: Learning to Become Agile

7.2. The Change Spectrum

By nature, routine change should not be disruptive – if it is, then something is wrong. Because it is routine and we all understand what's happening, it contains no fear and we just get on with it. The opposite extreme is radical change, which doesn't happen very often. Only occasionally do you show up at the office and hand in your resignation. When you undertake radical change, it's worrying – Will I get another job? Will it be as good? There's far more uncertainty associated with radical change than with routine change.

We can think of both kinds of change as different ends of a spectrum. Between routine change and radical change there is a middle ground where we find incremental change – also called piecemeal change. This is non-routine because it doesn't happen routinely, but it isn't massively disruptive. In part, this is because people are used to change happening.

The severity or disruption of change is one criterion that distinguishes the two ends of the change spectrum. Transactional change isn't disruptive: it's part of our everyday work. At the other extreme, radical change is highly disruptive and may change the very nature of our work.

The second criterion that distinguishes the two ends of the change spectrum is frequency. Transactional change happens every day, or even multiple times in one day. It isn't disruptive; we accept this frequency. Radical change, on the other hand, happens only occasionally.

Figure 7.1. Classifying change.