The increasing need for integrating simulation and collaboration to support change management programs

Integrating simulation and collaboration to support change management programs is not yet an often used practice. Both simulation and collaboration are said to have added value for change management programs, yet their integration is fairly new. We identify the need for integrating simulation and collaboration for four different change management programs: TQM (total quality management), JIT (just-in-time), BPR (business process re-engineering), and PI (process innovation). It appears that the need for integration for the newer approaches (BPR and PI) is greater than for older approaches (TQM and JIT). This finding is supported by two case studies, one focusing on TQM/JIT and one focusing on BPR/PI. The case studies furthermore show that integration is difficult because of the lack of proper support tools.