Old and New Story's
Creating the Narrative Foundation for Change
Change initiatives can energise or create resistance depending on how leaders articulate the journey from past to future.
The concept of Old and New Stories harnesses the power of narrative, our key tool for helping organizations understand, accept, and act on change.
In this article, we explore how to craft compelling stories, distinguish the roles of Business Analysts and the Change Management Team, and leverage these frameworks to accelerate adoption.
Note: In this article, all references to the Change Manager (CM) refer to one or more members of the change team who are responsible for completing the Old/New Story deliverables.
What are Old and New Stories?
An Old Story is an honest account of current state. It catalogues the current workflow processes, pain points, cultural norms, adaptations, work-arounds and experiences today.
The New Story is a motivating vision of the future. It provides a vivid, believable vision describing improved future workflows, ways of working, benefits, behaviours, outcomes and measures of success after the change.
These stories are the cognitive and emotional bridge for people moving from familiar territory into new ways of working.
Other terms for Old and New Stories include Current-State/As-Is and Future-State/To-Be, respectively. There is no universally correct label; consistency is key.
Why Stories Matter
The validation of experience and contributions builds trust and urgency
When leaders acknowledge the current reality - both what works and what doesn't - people feel heard and understood. This validation creates the psychological safety needed to consider change.
A vivid vision of the future reduces anxiety and inspires commitment
People resist uncertainty more than they resist change itself. A clear, compelling New Story removes ambiguity about where you're heading and why it matters.
Stories combine technical and human perspectives for complete adoption
Technical accuracy ensures credibility; emotional resonance ensures engagement. Together, they create narratives that speak to both heads and hearts.
The Importance of Collaboration
Collaboration between Business Analysts (BA) who capture process reality and future design, and the Change Management Team (CM) who address human experience, readiness, and narrative communication, is essential.
Both technical documentation and emotional insight are required to build effective Old and New Stories.
By working together:
- BA and CM co-create stories to merge technical accuracy with emotional resonance
- There is shared responsibility for mapping current reality and defining future scenarios
- Joint activities include stakeholder interviews, documentation reviews, future state visioning, and narrative development
Once these foundational stories are established, they inform more detailed change management activities such as Process Change Impact Assessments, training design, and communication planning - each translating the strategic narrative into their specific domains.
What is the Old Story?
The Old Story is an honest, respectful description of how things work today. It captures the reality of current processes, systems, behaviours, and experience, both positive and negative.
Why the Old Story Matters
Many change initiatives skip this step and jump straight to selling the future. This is a critical mistake because:
- Validation: People need to know that you understand their current reality
- Trust building: Acknowledging their pain points builds credibility
- Creating urgency: Highlighting problems justifies why change is necessary
- Honouring contributions: Respects what has worked in the past
- Establishing baseline: Provides a measurement point for progress
Remember: People will resist change if they feel their current experience is dismissed or misunderstood.
Key Components of the Old Story
Current Workflows and Processes
- How work flows today (step-by-step)
- Who does what and when
- Handoffs and dependencies
Existing Systems and Tools
- Technology currently used
- Manual vs. automated processes
- Integrations (or lack thereof)
Pain Points and Inefficiencies
- What frustrates people daily
- Where errors occur
- Bottlenecks and delays
- Resource constraints
Workarounds and Adaptations
- Creative solutions people have developed
- "Shadow systems" (unofficial tools/processes)
- Knowledge held by specific individuals
Cultural Norms and Behaviours
- "The way we've always done things"
- Unwritten rules
- Team dynamics and relationships
Historical Context
- Why current processes exist
- Previous change attempts
- What's been tried before
Current Sentiment
- How people feel about their work
- Sources of pride or accomplishment
- Anxiety or concern areas
The Two Perspectives on the Old Story
Business Analyst Perspective - The Technical View
The BA documents the mechanics of how work happens:
- Process flows with decision points and data flows
- System capabilities and limitations
- Performance metrics (cycle time, error rates, costs)
- Data structures and integrations
- Compliance and regulatory requirements
Example BA documentation:
"Current order processing requires data entry in 5 separate systems"
"Average cycle time: 4.2 hours per order"
"Invoice error rate: 23%"
"No real-time visibility into inventory levels"
Change Manager Perspective – The Human View
The CM explores the human experience of current work:
- How people feel about their work
- What gives them pride or causes frustration
- Informal networks and relationships
- Fears and concerns about change
- Cultural norms and resistance points
- Capacity for change (change fatigue level)
Example CM documentation:
"Finance team has used current system for 15 years and considers themselves experts"
"Team has developed trusted Excel workarounds they rely on"
"Concerns about job security due to automation"
"Pride in being the 'go-to' people who can navigate complex systems"
The most powerful Old Story combines both perspectives into a narrative that acknowledges both technical reality and human experience.
What is the New Story?
The New Story is a compelling vision of the future that describes how work, experiences, and outcomes will improve after the change.
It's not just about new processes; it's about painting a picture that people can see themselves in.
Why the New Story Matters
The New Story serves multiple critical purposes:
- Reduces uncertainty: Clarifies what's changing and what's staying the same
- Inspires action: Creates positive motivation for change
- Addresses WIIFM: Shows "What's In It For Me" at a personal level
- Builds commitment: Helps people see themselves succeeding in the future
- Guides behaviour: Describes the new mindsets and ways of working
- Creates shared vision: Aligns everyone toward common goals
Warning: A weak New Story focuses only on technology or process improvements. A strong New Story shows how people's work lives will be better.
Key Components of the New Story
Future Workflows and Processes
- Streamlined, efficient processes
- Reduced handoffs and delays
- Clear roles and responsibilities
New Systems and Capabilities
- Technology features and benefits
- Automation of repetitive tasks
- Real-time access to information
Expected Benefits and Outcomes
- Business results (revenue, cost, quality)
- Customer experience improvements
- Team and individual benefits
Changed Roles and Value
- How roles evolve (not just shrink)
- New opportunities for contribution
- Shift from transactional to strategic work
New Behaviours and Mindsets
- Collaboration expectations
- Decision-making authority
- Innovation and continuous improvement
Day-in-the-Life Scenarios
- Concrete examples of typical workdays
- Specific situations showing improvements
- Relatable, realistic scenarios
Success Metrics
- How we'll measure progress
- What "good" looks like
- Celebration points along the journey
The Two Perspectives on the New Story
Business Analyst Perspective: Technical View
The BA designs the functional future:
- Optimized process flows
- System requirements and capabilities
- Integration points and data flows
- Performance targets and KPIs
- Business rules and logic
- Compliance and controls
Example BA documentation:
"Integrated ERP with single point of data entry"
"Automated workflow reduces processing time to 45 minutes"
"Real-time dashboards for inventory and order status"
"Mobile access for field team"
"95% accuracy through automated validation"
Change Manager Perspective: Human View
The CM articulates the experiential future:
- How daily work will feel different
- New skills and career opportunities
- How people will collaborate differently
- Emotional benefits (less stress, more satisfaction)
- Personal growth and development
- Team culture evolution
Example CM documentation:
"Finance team becomes strategic business partners, not data processors"
"Shift from repetitive entry to analysis and insights"
"More interesting, value-added work that showcases expertise"
"Real-time data means empowerment to answer customer questions immediately"
"Career development opportunities in analytics and forecasting"
The most inspiring New Story weaves together technical capabilities and human benefits into a narrative people can emotionally connect with.
The Gap: The Change Journey
The space between the Old Story and New Story represents the change journey - what we call "The Gap." This is the transition period where transformation actually happens.
What Happens in the Gap?
Natural Reactions:
- Resistance and scepticism emerge
- Anxiety about capability to succeed
- Grief for what's being lost
- Confusion about expectations
- Testing of boundaries and commitments
Required Activities:
- Learning new skills and behaviours
- Unlearning old habits
- Building new relationships and networks
- Developing trust in new systems
- Adjusting identity and role perception
Managing the Gap
This is where change management earns its value. The Gap is managed through:
- Strategic communication, reinforcing the "why"
- Structured training and practice
- Coaching and support
- Quick wins to build confidence
- Feedback loops to address concerns
- Resistance management
Timeline Reality: Remember that although the technical implementation may take months, the human transition can take much longer. People move through the gap at different speeds based on their personal change readiness, skill level, degree of impact, quality of support received, and trust in leadership.
Crafting Your Old Story: A Practical Guide
Step 1: Gather Data from Both Perspectives
- Work with BAs to understand technical current state
- Conduct stakeholder interviews to capture human experience
- Review existing documentation (SOPs, performance data, feedback)
- Observe work in action where possible
Step 2: Structure the Narrative
- Acknowledge what works well today - honour the past
- Clearly articulate pain points and limitations - create urgency
- Include both technical challenges and human frustrations - complete picture
- Use specific examples and real scenarios - make it concrete
- Validate with stakeholders that it reflects their reality - build trust
Step 3: Make It Personal
- Use "you" language where appropriate
- Include quotes or stories from affected stakeholders
- Show you understand the daily struggles
- Acknowledge the emotional experience, not just the technical reality
Example Old Story Fragment:
"Today, processing a customer order requires you to log into five different systems, manually entering the same information multiple times. On average, this takes 4.2 hours per order, and despite your careful work, errors still occur 23% of the time because the systems don't talk to each other. You've developed clever Excel workarounds to track orders, and you take pride in being the person who 'knows how to get things done' despite the obstacles. But the frustration is real—you spend more time fighting with systems than serving customers, and when someone asks about order status, you often can't give them a real-time answer."
Crafting Your New Story: A Practical Guide
Step 1: Connect to the Vision
- Link to organizational strategy and goals
- Show how this change advances the mission
- Create excitement about possibilities
Step 2: Paint the Picture
- Describe a "day in the life" in the future state
- Show how specific pain points are resolved
- Highlight both technical improvements and human benefits
- Address unspoken concerns (job security, capability) implicitly
Step 3: Make It Tangible
- Use concrete examples of how work will be different
- Include specific benefits for different stakeholder groups
- Show what success looks like
- Connect to measurable outcomes
Step 4: Create WIIFM Moments
- Clearly articulate "What's In It For Me" for each audience
- Show personal growth opportunities
- Highlight how stress will be reduced or satisfaction increased
- Connect individual benefits to team and organizational benefits
Example New Story Fragment:
"Imagine starting your day by opening a single, integrated system. When a customer calls about their order, you pull up their record and see everything—order history, current status, inventory availability, shipping timeline—all in real-time, automatically updated. Instead of 4 hours of data entry, you complete an order in 45 minutes, and the system validates everything automatically, virtually eliminating errors.
You're no longer a system-fighter; you're a customer problem-solver. When issues arise, you can see them immediately and act, rather than discovering them days later. Your Excel workarounds? No longer needed—but your expertise in understanding customer needs? More valuable than ever. You'll spend your time doing work that actually uses your skills and judgment, work that makes a difference. And when someone asks you how things are going, you can say with pride: 'I helped 20 customers today, and every single order was perfect.'"
Integration with Broader Change Management
Old and New Stories form the narrative foundation of your change initiative. They establish the strategic context and emotional connection that makes change meaningful.
These stories then inform and strengthen other change management activities:
- Stakeholder Analysis: Understanding who's impacted by the changes described in your stories
- Communication Planning: Using story elements to craft compelling messages for different audiences
- Training Design: Ensuring training addresses the gap between Old and New Stories
- Process Change Impact Assessments: Translating the strategic narrative into detailed operational changes
- Resistance Management: Addressing concerns that emerge from the Old Story and reinforcing the New Story vision
Think of Old and New Stories as the "why" and "what will it feel like" that precedes the detailed "what exactly changes" that comes from operational assessments.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Skipping the Old Story
- Problem: Jumping straight to the future without validating current reality
- Result: People feel dismissed and resist because "you don't understand"
- Solution: Always honour the Old Story before presenting the New Story
All Technical, No Emotion
- Problem: Focusing only on systems and processes without the human experience
- Result: Stories feel sterile and don't connect emotionally
- Solution: Balance BA technical detail with CM human insight
Vague, Generic New Story
- Problem: Using buzzwords and generic benefits instead of specific scenarios
- Result: People can't see themselves in the future, so they don't commit
- Solution: Use concrete "day-in-the-life" examples with specific details
Overpromising
- Problem: Painting an unrealistic picture to "sell" the change
- Result: Credibility destroyed when reality doesn't match the story
- Solution: Be honest about challenges while emphasizing genuine benefits
One-Size-Fits-All
- Problem: Using the same story for all stakeholder groups
- Result: Stories don't resonate because they're too generic
- Solution: Tailor stories to different audiences while maintaining consistency
Tell Once and Forget
- Problem: Sharing stories at project kick-off and never reinforcing them
- Result: Stories fade from memory; people lose sight of "why"
- Solution: Revisit and reinforce stories throughout the change journey
Best Practices for Success
Co-Create with Stakeholders
Don't develop stories in isolation. Involve affected people in creating both the Old and New Stories to ensure authenticity and build ownership.
Use Multiple Formats
Stories work in various formats:
- Written narratives for detailed communication
- Visual storyboards for presentations
- Video testimonials for emotional impact
- Interactive workshops for engagement
Make It Conversational
Stories should sound like how real people talk, not corporate speak. Test your language with actual stakeholders.
Balance Detail and Clarity
Provide enough detail to be credible, but not so much that people get lost. Layer your information—high-level story first, details available for those who want them.
Update as You Learn
Stories aren't static. As you learn more through the change journey, refine your stories to reflect new insights while maintaining the core narrative.
Measure Story Effectiveness
Track whether stories are resonating:
- Can people articulate the Old and New Story in their own words?
- Do they reference the stories in discussions about the change?
- Are concerns decreasing as the New Story becomes clearer?
Real-World Example: Complete Old and New Story
Scenario: Healthcare Organisation Implementing New Patient Management System
Old Story (Integrated BA + CM Perspectives)
Technical Reality:
Our patient management system is 20 years old, running on outdated technology that can't integrate with modern medical devices. Patient information is split across the main system, paper charts, and department-specific databases. Retrieving a complete patient history requires accessing up to 7 different sources. Registration takes an average of 12 minutes per patient, and clinical staff report they can only access patient records 85% of the time due to system slowness.
Human Experience:
Every day, our registration staff apologize to patients for long wait times while they navigate multiple screens and systems. Nurses feel frustrated when they can't quickly access test results or medication histories, especially in urgent situations. Doctors have developed workarounds—printing key information to carry on rounds because they can't rely on the system being available. There's pride in our care quality despite these obstacles, but exhaustion from "fighting with technology" is real. Our newest team members struggle for months to learn all the systems and workarounds that our veterans know by heart.
The Combined Narrative:
"We deliver excellent patient care, but not because of our systems - in spite of them. When a patient arrives, you're juggling 7 different screens while they wait. When a doctor needs critical information during rounds, they're hoping the system is responding. You've developed impressive workarounds that keep things running, and there's real expertise in knowing how to navigate these challenges. But the daily reality is exhausting—you're spending energy on systems instead of patients, and everyone knows we could do better."
New Story (Integrated BA + CM Perspectives)
Technical Future:
Our new integrated patient management system provides a single, unified view of each patient. Real-time integration with medical devices automatically updates records. Patient registration averages 4 minutes with intuitive workflows and smart defaults. Clinical staff access records instantly from any device, with 99.9% system availability. Mobile access means information is at your fingertips, not trapped at a workstation.
Human Future:
Imagine walking into work knowing the technology will support you, not frustrate you. When you register a patient, the system is fast and intuitive—previous visits populate automatically, insurance verification is instant, and you're making eye contact with the patient instead of staring at a screen. Nurses access complete patient information on tablets at bedside, making care decisions confidently with all the facts. Doctors review updated test results in real-time on rounds, responding immediately instead of waiting. New team members are productive in weeks, not months, because the system is designed for humans.
The Combined Narrative:
"Picture your day when technology actually helps instead of hinders. Registration becomes a 4-minute welcome conversation instead of a 12-minute data entry marathon. When a patient asks about their medication history, you pull it up instantly on your tablet at their bedside. Doctors see real-time test results during rounds and can adjust care immediately. The expertise you've developed in navigating complex systems? You'll channel that into what matters, understanding patient needs, making clinical judgments, and delivering compassionate care.
You'll still be problem-solvers, but solving patient problems, not system problems. You'll still be the experts, but in patient care, not workarounds. And when you go home at the end of your shift, you'll be tired from caring for patients, not tired from fighting with technology. That's the future we're building together."
The Power of Story in Change Management
Change doesn't happen in project plans or system configurations. It happens in the hearts and minds of people. Your Old and New Stories are the bridge that helps them cross from the familiar present to an inspiring future.
When crafted thoughtfully - honouring both technical realities and human experiences—these narratives become powerful tools for:
- Reducing resistance by validating current experience
- Building commitment through compelling vision
- Accelerating adoption by making change meaningful
- Creating alignment around shared understanding
- Maintaining momentum through consistent reinforcement
Stories are how humans make sense of change. Master the art of Old and New Stories, and you'll have one of change management's most powerful tools at your disposal.
In Summary
- Old Stories validate current reality; New Stories inspire the future
- Both BA technical perspective and CM human perspective are essential for complete stories
- Stories are cognitive and emotional bridges from present to future
- The Gap between Old and New is where change management adds greatest value
- Effective stories are personal, specific, and emotionally resonant
- Stories must be co-created with stakeholders to ensure authenticity
- Reinforce stories consistently throughout the change journey
- Old and New Stories provide the narrative foundation that informs detailed change activities
Next Steps
- Assess your current change initiative: Do you have clear Old and New Stories? Are they compelling? Do stakeholders know them?
- Schedule collaboration time with your BA colleagues to co-create stories that integrate technical and human perspectives
- Test your stories with a small group of affected stakeholders—do they recognize their reality? Can they see themselves in the future?
- Develop multiple formats for sharing your stories—written narrative, visual presentation, video, interactive workshop
- Plan story reinforcement throughout your change timeline—when and how will you remind people of the journey?
- Use your stories as the foundation for more detailed change management activities, ensuring consistency between the inspiring narrative and operational execution
Remember: People don't resist change itself; they resist loss and uncertainty. When you honour the Old Story and paint a vivid New Story, you transform change from a threat into an opportunity - from something that happens to people into something they actively help create.
Download the Old and New Story's template.
Read the following articles which provide further detailed information and examples about crafting Old and New Story's:
