AWS Organizational Change Acceleration (OCA) 6-Point Framework – 4. Engage the Organization - AWS Prescriptive Guidance
Intended audienceTargeted business outcomesAbout the OCA 6-Point Framework guides

AWS Organizational Change Acceleration (OCA) 6-Point Framework – 4. Engage the Organization

Amazon Web Services (contributors)

February 2025 (document history)

The AWS Organizational Change Acceleration (OCA) 6-Point Framework is intended to cover the full scope of people-related issues and challenges throughout the lifecycle of a cloud transformation, which might include migration, modernization, generative AI scaling, and innovation. This framework guides customer adoption of AWS technologies, processes, and new ways of working by:

  • Identifying, aligning, and mobilizing key leaders

  • Assessing and mitigating the organizational impacts of cloud transformation

  • Designing change acceleration, communications, and training plans

  • Developing leadership, sponsorship, and culture strategies

The framework's six points align with an agile sprint cadence, from program initiation through sustainable long-term change. The following diagram shows these six points and their subpoints.

Engage the Organization phase of the AWS OCA Framework.

The fourth point, Engage the Organization, helps you activate the strategies and plans created in the previous three points and use the insights gained from various assessments to actively transform the organization to the desired future state. As the transformation starts to take place, the burden begins to shift from the cloud transformation team and cross-functional leaders to the employee base. Engage the Organization contains five subpoints:

4.1 Change acceleration implementation. Implement the change strategy and plan to enable cloud adoption and achieve desired business outcomes.

4.2 Communications implementation. Implement the communications strategy and plan to address ongoing communications needs as the cloud strategy is implemented.

4.3 Engagement plan implementation. Implement stakeholder-specific plans to address changes that are required to successfully apply the cloud strategy and realize business value from the cloud.

4.4 Training implementation. Implement the training strategy and plan to holistically prepare affected stakeholder groups to proficiently perform future-state cloud activities.

4.5 Risk mitigation implementation. Proactively identify and manage people-related risks that can impact timely business outcomes.

This guide discusses each subpoint of Engage the Organization in detail.

Intended audience

This guide targets leaders who are responsible for accelerating cloud transformation. Following these recommendations will help minimize risks and maximize value.

Targeted business outcomes

The Engage the Organization phase of the AWS OCA 6-Point Framework contributes to the following outcomes:

  • Value realization and return on investment (ROI): This OCA phase focuses on implementing strategies that speed up cloud adoption. These strategies align with both the overall cloud plan and business goals to ensure maximum value from cloud investments.

  • Transformational leadership: Leadership is aligned and mobilized for accelerating cloud transformation.

  • Cloud acceleration: The OCA workstream establishes the direction, metrics, governance, and program budget required to quickly mobilize resources to accelerate cloud transformation.

  • Organizational alignment: The OCA workstream works with leaders to set clear business objectives and goals, and aligns organizational entities and performance levers.

  • Engaged workforce: The OCA workstream creates strategies to actively involve employees in the cloud transformation process, and to develop their digital acumen and capabilities.

  • Future-ready workforce: The OCA workstream modernizes roles and enables the workforce to work autonomously and drive key cloud-enabled capabilities.

By effectively implementing the Engage the Organization activities, organizations can realize tangible improvements in speed, agility, innovation, and business value from their cloud transformation.

About the OCA 6-Point Framework guides

This guide is part of a set of publications that cover the OCA 6-Point Framework, which is a programmatic and evidence-based organizational change adoption framework.

The content set includes a comprehensive set of templates, guidelines, supporting artifacts, assessments, accelerators, and tools that are designed to accelerate cloud transformation. We recommend that you start with the overview to understand the framework and its six points, and then consult the following individual guides for detailed discussions of each point.

  1. Mobilize Team

  2. Align Leaders

  3. Envision the Future

  4. Engage the Organization (this guide)

  5. Enable Capacity

  6. Make Culture Change Stick

For a comprehensive set of cloud transformation strategies, guidance, and resources, see Accelerating cloud transformation.