AWS Organizational Change Acceleration (OCA) 6-Point Framework – 3. Envision the Future - AWS Prescriptive Guidance
Intended audienceTargeted business outcomesAbout the OCA 6-Point Framework guides

AWS Organizational Change Acceleration (OCA) 6-Point Framework – 3. Envision the Future

Amazon Web Services (contributors)

January 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.

Envision the Future phase of the AWS OCA Framework.

The third point, Envision the Future, helps create a change acceleration strategy and plan to communicate, train, and engage the employees of the organization in their cloud adoption journey. It contains seven subpoints:

  • 3.1 Change strategy and plan. Summarize the strategy and plan for full change acceleration across workstreams. Ensure alignment and understanding across workstream leads and leadership.

  • 3.2 Communications strategy and plan. Promote awareness, understanding, and desire for the cloud future state.

  • 3.3 Engagement strategy and plan. Engage key stakeholders to enable the organization to move to a defined cloud future state..

  • 3.4 Training strategy and plan. Make sure that identified stakeholders obtain the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to implement future cloud processes.

  • 3.5 Risk mitigation strategy and plan. Proactively identify and eliminate or control people-related risks associated with the cloud future state.

  • 3.6 Sponsor roadmap. Make sure that sponsors and leaders are aligned on cloud objectives and are held accountable for taking action to reduce risk and accelerate cloud adoption.

  • 3.7 Sustainability plan. Support the desired future-state behaviors and organizational structures beyond the initial phase of cloud adoption.

This guide discusses each subpoint of Envision the Future 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 Envision the Future phase of the AWS OCA 6-Point Framework contributes to the following outcomes:

  • Organizational alignment: Envisioning the future establishes an ongoing partnership between organizational structures, business operations, processes, workforce, and culture. This enables rapid adaptation to market conditions and the ability to capitalize on new opportunities.

  • Cloud acceleration: Envisioning the future identifies and minimizes impacts to people, culture, roles, and organizational structure when moving from the current state to a future state. This accelerates the adoption of new ways of working.

  • Cloud fluency: Envisioning the future builds digital acumen to leverage the cloud effectively and to accelerate business outcomes.

  • Transformational leadership: Envisioning the future mobilizes leaders to drive transformational change and to enable outcome-focused, cross-functional decision-making.

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 (this guide)

  4. Engage the Organization

  5. Enable Capacity

  6. Make Culture Change Stick

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