Essential Elements of a Project Change Control System

At the heart of managing project changes well is a project change control system. The specifics of project change control systems can vary depending on industry, organization, and project importance, but there are essential principles, guidelines, and components that every change control system should possess.

Principles

Effective project change control systems follow these key principles:

• Any proposed scope change is documented, evaluated, and approved before it is implemented.
• The appropriate stakeholders are involved in the evaluation and approval process.
• Any change request is thoroughly assessed for impact to other project critical success factors, especially project schedule and budget.
• The appropriate management level approves any change request before it is implemented.
• All project changes are documented and communicated to all stakeholders
• Any stakeholder is permitted to submit a project change request
• The rules are firm, the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and the workflow process meets the needs of all stakeholders.

Guidelines

In addition to the principles we reviewed, these guidelines should be considered for an effective project change control system:

• Re-baseline The project plan should be updated to reflect the acceptance of any change to the critical success factors. A new performance baseline should be established.
• Multiple paths The change control system should consider multiple process paths based on estimated impact of the change request and the thresholds negotiated with senior management. This allows the appropriate stakeholders and management levels to be involved when needed and at the right time.
• Focus on "buy-in" Especially on proposed scope changes, make sure the right stakeholders are involved, understand the need and impact of the proposed change, and agree to the action plans before proceeding.
• Aligned with contract If your project involves contractual arrangements, make sure the project's change control process is aligned with the change control process used to manage the contract with the vendor(s).

Components

There are no requirements from a technology perspective when it comes to project change control systems. They can leverage manual processes or utilize enterprise software packages. The key is that the following components are present, understood, and utilized:

tip

Capture completion criteria for any scope-related change request

• Change Request Form This form is used to capture the pertinent details of the proposed change and the key information resulting from the impact assessment. Recommended form sections and data fields are listed in Table 11.2.

  Table 11.2. Recommended Change Request Form Sections and Fields

  Section	Data Fields
  Identification	Change Request Number (ID Date Received Date Revised Project Number (ID) Project Name Organization/Client Reference
  Requester Information	Requestor Name Organization/Department Contact Info (email, phone, etc.)
  Change Information	Description of Change Request Reason for Change (Issue, Benefits, etc.) Priority
  Impact Assessment	Stakeholders Impacted Deliverables Impacted Required Work Tasks Est. Effort Impact (Hours) Est. Cost Impact Est. Schedule Impact Expected Benefits Completion Criteria
  Status Information	Status (Submitted, Assigned, Evaluated, Pending Decision, Closed) Assigned To Assigned Date Decision (Approved, Deferred, Rejected) Decision Date Target Implementation Date/Milestone
  Approvals	Approval Signatures

• Unique Identification Number When a change request is submitted for evaluation, a unique identification number should be assigned to facilitate better communications and tracking.
• Change Request Tracking Log The tracking log communicates summary information on all project change requests. Minimal information will include identification, impact summary, and current status. Spreadsheets and databases are common tools for tracking logs.
• Change Control Board (CCB) The minimum set of project stakeholders who need to review and approve any change request impacting the project's critical success factors.

Ultimately, the determination of any change request is a consensus-based, cost-benefit decision made by the stakeholders accountable for the project.