Project Management Framework
Execution - Change Management
The purpose of a Change Management Plan is to protect the achievability of the approved project scope. When the original project scope was defined, assumptions and agreements were made as to what the project was going to produce. If the deliverables change during the project, the estimates for cost, effort and duration may no longer be valid. However, if the project sponsor agrees to include the requested changes into the project scope, the cost, effort hours and/or duration should be modified to reflect this additional work. This new cost, effort or duration now becomes the approved target. It is imperative that the processes defined in the change management plan identify how change requests are recognized and reconciled, and ultimately, the plan must be rigorously executed.
For Best Results
- Make sure project stakeholders buy into the Change Management Plan or it may not be used. A typical problem is that the stakeholders may not understand the roles of sponsor, team members, and project manager. They need to know how change requests are managed and ultimately, who has authority to approve them. Even if the stakeholders don't use the plan, the project manager should.
- Make the Change Management Plan readily accessible to the project team members, and ensure that team members know how and when to use the Change Request Form. Issues impacting scope that cannot be resolved through the Issue Management Plan need to be promoted to the change management process. Likewise, if change requests escalate to disputes, plan for a mechanism to elevate the request to issue or dispute management
- Scale the Change Management Plan to fit the complexity, duration, and size of the project. For example, in smaller projects the project manager may be given discretion to approve small scope change requests under some threshold of effort hours rather than bringing every request to the sponsor for resolution. Larger projects may require an automated tool for tracking changes throughout the project planning management artifacts (i.e., Scheduling and Task Plans, Staffing Plan, etc.).
- Provide enough detail to determine cost, effort and duration estimates in the change impact analysis. Effective change management is the art of providing the sponsor (or approving authority for change requests) enough information to understand the impact the requested change has on project scope.
- Actively monitor the Change Request Log. This should be done weekly regardless of the size of the project. Use this time to ensure progress is being made on all change requests and that the Change Request Log is updated.
- Add an activity to the Scheduling and Task Plans for the analysis of any open change requests that are assigned to team members.
- Add additional work activities to the Scheduling and Task Plans if the resolution of a change request requires additional work.
- Notify stakeholders and project team members of resolution of change requests.
- Document the resolution or course of action in the Change Request Log. If the sponsor does not agree to the change request, then the request should be closed as "not approved."
- Enter modified tasks in the project schedule and modify baseline project planning artifacts based on change request resolution.
Also Consider
- Freezing change requests. There comes a time in a project where it just doesn't pay to make additional changes or absorb additional requirements. This is the time to gain a commitment for a change freeze. The freeze can be implemented at various times, but usually done no later than the beginning of testing. At this point, the team needs to focus on testing the current solution.
- Holding change requests that come out of user acceptance testing on a backlog and dealing with them as enhancement requests after the solution is implemented.
- Determining in advance (i.e., in the Change Management Plan) a threshold for impact on the scope that may be within the discretion of the project manager to approve. For example, if the impact on project cost, effort and duration falls below less than 20 hours, and the project will still be completed within the agreed budget, effort and duration, the project manager may approve the change request.
- Holding everyone accountable for the change management process. Many change management processes work well at the project manager level, but get compromised by team members. A common problem occurs when stakeholders work directly with team members and request changes. The bottom line is that everyone needs to be held accountable to the Change Management Plan - team members and stakeholders, as well as the project manager and project sponsor.
- Rejecting the temptation to use estimating contingency for scope changes. Often the project manager feels pressure to use this contingency to absorb additional requirements. The estimating contingency reflects the project's plan to mitigate schedule delays when activities take longer than expected. All scope change requests need to go through the approval process, and if approved, cost, effort and duration will be adjusted. Do not use the estimating contingency to absorb extra work.
- Identifying a dispute resolution process that addresses change requests that cannot be resolved by the Change Management Plan. Projects usually fail as a result of two problems. Either not enough time was spent defining the project or the Change Management Plan was not rigorously executed. But first things first - without proper scope definition, any Change Management Plan will be futile. Evoking the Change Management Plan implies that a change is outside the scope agreed to in the project Charter. If that scope is unclear or leaves room for interpretation, then parties may find themselves in dispute whether a change request is in or out of scope.
Related Links:
Change Management Plan
Change Management Plan Examples
Change Management Plan Template
Change Request Form
Change Request Log
Checklists