Changes to projects are inevitable and it is a rare client who will not request a change at some point during a project. But the challenge for a project manager is to implement a change process in such a way that the project schedule or budget are not impacted or, when this is unavoidable, that the over-run in time or funds is acceptable to, and agreed with, the client.
In order to control and manage change within a project there is certain basic information that must be fully documented – the what's, who's and when's:
· what items were changed
· what items were added
· what items were removed
· what is the impact on the rest of the project
· who requested to change
· who approved the change
· who made the change
· when was the change made
Because change is so commonplace and so frequent in projects, most organisations dealing with large or complex projects will choose to implement a formal change management process to help with managing the information associated with each change request.
With tools that can assist with managing changes, the whole process becomes simpler to deal with and is more likely to result in a successful outcome and a satisfied client at the end of the project. The best processes and tools provide good resource impact features which assess human resources, budgets and time. They also ensure that changes are communicated, reviewed and approved efficiently.
If change management is not performed efficiently then there can be a substantial administrative overhead that will eat into both the schedule of the project and the budget and eliminate any advantages of having a change management process. So it is important that the process is included in both the schedule and the budget but that it does not take a disproportionate amount of resources away from the main tasks of the project.
Automated change management tools can help to keep the effort required in proportion to the advantages and provide a central repository for prioritising, scheduling, tracking and reporting changes to all interested parties on the project.
It is important that both the process, and any tools used to implement the process, are clearly understood and adopted by all those involved in the project. Everyone should appreciate that the process is not designed to add another unnecessary layer of bureaucracy but to improve the final outcome of a project for everybody.
Every change management process should include the following basic features:
· A description of the tasks within the project that need to be controlled
· A list of project tasks that can be excluded from the change control process
· Details about who can request changes
· Information about how to request a change
· Details about who can approve a change request
· Information about the approval/rejection criteria
· A method of prioritising and recording changes request
· A tracking system
The steps required for a simple change management process might be as follows:
1. Project team member or end-user completes a change request form and logs the request with the change manager, who is often the project manager.
2. On a regular, scheduled basis, which would typically be a weekly meeting, those assigned to approve change requests discuss each request and then approve it, reject it or request more information. Each one of these three statuses should be accompanied by a description of the reasons for the decision and that should be communicated back to the requester.
3. Approved change requests are discussed with other members of the project team to determine the best way of implementing the change.
4. The schedule and/or budget is modified to incorporate the approved change.
In any change management process it is important to remember that it should be designed to prevent unnecessary changes but make those changes that are necessary (i.e. those with a solid business case) easy to control and include in the project schedule and budget.
Change management is just one area of project management best practice but by applying it throughout every project you will achieve the highest chance of success. Your can study best practices, including change management, on project management courses for all the internationally recognised methodologies such as PMP, Prince2 or APMP.
In order to control and manage change within a project there is certain basic information that must be fully documented – the what's, who's and when's:
· what items were changed
· what items were added
· what items were removed
· what is the impact on the rest of the project
· who requested to change
· who approved the change
· who made the change
· when was the change made
Because change is so commonplace and so frequent in projects, most organisations dealing with large or complex projects will choose to implement a formal change management process to help with managing the information associated with each change request.
With tools that can assist with managing changes, the whole process becomes simpler to deal with and is more likely to result in a successful outcome and a satisfied client at the end of the project. The best processes and tools provide good resource impact features which assess human resources, budgets and time. They also ensure that changes are communicated, reviewed and approved efficiently.
If change management is not performed efficiently then there can be a substantial administrative overhead that will eat into both the schedule of the project and the budget and eliminate any advantages of having a change management process. So it is important that the process is included in both the schedule and the budget but that it does not take a disproportionate amount of resources away from the main tasks of the project.
Automated change management tools can help to keep the effort required in proportion to the advantages and provide a central repository for prioritising, scheduling, tracking and reporting changes to all interested parties on the project.
It is important that both the process, and any tools used to implement the process, are clearly understood and adopted by all those involved in the project. Everyone should appreciate that the process is not designed to add another unnecessary layer of bureaucracy but to improve the final outcome of a project for everybody.
Every change management process should include the following basic features:
· A description of the tasks within the project that need to be controlled
· A list of project tasks that can be excluded from the change control process
· Details about who can request changes
· Information about how to request a change
· Details about who can approve a change request
· Information about the approval/rejection criteria
· A method of prioritising and recording changes request
· A tracking system
The steps required for a simple change management process might be as follows:
1. Project team member or end-user completes a change request form and logs the request with the change manager, who is often the project manager.
2. On a regular, scheduled basis, which would typically be a weekly meeting, those assigned to approve change requests discuss each request and then approve it, reject it or request more information. Each one of these three statuses should be accompanied by a description of the reasons for the decision and that should be communicated back to the requester.
3. Approved change requests are discussed with other members of the project team to determine the best way of implementing the change.
4. The schedule and/or budget is modified to incorporate the approved change.
In any change management process it is important to remember that it should be designed to prevent unnecessary changes but make those changes that are necessary (i.e. those with a solid business case) easy to control and include in the project schedule and budget.
Change management is just one area of project management best practice but by applying it throughout every project you will achieve the highest chance of success. Your can study best practices, including change management, on project management courses for all the internationally recognised methodologies such as PMP, Prince2 or APMP.
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