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It’s normal for things to change as work moves along.

The work environment, requests from important people involved, or unforeseen problems could all potentially require tweaks to schedules, budgets, or what gets made. That’s where good change control in project management comes in.  

Change control in project management is the process that assists project leaders notice, assessing, approving, and correctly applying any necessary changes.

Implementing a strong change management process is important to keeping projects progressing according to plan, within budget, and delivering the expected results – even when adjustments are needed along the way.

Key Highlights

• Change control in project management is the process of systematically handling any necessary changes to a project’s schedule, budget, what’s included, or what gets made.
• Using change control in project management helps project leaders spot and assess the potential effects of changes to keep projects on track.
• The main steps of change control in project management include writing down change requests, figuring out how changes could impact things, getting approvals, and sharing decisions.  
• Dealing with risks and including important people involved are important parts of good change management.
• Templates, project planning materials, and change management tools support stronger change management.
• Best practices include carefully considering the impact of changes, thorough documentation, clear approvals, and communication. Paying attention to how changes may affect the project and properly managing them is key for dealing with unpredictable parts of projects.

What is Change Control in Project Management

Change control in project management refers to the formal process of systematically dealing with all changes that come up during a project. This includes changes to what the project covers, the schedule, the budget, or what gets made at the end. It’s about identifying changes being proposed or happening and managing them properly.

Good change control in project management is important for a project to succeed for a few reasons. It helps projects adjust to changing business needs and situations while minimizing problems with the timeline and budget. When changes aren’t managed well, it can easily throw off a project’s schedule and goals.  

Change control in project management sets up clear transparency around all proposed changes through a standard process to evaluate, approve, or reject changes through a board overseeing changes. This reduces project risks.

Tracking all changes through documentation also helps avoid redoing work from recurring change requests. Carefully considering impacts early on plans better for potential risks or issues from changes. This improves the chances changes approved will succeed.

Paying attention to potential impacts and dealing sensibly with needed changes is key for keeping projects progressing positively, even when things change along the way.

Want to anticipate and mitigate risks before they impact your project? Learn more about powerful preventative tools.

Key Elements of Change Control in Project Management

Some key elements involved in any change control process typically include documentation procedures, a change control board, a change log to trace changes, and templates for standardizing change requests.

Documentation procedures involve how teams submit and document proposed changes for review. A change control board approves or denies proposed changes after conducting impact assessments.

A change log centrally tracks all approved and rejected changes for reference. Templates standardize how teams submit and provide details for changes to simplify the evaluation process.

In subsequent sections, we will explore each step of the change control process in more detail along with how tools and best practices support successful change management. But first, let’s examine the overall process at a higher level.

The Change Control Process

Being able to clearly distinguish between different types of changes is the first step in effective change identification.

There are generally two categories – unplanned changes and requested changes.

Unplanned changes refer to events outside a team’s direct control like weather delays, staff turnover, or technology issues. Requested changes come from internal or external stakeholders who submit formal change requests.

Change requests are the typical way changes enter the control process. Teams should use a standardized change request form template to record necessary details about each proposed change in a consistent manner.

The template collects information like the requested change description and reason, potential impact, and suggested implementation approach. This provides reviewers with the context needed to evaluate change feasibility and priority.

How can you ensure your project adapts smoothly to necessary changes? Learn to systematically evaluate modifications’ true impacts.

Change Impact Analysis

Once a change request is received, its implications must be thoroughly assessed. Project managers coordinate impact analyses to carefully evaluate how a change could influence scope, timelines, costs, quality, and risks if implemented.

They consider both potential benefits the change may offer as well as drawbacks. Scope impact looks at how the requested change adjusts functional or system requirements.

Schedule impact estimated timeline adjustments. Cost impact determines revised budget needs. This due diligence informs the change review and approval process.

Change Evaluation

Following impact assessments, a change control board meeting takes place. This committee, usually consisting of key project stakeholders and managers, makes the critical decision to approve, reject, or defer each pending change request.

Relevant considerations include alignment with business strategic priorities, compliance with budget and schedule constraints based on the impact analysis, and feasibility of completing necessary transition work. The board documents its ratification of approved changes.

Thoroughly assess the implications on scope, schedule, costs, quality, and risks before a decision is made.

Change Documentation

For approved changes, a formal change authorization known as a change order is generated. This contract-like form spells out adjusted project details and obtains necessary signoffs.

All changes, whether approved or rejected, are also recorded in a centralized change log for tracking purposes. Effective documentation provides an audit trail and helps communicate change decisions, new baselines, and pending additional transition work needed.

Risk and Stakeholder Management

Risk management plays an important supporting role in change control. Any change carries risks that must be mitigated to some degree. During impact assessments, project teams evaluate potential risks the change could introduce, such as delays, budget overruns, or quality issues.

They also assess the risks of not implementing certain changes. This risk analysis allows for proactive risk response planning like adjusting contingency reserves or adding preventative controls. Risk management enhances change success rates and overall project resilience to disruption.

Stakeholder Management

Stakeholder buy-in and clear communications are equally crucial to change control. Stakeholders may propose changes, provide input during impact reviews, and need detailed communication regarding final change decisions.

Project managers ensure stakeholder expectations are managed appropriately throughout the process. Status updates disclose potential and definite change impacts for transparency.

Ongoing stakeholder involvement through meetings or shared documentation systems helps socialize changes and secure necessary approvals. It eases transition work for implementing approved changes.

Learn how to evaluate the importance of change implications in a project. Analyze minute details to ensure success.

Project Planning and Templates

Robust project planning establishes the foundation needed for systematic change control. During initiation, detailed planning defines the project baseline – an approved scope description, schedule milestones, budget, and quality standards.

This baseline forms the basis against which future changes will be evaluated and approved.

Additionally, comprehensive planning reduces unforeseen issues arising later to introduce fewer changes. Strong change control depends on thorough upfront planning of the project framework to maintain.

Templates

Standardized templates further streamline change control processes. A change request form captures all details required from those proposing changes in a consistent format. This simplifies impact assessment and decision-making.

A change management plan formalizes the entire change control methodology, procedures, responsibility assignments, and integrates with overall project documentation. Templates reduce redundancies and reinforce governance across the project lifecycle.

Implementing and Managing Change Control in Project Management

Timeline Adjustment

Upon approval, changes must be implemented by modifying project schedules. Project managers use scheduling softwares to easily shift dependent work based on start and end date changes as needed.

Adjusted timelines are distributed to keep all team members synchronized on current deliverable due dates and budgets.

Resource allocation

Approved changes may require adjustments to assigned personnel or the availability of tools/equipment. Managers reallocate team members or request additional hiring according to impact analyses. Ensuring resources match approved changes helps seamless implementation.

Status updates

• Approval process
• Governance
• Procedures

Transparency in change implementation is key. Regular status meetings and reporting disclose progress to stakeholders.

Any issues warranting reevaluation through the approval process are identified and readdressed. Consistent governance over ongoing procedures maintains structure and efficiency for change adoption.

Change Control in Project Management – Best Practices

Impact Assessment

Thorough impact analyses evaluating all potential consequences of changes are imperative. Considering scope, timeline, budget, quality, and risk factors leads to well-informed approval decisions. Quantitative data strengthens assessments over vague assumptions.

Approval Process

A standardized approval workflow through a designated change board provides structure and accountability. Consistent procedures maintain fair, consistent evaluations of each change request’s merits.

Communication

Frequent, transparent communication informs stakeholders of change decisions and potential impacts. Meetings and documentation systems keep all parties notified of project variances to secure buy-in and prevent issues.

Documentation

Maintaining a detailed audit trail of all changes crossed reference to original project documentation supports future reference, compliance, and demonstrates authorized evolution.

Budget and Cost Change Management

Prudent change control in project management incorporates flexible contingency planning and cost/funding reallocation to successfully implement approved changes within financial constraints.

Adhering to these practices yields optimal results from changes and safeguards progress toward objectives.

Change Control Software Tools

Dedicated change control software streamlines documentation, approval workflows, impact assessments, and status visibility. Integrated options avoid isolated manual efforts susceptible to human error.

Key capabilities to look for  

Look for flexibility to customize processes. Templates should expedite request submissions and reviews. Resource and task scheduling supports timeline adjustments. Reporting gives oversight into execution and outstanding changes.

Example tools

Microsoft Project supports change management capabilities. Jira Software facilitates submissions and board approval voting. Changepoint offers specialized functionality and cloud-based team collaboration. BlueAnt’s ClearScan combines request logging, impact analysis, and approval routing.

The right software selects boost productivity, standardization, and transparency around change control practices. Integrations maintain synchronization as changes propagate across workstreams.

Conclusion

As we’ve discussed, properly implementing change control in project management is important for projects trying to navigate uncertain situations. The process acts like the glue guiding projects through changes while still reaching important milestones.

Following tested practices such as impact assessments, clear documentation, and overseeing change approval supports control throughout a project’s progression. Choosing the right collaborative tools also streamlines processes for more efficiency.

Change control in project management establishes a structure for reasonably and methodically dealing with changes. It helps teams keep moving ahead positively despite variations. Including stakeholders and dealing with risks also counters how changes might affect things.  

Overall, a well-thought-out change management system protects projects from uncontrolled scope increases or delays because of unmanaged changes.

It ensures careful consideration and oversight of all adjustments. For any project leader, building strong change management foundations is worth the initial effort.