24 Change Control Flashcards
What is the purpose of change control in a linear and iterative lifecycle?
Change control manages all requests to change the baseline of a project.
What does managing a change request in a structured way enable?
The project sponsor and stakeholders to understand the impact on the outcomes of baselined work and influence the decision on how to respond, considering objectives and risk appetite.
What is the definition of change control?
The process through which all requests to change the approved baseline of a project, programme, or portfolio are captured, evaluated and then approved, rejected, or deferred.
How are requests made?
Change Requests (CRs) can be made by internal or external stakeholders, documenting relevant information on the nature of the change and reasoning for it. The request should be logged in the change register, given a unique identifier and assigned an owner to evaluate.
What happens in the Initial Evaluation?
The owner decides whether the change should be evaluated in detail or rejected at this stage, looking to determine its necessity, feasibility, potential impact on the project and the rationale for raising.
What is the Detailed Evaluation?
The owner considers the impacts on the project baseline success criteria and on work already completed. Other projects and business as usual should be considered.
What is the Recommendation and Decision Phase?
The results of the evaluation are presented to the sponsor and/or wider governance board for decision. The options are defer, reject, or approve.
What happens in Updating Plans and Implementation?
The status of change request is updated in the change log. The sponsor makes sure the decision is communicated. If the change request is approved, baselined plans and budgets are updated, including the business case if required, and any new risks raised are added to the risk register. Actions are implemented in line with the revised plan and monitored through to completion. Configuration records are updated to reflect the latest version of project documents incorporating the change.
What does communicating change look like?
All updated roles and responsibilities, documentation and plans are communicated to stakeholders.
What elements can a change request impact?
Benefits, Scope, Schedules, Costs, Quality, Resources, Risks, Stakeholders
What are the key points to consider in justifying change?
- What areas of the project will be affected? How will they be affected? Does the project have the skills and resources needed to handle it?
- Does the project have sufficient budget in the contingency budget to draw down or would further funding be needed?
- If additional resources are needed, does the business have the capacity and the capability to source them? Would external help be needed?
- Can the project maintain it’s delivery time? If not, will the project outcomes still be of use to the business?
- Are the benefits listed in the business case going to be materially impacted in any way? If so, how and what does that mean for both the project and the business?
Why should the PMP be updated post-approval?
So that the team are not working from old information; there is no confusion about needs; if there is less change the solution will not be fit for purpose; and benefits are more likely to be delivered.
What is a stakeholder consequence that could arise should the PMP not be correctly updated?
Stakeholders could become disengaged through the loss in confidence of the project team’s ability to deliver the project’s outcomes to the agreed success criteria. This could have a knock on impact on other change activity happening in the business or on business as usual.
Stages of the change control process
-Request
-Initial evaluation
-Detailed evaluation
-Recommendation
—Update plans and implement (including communicating change)
