A Short Guide on Controlling Changes in Project Management

A Short Guide on Controlling Changes in Project Management
By Jason Rich, Northwest University

Changes will happen, it is a fact of projects. Changes can happen because the customer requests something different, or because you have a better understanding of needs as things progress. Changes can also happen as markets change, or as technology changes. There will be change, so get used to it. All changes should be run through the change control process that was established in the project management plan. If the project is big enough, then a formal panel of stakeholders may be assigned to a change control board. Their job will be to analyze the change requests and determine the impact of the change on: schedule, cost, risk, quality, and staffing. Sometimes the change control board will delegate the authority to approve certain changes back to the project manager. For example, if the change is under a capped cost or if the change will not impact the over all schedule. In smaller projects you may need to go directly to the sponsor and they will act as the change control board. Remember that it is your job to deliver the approved scope, nothing more, nothing less. If there is something that will change the approved scope then you must get approval.

Jason Rich was raised in Redmond, Washington. He has worked in facilities management primarily dealing in office furniture installation and office relocation. He got his start in the professional world as a cubical installer at Safeco Insurance and continued to build on his skills as the manager of an install group that was a vendor at Microsoft. Jason has had his hands in many projects and has an interesting ability to see the big picture, even when his role is just a small part of the plan.

Published originally on the Northwest University Project Management blog. Northwest University opened to students on October 1, 1934. It is a regionally accredited institution awarding associate, baccalaureate, and master’s degrees.

Note: Implicit permission was given to republish this post, as the article was not copyrighted.