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Change Request and Implementation

Author: Sophia

what's covered
This lesson reviews gaining change approval and implementation by focusing primarily on:

Table of Contents

1. Change Request

When a change to a project is required, a project manager prepares a change request. This can revise how a project is defined, planned, or managed.

Elements of a change request include:

  • Change Description: Concise, and clearly describes the change
  • Why the change has occurred: Detail the cause for change
  • Change impact statement: A list of all parts affected by the change
  • Implementation plan: How the current project will adapt to the change
hint
The change impact statement must contain ALL aspects of the project that are affected by a change such as deliverables, resources, scope, requirements, schedule, and budget.

term to know
Change Request
The formal document that details additional resources needed to implement project change and provides the basis for approval to implement a change to a project.

2. Implementing Approved Change

The plan to implement change must include any shift in resources or tasks and any change in performance expectations. This should also include how the project manager will modify the schedule, budget, and scope.

Once the change request plan is written, the project manager must seek sign-off approval from the project sponsor and any key stakeholders. Only after approval should the project manager begin implementing the plan and modifying any project documents affected.

In order to implement a change, the project manager might need to realign resources and adjust task assignments to account for the additional work required by the change. The project manager must communicate openly to the team about these changes since they can be disruptive.

hint
Holding a team meeting is best so the information is delivered to everyone at the same time in the same format.

The project manager should walk through the changes with the team, explaining how team members and task will be impacted. Stakeholders can be updated about the change plan through the status report process.

think about it
QUESTION: Once approval is gained, can you think about which documents may need revising?

ANSWER: Documents such as scope, schedule, and budget may need to be re-base lined to reflect the change.

Once the implementation plan is explained to the stakeholders and the team, changes are documented, and the project manager can begin monitoring and tracking the changes. Tasks and activities associated with changes should be watched closely for issues since it might be necessary to make adjustments to the plan or explain the plan in greater detail.

summary
This lesson explained how to gain approval for a change request. One significant step in the process is a change impact statement, which lists all aspects impacted by a pending change. Once approval is gained, the project manager can clearly communicate and implement the approved change by re-base lining documents such as scope, budget, and schedule.

Source: This work adapted from Sophia Author Jeff Carroll.

Terms to Know
Change Request

The formal document that details additional resources needed to implement project change and provides the basis for approval to implement a change to a project.