1.0Overview
1.1
Definition
The Change Control process is a formal set of activities via which a material change is formally authorized for an active project, typically affecting requirements such as scope, cost, schedule, resources, or agreed quality standards. Project leadership documents Change Requests to reflect approved changes that have been requested.
1.2
Objective
The objective of the Change Control process is to capture changes that have material impact on the project. A formal Change Request is prepared when a requested change affects the project’s baselines for scope, schedule, cost, resources or agreed quality standards, as defined in the Project Charter. If the change does not affect the project baselines for scope, schedule, cost, resources or agreed quality standards, preparation of this deliverable is unnecessary.
1.3
Inputs
The Project Charter, Project Work Plan, and all relevant Status Report materials serve as key inputs to Change Control process.
1.4
Roles
All Change Requests are formally documented by the Project Leader.
Change Requests having a material impact on scope, budget or timeframes must be reviewed and approved by the Project Sponsor.
The Change Control Log is maintained by an assigned Project Team member.
For strategic projects, any approved Change Request that impacts timing of a key milestone should be communicated to the MS Department to ensure appropriate updates are made to the Journey Map.
1.5
Users
Project Leaders use change control to capture and track change requests, understand the amount and scope of changes and their degree of impact on the project
Stakeholders and sponsors make change requests throughout the life of the project
2.0Completion Process
Section 1: Analyze Type of Change
Over the course of a project’s lifecycle, a Project Leader may be faced with the requirement to update the project’s baselines, as defined in the Project Charter. Even in the best-planned and well-managed projects, the complexities associated with project estimation, planning and delivery may require making mid-stream adjustments to a project’s baselines. While ideally the use of the Change Control process will be minimal, this process ensures that all change requests
are handled in a rigorous and systematic manner in alignment with the other supporting activities of the KNPC Project Methodology.
The first step in applying the Change Control process is to analyze the type of change being requested. For example, the requested change may involve updates to the project’s baselines for scope, schedule, cost, resources or agreed quality standards.
Section 2: Analyze Impact on Baseline Estimate
After identifying the type of change, the impact of the change must be analyzed against the baseline estimates. This will help project leadership understand the magnitude of the change, as well as support the alignment of revised expectations with senior management.
When analyzing the impact of Change Request, project leadership must keep in mind the project’s key drivers and critical success factors in order to ensure that the change does not materially impact the project’s ability to deliver upon its value proposition. Where this is found to be the case, project leadership may be required to re-visit the type of change being requested (e.g. timeframes are found to be inflexible due to tight delivery milestones, but additional resources can be made available to support work completion).
Section 3: Ensure Change is authorised by Project Sponsor
Since the Project Charter represents a commitment to deliver between the Project Leader and Project Sponsor, any material changes to the established baselines must be reviewed and approved by the Project Sponsor. This ensures that the Project Sponsor is aligned behind the requested changes, and is able to support messaging of the changes to senior management and the wider organization (where required).
Section 4: Document Change in Change Control Log
Upon confirmation of sign-off of the Project Sponsor, the change is officially logged in the project’s Change Control Log by the assigned project team member. In addition, the re-base lined changes are reflected in the Project Charter and Project Work Plan, including official release of updated versions, including description of the requirement for the specific change.
Section 5: Maintain Log throughout the Lifecycle of the Project
The Change Control Log and supporting Change Requests must be maintained throughout the lifecycle of the project so that they can be referenced at any future point in time. This also serves knowledge sharing purposes, as documented Change Requests are often useful sources of lessons learned for future projects.
3.0Additional Considerations
The Change Control process is most useful during the Design, Implement and Monitor and Operate stages.
When applied as part of a suite of effective project management processes, the Change Control process should be viewed in a positive light through its promotion of transparency and stakeholder alignment throughout a project’s lifecycle. The Change Control process is meant to minimize surprises in project’s delivering against scope, schedule and budgetary commitments.