Explanation Integrated change control involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle. The three main objectives of integrated change control are:
· Influencing the factors that lead to beneficial changes. To ensure that changes are beneficial and that a project is successful, project managers and their teams must make tradeoffs among key project dimensions, such as scope, time, cost, and quality.
· Determining that a change has occurred. To determine that a change has occurred, project managers must know the status of key project areas at all times during the life cycle of the project. In addition, project managers must communicate significant changes to senior managers and key stakeholders, who need to be informed of important information such as low project productivity, long execution time, high cost, or poor quality.
· Managing changes as and when they occur. Managing change is a key job of project managers and their team members. It is important that project managers exercise discipline in managing their projects to help minimize the number of changes.
Important inputs to the integrated change control process include project plans, performance reports, and change requests. Important outputs include project plan updates, corrective actions, and
documentation of lessons learned during the project. Exhibit 2-3 provides a schematic representation of the integrated change control process.
Exhibit 2-3: Integrated change control process
The project plan provides the baseline for identifying and controlling project changes. For example, the project plan includes a section describing the work to be performed as part of a project. This section of the plan describes the key deliverables, products, and quality requirements for the project.
The schedule section lists the planned dates for completing key deliverables, and the budget section provides the planned cost for the deliverables. The project team must focus on delivering the work as planned. If changes are made during project execution, the project plans must be revised.
Performance reports provide status information on project execution. The main purpose of these reports is to alert the project manager and team of potential problems related to the project. They must decide if corrective actions are needed, the best course of action, and the best time to take this action. For example, suppose one of the key deliverables in a project plan is installation of a new Web server for the project. If one of the project team members reports problems coordinating the purchase and installation of this Web server, the project manager should assess the impact of the problems on the output of the project. If a late installation will cause problems in other areas of the project, the project manager should take necessary actions to help the team member resolve the problem. If the situation is inevitable, the project manager should alert the other team members who will also be impacted by the changes in the schedule. The project manager should also look at the overall progress of the project. If the project manager identifies a recurring trend of missing deadlines, he or she should alert key stakeholders and negotiate a later completion date for the project.
Change requests are common and occur in different forms. They can be oral or written, formal or informal. For example, the team member responsible for installing a Web server seeks the project manager’s approval for the purchase of a server with a faster processor than planned, but at the same cost. Because this change is positive and has no negative effects on the project, the project manager might verbally approve the same. Nevertheless, it is important to document this change to avoid any problems in the future. The team member should update the section of the scope management plan with the new specifications for the server.
Remember that many change requests can have a major impact on a project. For example, customers changing their minds about the number of Web servers they want as part of a project will definitely impact the project’s scope and cost. Such a change might also affect the project’s schedule. More significant changes must be written, and a formal review process must be arranged to analyze and decide on implementing these changes.
In addition to updating project plans and taking corrective actions, documenting lessons learned is an important output of the overall change control process. The project manager and team should share the knowledge they acquired while working on the project. There should be some documentation of these lessons learned in change control and discussing them at an open meeting is also an effective way to share this information.
Change control on IT projects
A widely held view of IT project management from the 1950s to the 1980s was that the project team should strive to achieve the results within the planned time and budget. However, it was observed that project teams could rarely meet project goals set originally at the start of the projects, especially when the projects involved new technologies. Stakeholders rarely agreed on the scope of the project or the end product. In addition, time and cost estimates created early in a project were rarely accurate.
Today, most project managers and senior managers realize that project management is a process of constant communication and negotiation about project objectives and stakeholder expectations. This view assumes that changes can be made throughout the project life cycle and recognizes that changes are often beneficial to projects. For example, if a project team member discovers a new hardware or software technology that can help meet the customers’ requirement for less time and money, the project team and key stakeholders can make changes to the project.
All projects undergo changes, and managing them is a key issue in project management, especially for IT projects. Many IT projects involve the use of hardware and software that is updated frequently.
For example, in a project, the initial plan for the Web server specifications might have to be revised because of the availability of a much-improved version at the same cost. This example illustrates a positive change. In contrast, if the manufacturer of the server specified in the project plan goes out of business, it results in a negative change. IT project managers must build some flexibility into their project plans and execution to accommodate such changes. Customers for IT projects must allow for meeting project objectives in different ways.
Even if project managers, teams, and customers are flexible, it is important that projects use a formal change control system. To plan for managing changes, a project must use a good change control system.
Change control system
A change control system is a formal, documented process that describes when and how to change project documents. It also describes the personnel authorized to make changes, the necessary
documentation, and the automated or manual tracking systems the project will use. A change control system often includes a change control board (CCB), configuration management, and a process for communicating changes.
A CCB is a formal group that approves or rejects project changes. A CCB primarily provides guidelines for preparing change requests, evaluating change requests, and managing the
implementation of approved changes. An organization can assign key stakeholders for the entire organization on this board, and a few members could rotate based on the unique needs of each project. Creating a formal board and a process for managing change results in better-integrated change control.
Configuration management is another important technique for integrated change control.
Configuration management ensures that the descriptions of the project’s products are correct and complete. Configuration management focuses on the management of technology by identifying and controlling the functional and physical design characteristics of products and their support
documentation. Members of the project team, often called configuration management specialists, are designated to perform configuration management for large projects. These specialists’ key job is to identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of the project’s products, control any changes to such characteristics, record and report the changes, and audit the products to verify that they conform to requirements.
Another factor in change control is communication. Project managers should use written and oral performance reports to help identify and manage project changes. In addition to formal reports, some project managers hold stand-up meetings every morning or once a week, depending on the nature of the project. The goal of a stand-up meeting is to quickly communicate what is most important on the project. Standing keeps meetings short and forces all attendees to focus on the most important matters related to the project.
Why is good communication critical to success? An important aspect of project change is to ensure all team members are aware of the latest project information. The project manager integrates all project changes to ensure the project executes as planned. The project manager and the team must develop a system for notifying everyone affected by a change in a timely manner. E-mail and the World Wide Web make it easier to disseminate the latest information. Using special project management software also helps project managers track and communicate project changes.
As described earlier, project management is a process of constant communication and negotiation.
Project managers must plan for changes and use appropriate tools and techniques, such as a change control board, configuration management, and effective communication. It is helpful to define procedures for making timely decisions on minor changes, use performance reports to help identify and manage changes, and use software to assist in planning, updating, and controlling projects. The following list describes suggestions for managing integrated change control.
· View project management as a process of constant communication and negotiation.
· Plan for change.
· Establish a formal change control system, including a CCB.
· Use good configuration management.
· Define procedures for making timely decisions on minor changes.
· Use performance reports to help identify and manage change.
· Use project management and other software to help manage and communicate changes.
Project managers must also be strong leaders to steer their projects to successful completion. Project managers must delegate part of their work to team members and focus on providing overall
leadership for the project. Remember, to lead the teams and the organization to success, project managers must focus on the big picture and perform project integration management well.
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