change management

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with change both

from the perspective of an organization and the individual.
 A somewhat ambiguous term, change management has at least three different
aspects, including: adapting to change, controlling change, and effecting
change. A proactive approach to dealing with change is at the core of all three
aspects. For an organization, change management means defining and
implementing procedures and/or technologies to deal with changes in the
business environment and to profit from changing opportunities. In an
information technology (IT) system environment, change management refers
to a systematic approach to keeping track of the details of the system (for
example, what operating system release is running on each computer and
which fixes have been applied).

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Successful adaptation to change is as crucial within an organization as it is in
the natural world. Just like plants and animals, organizations and the
individuals in them inevitably encounter changing conditions that they are
powerless to control. Adaptation might involve establishing a structured
methodology for responding to change requests in the business environment or
establishing coping mechanisms for responding to changes in the workplace
(such as new policies, or technologies).

Change management is an important part of project management. The project

manager must examine the proposed change and determine the effect the
change will have on the project as a whole before allowing the change request
to be implemented.

Change Control Systems

Integrated change control is the primary component project managers use to

manage proposed changes within a project. When a change is proposed,
the project managerwill filter the change into one of four change control
systems, depending on the primary area the change will affect. The four
change control systems are:

Scope change control system the proposed change directly affects

the project scope (this is the most common proposed change). A typical type
of scope change could be the project customer asks for additional items to
be included in the project scope that were not already approved as part of
the project scope. For example, the project customer asks to add a bay
window in a house construction project, or a customer asks the project
manager to include additional printing features in a software development
project. These items were not in the original project scope so they are
changes to the project scope.

Cost change control system the scope contents have not change, but
the price for the items in the scope have increased or decreased. For
 example, in a construction project the specific marble tile has increased in
cost. Because the customer still wants the specific marble tile, in this
scenario, the scope doesnt change but the project budget will need to be
increased to purchase the desired materials. It is possible that the
customer could decide to use a different type of tile to stay within budget,
but this different type of tile would change the already approved project
scope.

Schedule change control system the project schedule has been

affected somehow and events in the project are being delayed. For
example, the materials needed for the project are backordered from the
vendor. The project cannot move forward until the materials are delivered
so the project is delayed waiting for the materials. The costs of the
materials havent changed and the project scope hasnt changed, but the
project schedule is changing due to the delay. The project manager may be
able to rearrange events in the project so the project team can work on
other items while waiting for the vendor to deliver the materials. The project
manager may also recommend a scope change to choose a different, but
available material, to keep the project schedule moving.

Control change control system for projects where a contract is being

utilized with a vendor any changes to the project that affect the vendor will
flow through the contract change control system. Additions to the project
scope, costs of resources, and even the project schedule are defined in the
agreed-upon project scope. Any changes that affect the relationship
between the customer and the vendor move through the contract change
control system. The project manager may not oversee this particular change
control system, but defer to the organizations central contract or
procurement department.

A determination in any one of the change control system can directly affect the
other change control systems. All changes in a project will start with one of
these four change control systems.
 Integrated Change Control

Integrated change control examines the proposed change and determines its
effect on the entire project, not just the scope, schedule, costs, and contract.
Integrated change control examines nine project management knowledge
areas to determine what effect the change will have on each knowledge area:

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Scope any change, even if it doesnt appear to affect the project

scope, are always examined to see if the change may have any impact on
the project scope.

Schedule the project manager examines the proposed change to see

if the project schedule is affected. The project manager consider resource
availability, access to the job site, cash flow predictions, and deadlines in
the project schedule.

Costs the project budget is constantly monitored for changes, even

minor changes to the project budget can accumulate into significant cost
overruns within the project. Labor is typically the largest expense on a
project, so overages on completing project tasks can quick drive changes
to the project costs.
 Quality any change can affect the expected quality of the project work.
Any change, in particular changes to the project scope, can affect the
quality and must be monitored for defects and unacceptable project work.
Changes to the project schedule can affect project quality as the work force
may rush through assignments to meet the project schedule, but generate
defects in the rushed work.

Human resources changes to the project may require additional labor,

specialized labor, or if the project is delayed, the project manager may lose
key resources that have other assignments that now conflict with the
delayed project schedule. Changes to the project team, such as team
members leaving the organization, can also affect the entire project.

Communications changes within the project must be communicated to

the appropriate stakeholders at the appropriate time. When a change
happens the project manager must examine who needs to be informed of
the change and communicate the change in the best modality considering
the change implications.

Risk changes to the project can threaten the success of the project.
Minor changes can have a domino effect on the project and introduce
significant risks. All proposed changes must be examined for any possible
risks the change may introduce to the projects ability to reach its
objectives.

Procurement changes to the project can affect the procurement of the

project. Consider changes to the project scope and how the need for
additional materials, contract labor, or facilities can affect the need to
procure these goods and services.

Stakeholders changes to the project can positively or negatively affect

the stakeholders synergy, excitement, and support of the project. The
project manager must examine the potential affect the change may have on
the project stakeholders. Some changes can add or remove stakeholders
 to the project; for example, adding or removing elements to the project
scope can add or remove additional stakeholders to the project.

Integrated change control is a project management knowledge area that maps

the effect a change, action, or outcome in one area of the project can affect all
other areas of the project. When determining if a change is needed in the
project it is paramount to perform integrated change control.

Managing Unapproved Changes

Changes that do no flow through the defined change management system in a

project are unapproved changes. Unapproved changes are also known as
defects because they are defective to the approved project scope. When the
project team does not deliver exactly what was promised in the project scope
then the change is an exception to what was promised the project customer.

The most common unapproved change is when the project team makes an
error in their work. For example, a project team paints a house the wrong
color. This is an unapproved change from the project scope and it is a defect.
The project manager must now determine how to manage the change.
Integrated change control is needed because the change has happened and
the project manager must examine all areas of the project to determine what
effect the unapproved change has on the remainder of the project.

The most common outcome of an unapproved change is that the project team
must perform corrective actions and correct the error. Correct actions, such as
with repainting the house in this scenario, will likely change the project budget
and change the project schedule because of the rework, added materials, and
the delay of other activities that are contingent on the completion of painting
the house. In some cases, the project manager and project stakeholders may
work together and agree to change the project scope to match the defect. In
this instance, the project customer may agree to accept the house with the
different color paint for a reduction in project costs.

Gold plating is another example of an unapproved change. Gold plating

happens when the project is needing less funds than what is available for the
project, so the project manager decides to add features to the project scope to
consume all of the project budget. For example, a software development
project may have additional features added to the project to consume the
budget. Gold plating is a defect and is technically of poor quality because it is
not what the customer asked the project manager to deliver.

Some project managers take the stance of under promise and over deliver to
justify gold plating. The problem is that the customer hasnt requested or
approved the changes the project manager has added to the project. The
customer may be eagerly awaiting the project completion or needed the
balance of the budget for other liabilities in the organization.

With any unapproved changes the project manager should lead the team
through defect repair and corrective actions. This means rework and then
validating that the work was done properly the second time to ensure
acceptance of the project scope by the project customer.

Updating the Project Documents

When a change is proposed and managed in a project the project manager

must document the entire process. This begins with a change request; all
change requests must be in writing to ensure that the project manager and the
person requesting the change are in agreement about what the project
manager is to possibly include in the project.


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As the change request moves through the change control systems and
through integrated change control the project manager should document how
the change may affect each component of the project. This ensures that all
thoughts and insight are captured with the change request and can be useful
to communicate with the requestor the total cost, time needed, and outcome
the change request will bring to the project. If the change request is declined
this too is documented, communicated to the requestor, and kept as part of
the project archives.

If a change request is approved then there are several documents which may
need to be updated to reflect this change:

Change log all change requests and unapproved changes are entered
into a change log that the project manager maintains. This log becomes
part of the project records and archives.
 Scope if the scope is changed then the project scope statement is
updated to reflect the change.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) this visual representation of the project

scope may need to be updated to reflect the project scope if a scope
change has been approved.

WBS Dictionary the dictionary that clearly defines all elements of the
WBS may need to be updated to reflect the additions to the WBS and the
project scope statement.

Project Schedule a change request that changes the project schedule

will cause the project schedule and the associated schedule baseline to be
updated.

Project Budget a cost change will require the project budget and the
project cost baseline to be updated.

Project Management Plan a change in scope, schedule, cost, or contract

could cause the entire project management to be updated for additional
planning, project execution, control, and closing activities to accommodate
the additions to the project.

Change requests and their outcomes must always be documented in the

project. Its essential during the closing activities of the project to have
evidence of why a change has happened in the project scope, schedule,
costs, or contract that may be different than what was originally agreed upon
at the initiation of the project. By documenting the project changes throughout
the project work it ensures consistency and smooth closing for the project
manager, the performing organization, and the project stakeholders.

This was last updated in April 2015

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