Change Management Process
byTam M. | reviewed 30/01/2021
In Project Management a Change Management Process is a set of repeatable, documented steps for requesting, logging, assessing, reviewing and implementing change requests. stakeholdermap.com
This is an extract of a
change process from a real world programe.
1. Request for change is made
Changes and issues are captured through
project team meetings, a working group of
external stakeholders including other government agencies, meetings of the
Project Board, outcomes of approval stages and through monitoring by the
Project Team and
Project Sponsor.
These forums enable changes to be captured at all levels from minor
scope changes made to correct errors, to major issues arising from government policy changes. Most
scope changes are captured at approval stages, but major changes to content are captured through the knowledge of policy developments that come out of the working group and from the networking carried out by the
Project Sponsor and
Project Board.
2. Register and assess the change
Change requests are captured on a central
change log that enables monitoring of
change levels by the Change Manager.
Once the
change is captured the
change is assessed by the
Project Manager using specialist advice from the
project team. The
Project Manager considers:
- Does it relate to the project?
- Is it really a risk or an issue that can be accepted or dealt without the change?
- Is it actually a new project?
- Is it required to meet the project goals & KPIs?
- What will happen if the change is not implemented?
Change Management Process flow chart
Download the Change Process chart
3. Review and submit RFC to Change Board
If the change is valid the
Project Manager assesses the impact of the
change with the
project team and submits the
change via a Request for Change Form to the Change Manager. It is then submitted to the
Change Board who assess the
change and approve or reject it.
This process interfaces with the
Configuration Management Process for the project and for the
programme.
The Change Manager is responsible for managing change across the programme. They spot trends, wider strategic issues, carry out audits and quality checks and work to improve the process.
4. Change Board accept or reject the change
The
Change Board includes the client and senior managers who have a strategic overview of the contract. They assess whether the
change is within programme
tolerances and are able to approve most changes. They may look at:
- the effect of the change on the business case,
- the change in relation to the programme as a whole,
- knock on effects of the change,
- any additional risks related to the change,
- any lessons that can be learnt from the change,
- any trends that change reveals.
If the
change is outside of the programme
tolerances it will mean a
change to the
contract and the Programme Manager will escalate the
change to the Programme Board and Contract Manager. If this happens the
change will be dealt with separately to the project, but could lead to project close down if it would fundamentally affect the project
business case.
5. Update plans & implement the change
Once the
change is approved the
change log is updated and
Stakeholders are informed. The
Project Manager then works with the
project team to plan the implementation of the change; amending the project and stage plans, sourcing any additional equipment or personnel, updating the configuration items and completing the
work package(s).
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