Change management plan

I present to you my change management plan which is a common tool in project management practices. I made this plan for a client and share it with all students and beginner project managers or candidates for project management certification.

Permissible changes

Changes must be duly justified and necessary adjustments to the scope, timing, or cost of one or more pre-approved project results. Reference: "Change Management Plan – Real Sample Document, Example", author: Marta Cooper, 2019 Vol. 2, PolicyMatters, ISSN: 1941-8280, https://www.policymatters.net/change-management-plan-real-sample-document-example/

Submit a proposal for change

The regulated official way of submitting a proposal for change is by filling in an Excel form according to a template for the change management plan. Reference: "Sample Change Request Form: Real example for project managers", by Samantha Rhine 2020, https://www.businesspad.org/sample-change-request-form-real-example/

Proposals for changes can be submitted only by the following representatives by the client or the contractor:

• Project Manager (client)
• Project Sponsor
• Project Manager
• Technical Manager

Completed forms should be sent to the Change Control Board for analysis.

Consider a change request

Each change request will be analyzed based on the following factors:

• The criticality of the request
• Impact of the change on the project
• Urgency
• Benefits

The criticality of the request

Criticality depends on the type of changes requested and the impact they will have on the implementation of the project. Reference: https://pm.mba/posts/project-change-management-plan/

A minor change is one that has little or no effect on project implementation. This type of change does not require the submission of a "Change Request Form" and can be approved directly by the relevant project manager.

Critical changes have a significant impact on project implementation and may include changes in scope, requirements, market, technology, law, team, resources, or deadlines.

Impact of the change on the project

Expanding the scope with a new business requirement can lead to a delay in implementation of 4 to 8 weeks depending on the complexity.

Additional subcontractor requirements will result in an additional delay of 2 weeks before being considered.

Delays in implementation will lead to additional costs of EUR 10,000 weekly.

Urgency

Each request for additional change is assessed in terms of the time required and how quickly it should start. These changes are required to prevent possible damage or would bring additional benefits to the project. Reference: "Change Control and Configuration management in Project Management practices", https://www.islandjournal.net/change-control-and-configuration-management-in-project-management-practices/

Non-urgent changes should be considered as improvements that can be postponed to a later stage of product development or maintenance.

Benefits

• Increase the possible profits.
• Satisfying more business needs.
• Increased customer retention rate.

Change approval process

Each change request is considered by the Change Control Board, which includes the following representatives:

• Project Director
• Project Sponsor
• Program Manager
• Project Manager

Teams may start work on a change only after obtaining approval and written confirmation from the representatives of the control board. Reference: "Applying control in project management", https://60yearsnato.info/applying-control-in-project-management/

Planning

The change request is approved or rejected by the top management based on an analysis of the following details:

1. Does this change add to or change business requirements?
2. Is this change necessary for the overall success of the project?
3. Is an increase in funding required?
4. Will the end date of the project be delayed?
5. Does it make more sense to introduce this change than the delay?
6. In the end, will the delay cost the company more money?
7. Does the change lead to significant business benefits that make it useful?
8. Have all stakeholders been considered and approved of the change?
9. Are there any contractual implications to consider?

Gathering all the details above requires time and additional commitment from technical and marketing teams.

Relevant teams should analyze the request, plan with an assessment of the time required, materials, resources, cash, technology, and anything else related to the additional work.

Within four calendar weeks of submitting the change request, the client should receive in writing the recalculated parameters for the required additional activities, time, and resources.

The client must submit a written consent or refusal to implement the additional change under the new conditions within seven working days.