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Change requests are a regular occurrence in projects. When they are handled properly, they can be useful tools in helping to deliver desirable results, but if not managed correctly they can cause valuable project resources to be diverted and lead to a loss of focus on important areas of the project. This article is designed to help a project manager deal with change requests effectively.
What is a Change Request?
A change request is a formal request, made after a project has started. It is made to whoever is responsible for the project (for example, the project manager or a project control board made up of key stakeholders). Requests can range from minor changes to major alterations, though will more usually be large changes. Work on a change request will not typically be started until the change request has been formally considered and approved by the relevant authority (for example project director, project board).
What Causes Change Requests?
Change requests are generated by two main factors - changing external circumstances and unclear understanding.
After a project has been agreed and commenced, changing external circumstances can affect the organization, leading to a re-assessment from an organizational point of view. For example, an organization may have planned to bring a product to market by a specific date, but a competitor may be about to launch a similar product, meaning that the launch date has to be brought forward or put back.
Unclear understanding is caused by stakeholders in the project failing to have a clear understanding of what the aims and goals of the project are. A lack of communication at the initial stage or failure to take on board exactly what the project’s customers want can have consequences later on in the project lifecycle. Stakeholders can also look to change their original requirements as they respond to changing circumstances which affect their department/organization.
A project should have enough flexibility written into it to be able to cope with changing external circumstances, such as market fluctuations. There will always be factors affecting an organization which cannot be controlled. A project should therefore be capable of being adapted to respond quickly and with minimum disruption. However, requests caused by unclear understanding are avoidable and time-consuming. The following suggestions can help you mitigate such a risk.
Preventing Unclear Understanding
If stakeholders do not fully understand what the project is going to mean for them at the ginning of the project, they are likely to find that it is not delivering what they expected.
A common example of this situation is when the stakeholder has not been made fully aware of the project’s desired outcomes. When the project starts and the stakeholder realizes that the project will not deliver what they had expected it to, they will submit a change request detailing what they would like it to deliver. This may not be compatible with other, previously agreed goals and can lead to resentment between the stakeholder and the project owner.
By following these steps, a project manager will be able to cut down the risk of unclear understanding:
- State your aims clearly at the outset. Set out formally in a business case document or project charter what the aims and goals of the project are.
- Communicate the criteria for project success. This will mean stakeholders understand what the project has to achieve to be considered a successful project, for example a new IT system in place by an agreed date with pre-agreed functionalities.
- Ensure you have communicated the desired outcome to everyone necessary. Speak to the relevant people or departments and ask for their thoughts. Reiterate the key points of the change program.
- Make yourself available for questions. This will help ensure that everyone understands the most important points about your project and help prevent unrealistic expectations of what the project can achieve.
It is essential for a project manager to ensure this stage of the process is correct in order to prevent misconceptions, thus eliminating a lot of potentially unnecessary and time-consuming work further into the project lifecycle.
Assessing Change Requests
Of course, change requests will still be made even when the above steps have been taken. A project manager has to work out if the requests add value to the project and, if so, whether they are viable within the existing project framework. A change request should include a business case stating why any change should be made and by when. Consider the following factors when deciding whether to accept the request:
- How does this change affect the project?
- How does this change benefit the organization?
- What resources will be required?
- What will the project look like once this is factored in?
- Can the change be done without significantly and fundamentally altering other aspects of the project?
- Does this add value to the project?
This process can help a project manager eliminate the possibility of receiving requests which are not supported by a valid business case. This in turn should reduce the number of requests which add no value but take up valuable time during key stages of the project. Any requests which are accepted should reflect the changing nature of external factors or be proven to have strong benefits to the organization as a whole. A well managed change request process can be beneficial to all involved in the project.
Accepting and Rejecting Change Requests
When the decision about the change request is made, communicate it quickly to the person or department the request came from. If the decision has been taken to accept the request, then a project manager will have to start planning and preparing how to integrate the work into the project. This may require extra resources, working with other departments, etc.
If the decision has been made to reject the request, then this should be communicated to the person/people who made the request. The business reasons behind the decision should be fully explained at this stage. This reduces the risk of the decision being challenged and prevents any resentment from building between the project owners and stakeholders.
Key Points
Change requests are an important part of any project. If they are managed correctly, they can become useful tools in helping to deliver results which benefit the organization. By having a process in place which reduces impractical requests, the project manager will have more time to focus on project delivery.
