5.4 Change Control

Question 1

Definition and features of change

Answer 1

• Something that will affect the key success criteria of a project (time, cost, quality, risk, benefits)
• External influences
• New technology
• Efficiencies, continuous improvement
• Improvement to the benefits model or loss of markets
• Evolving designs, new information
• Contractual changes

Question 2

Definition of change curve

Answer 2

Ability to influence goes down, and cost goes up the more is committed over time

Question 3

Stages in change control process

Answer 3

• Change request
• Initial evaluation
• Detailed evaluation
• Recommendation
• Update & implement plans

Question 4

Considerations during the change request stage of the change control process

Answer 4

• Identify, document, and describe the change
• ID, project context, description, reason, impacts, source, owner, date, status, decision
• Capture change details in a formal way
• Ensure clear identification of change, assessment, and decisions

Question 5

Considerations during the initial evaluation stage of the change control process

Answer 5

• Is it viable change for the project?
• Filter changes to ensure only viable changes are progressed to detailed stages
• Manages the number of change requests to be considered
• Avoids analysis of impossible changes

Question 6

Considerations during the detailed evaluation stage of the change control process

Answer 6

• Impact analysis on Time, Cost, Quality, Risk and Benefits
• Mini business case
• Include stakeholders
• Consider resources impact and configuration management
• Thoroughly evaluate changes and consider impact
• Record the detail of the evaluation to be carried forward to recommendation stage

Question 7

What happens during the recommendation stage of the change control process

Answer 7

• Sponsor chooses to approve, reject, or defer change
• Provide a decision to continue or not
• Record and inform the change requester of the decision

Question 8

Considerations of the update & implement plans stage of the change control process

Answer 8

• Create and roll out modified integrated PMP
• Impacted areas updated and changes communicated to stakeholders
• Document and carry out project in accordance with changes
• Avoid issues with change management where benefits may not be realised due to lack of clarity

Question 9

Considerations when deciding on the justification in change management

Answer 9

• Clear evidence based reasoning for the decision to approve, reject, or defer the change
• Based on the expected impact and anticipated benefits
• Overall impact - can the project handle the change
• Budget constraints - is the change within the original budget or does it need a new business case
• Resource limitations - is the change within the capacity of the existing or available resources
• Timeline - is the change within the expected timeline
• Benefits - will expected benefits be maintained / improved
• Risk - assessment of the risk profile and if it is still within the risk appetite

Question 10

Definition and features of configuration management

Answer 10

• Totality of the products to be produced by the project
• Changing one product may have significant impacts on others
• Leading to mismatches in performance / failures
• Uncontrolled changes could lead to incorrect versions in use

Question 11

Definition of change freeze

Answer 11

• Specified point in time
• Usually driven by the critical path to a deadline
• Occurs when changes can no longer be considered to ensure products are implemented with current specification

Question 12

Change control in a linear lifecycle

Answer 12

• Clear vision of the overall structure allows clear picture of the impact of change
• Change control process can be linked to phase gates or any point in the project in structured manner
• Change management is preventative to avoid disruptions
• Change control process can be implemented retrospectively with updates to existing documentation

Question 13

Change control in an iterative lifecycle

Answer 13

• Change control is baked into the development process when activities are defined
• Less rigorous and structured change control process
• More dynamic and adaptable
• Changes could be integrated directly into iterations
• More difficult to consider the impact on the overall project timelines, cost, quality, risk and benefits

Question 14

Change impact analysis methods

Answer 14

• Comprehensive understanding of the impact of proposed change to ensure decisions made with objectives in mind
• Cost benefit analysis
• Scenario analysis
• Expert judgement
• Stakeholder analysis
• Risk assessment
• Dependencies
• Review alignment with business case and objectives
• Change Control Board to review change
• Feedback from stakeholders
• Quantitative methods - decision trees, Monte Carlo, sensitivity analysis