A project change is a change in any of the critical success factors (scope, schedule, costs, quality, and project acceptance criteria). The “big deal” is not that there is a change. In fact, for many projects, changes—especially scope expansions—are expected and encouraged. The big deal is uncontrolled change.
Why?
Because a change in any of the critical success factors affects the other factors, which then impacts project performance and the project’s ability to achieve the success criteria, which then impacts stakeholder perceptions and satisfaction levels. For example, an expansion in project scope increases the work of the project. At a minimum, the increased work affects project schedule and project costs. In many cases, the increased work also impacts resource plans and adds new risks. On projects with contractual arrangements, the increased scope will likely have contract implications and needs to be formally managed to protect all parties involved.
Thus, any time a change occurs, the project needs a way to recognize the change, evaluate the impact of the change, communicate the change, and make planning adjustments if the change is accepted. This mechanism is commonly referred to as a project change control system.
For many people, project control equals “managing project changes,” and managing project changes equals preventing “scope creep.” Scope creep is a common term used to describe uncontrolled expansion of project scope. Scope creep is legendary for causing project delays and cost overruns.
Although this belief is not completely accurate, the perception cannot be ignored. The ability to manage and control the change elements on a project, particularly the project scope, is a key to project success and a key performance indicator for a project manager.
To manage project changes effectively, a project manager must utilize all of his skills and demonstrate project leadership. In addition to being an insightful measure of individual project management maturity, it is not uncommon for organizations that are in the early stages of adopting project management business approaches to look at how well project changes are being managed to determine whether project management is making a difference. Although it sounds like there is a lot riding on this ability to manage project changes (and there is), the process is not difficult if you follow the key success principles and understand how to avoid the common errors.
Although scope changes are generally responsible for 80% or more of the project changes, it is important to recognize that any of the following would also constitute a project change (and should be controlled using the project change control system):
• An expansion or reduction of project scope
• An expansion or reduction of product features
• An expansion or reduction in performance requirements
• An expansion or reduction in quality requirements
• A significant change in the target milestone dates
• A shift in the implementation or deployment strategy
• An increase in resource costs
• An expansion or reduction in the project budget
• A change in any of the project objectives
• A change in any of the final acceptance criteria, including return on investment forecasts
• A change in any of the project assumptions, constraints, or dependencies, especially regarding resources and work effort estimates
• A shift in project roles or responsibilities, especially on projects with contractual arrangements
• A decision to reset the performance baselines due to an unrecoverable performance variance
Why?
Because a change in any of the critical success factors affects the other factors, which then impacts project performance and the project’s ability to achieve the success criteria, which then impacts stakeholder perceptions and satisfaction levels. For example, an expansion in project scope increases the work of the project. At a minimum, the increased work affects project schedule and project costs. In many cases, the increased work also impacts resource plans and adds new risks. On projects with contractual arrangements, the increased scope will likely have contract implications and needs to be formally managed to protect all parties involved.
Thus, any time a change occurs, the project needs a way to recognize the change, evaluate the impact of the change, communicate the change, and make planning adjustments if the change is accepted. This mechanism is commonly referred to as a project change control system.
For many people, project control equals “managing project changes,” and managing project changes equals preventing “scope creep.” Scope creep is a common term used to describe uncontrolled expansion of project scope. Scope creep is legendary for causing project delays and cost overruns.
Although this belief is not completely accurate, the perception cannot be ignored. The ability to manage and control the change elements on a project, particularly the project scope, is a key to project success and a key performance indicator for a project manager.
To manage project changes effectively, a project manager must utilize all of his skills and demonstrate project leadership. In addition to being an insightful measure of individual project management maturity, it is not uncommon for organizations that are in the early stages of adopting project management business approaches to look at how well project changes are being managed to determine whether project management is making a difference. Although it sounds like there is a lot riding on this ability to manage project changes (and there is), the process is not difficult if you follow the key success principles and understand how to avoid the common errors.
Although scope changes are generally responsible for 80% or more of the project changes, it is important to recognize that any of the following would also constitute a project change (and should be controlled using the project change control system):
• An expansion or reduction of project scope
• An expansion or reduction of product features
• An expansion or reduction in performance requirements
• An expansion or reduction in quality requirements
• A significant change in the target milestone dates
• A shift in the implementation or deployment strategy
• An increase in resource costs
• An expansion or reduction in the project budget
• A change in any of the project objectives
• A change in any of the final acceptance criteria, including return on investment forecasts
• A change in any of the project assumptions, constraints, or dependencies, especially regarding resources and work effort estimates
• A shift in project roles or responsibilities, especially on projects with contractual arrangements
• A decision to reset the performance baselines due to an unrecoverable performance variance
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