Change Management Plan is a traditional project management document according to PMBOK and Prince2 exercises. BVOP also publishes a Change Management plan in the list of its document.
In the article, I share a detailed exemplary document that you can use for reference when creating your real Change Management Plan for your project. Of course, if you are a project manager. If you are in another position, be sure to share this article with your PM colleague.
Table of Contents
Sample Change Management Plan
You can use this document directly when planning your project. I do not prohibit this activity. However, I strongly recommend that you change all parts of the document that may be more appropriate for your work. See also: “Change Management Plan in project management“, https://agileprogramming.org/change-management-plan-in-project-management/
Definition of Change in Project
The change in our project is all that is not defined in the scope of the project and the requirements. The change must have a constructive origin for the project and the organization. What is meant – is that the changes requested should not be at the expense of the quality, time, and resources that are set out in the beginning, but even if it is the opposite of any change request must be accepted, considered, analyzed, and evaluated whether it will be accepted or rejected. Changes can also concern the organization itself – these can be work gaps, introducing new technologies, or a change in the goal of the company. The reasons for changes can be:
New scope, Reference: “Scope change management”, https://bvop.org/learn/scopechangemanagement/ (The BVOP Ultimate Guide, BVOPM)
Changes in the technical or functional requirements of the project
Changes in technology
New Tools and Communication Systems
New suppliers, etc.
Method of submitting a request for change
The manner of submitting a request for change in our project must be officially in writing electronically – email, filling in a specially prepared form for requesting a change. Each request form will be accepted by a particular employee in our organization. Will contain a unique number, the date on which it was received, a description of the requested change, the person who requires it, and contact details. Each received form for a change request will be a certain priority. Depending on the change you want, the priority will have several categories – small, large, critical, and trivial. More on the topic: “Change Management Plan – Real Sample Document, Example“, https://www.policymatters.net/change-management-plan-real-sample-document-example/
Who is responsible for submitting the form with the change request?
In our case, we expect it to be submitted by a project manager to our client, as it is our contact person.
Who accepts the form with a request for change for our organization?
The project manager subsequently reduced it to the knowledge of certain employees, who is responsible for separate phases of the project. Our project has a mechanical and technological part – making a washing machine and its hardware and software. The project manager, together with the product manager, the program manager, and the project director, will analyze each received form for requesting a change based on the following factors:
The urgency of the request – can the project be continued if this request does not work immediately? In our case, it would be critical
If we do not have the necessary materials to start building the washing machine device and/or the construction of the hardware
If an employee of the node position in software development decides to leave
If a material we need is stopped by the production
If the client decides that he wants a change that at this stage is incompatible with the project Reference: “Sample Change Request Form: Real example for project managers“, https://www.businesspad.org/sample-change-request-form-real-example/
Impact the requested change on the project
In the absence of materials for the construction of the device of the washing machine, there will be a delay in the process and the corresponding increase of the project, the same applies in the absence of hardware materials
Leaving an employee of the node position in the development of the software can lead to problems in the team and demotivation, which in turn will have consequences for the company – delay, spending more resources, not a good work atmosphere
In the case where we lack material that is stopped from production, we must very quickly find an alternative to a similar one, and if this does not happen, it is possible to process the project entirely or stop
In the event of an incompatible change, the request by the client must be seen whether or not this happens at a later stage of the project development or not. In the first case, we will continue our work on the project, in the second one the change may not be accepted, in the third the project can be stopped. Original source: “Models for change management in projects“, https://securityinformationeventmanagement.com/models-change-management-projects-organizations/
The urgency of the form to request a change
The emergency is determined by the time necessary for a given change, the benefits of this change, or not to accept the change – the damage it can cause to the integrity of the project /quality, scope, starting of the project /
The benefits of our project when accepting a change request are increasing possible profits, adding business value, motivating the team, meeting business needs, process optimization, improved communication, quality product, not a major delay in the deadline for completion of the project, etc. Reference: “Requirements change management in project management practices”, https://60yearsnato.info/requirements-change-management-in-project-management-practices/ [read the formal process here]
A process of approving a request for change
After a thorough analysis of any change request, the final decision is made by the project director. The solution takes time and the client cannot expect the change to happen immediately. The teams must be authorized to start working on the change request.
Planning
The planning of the change request is that the project is generally changing, and from there many other things. The project documentation must be fully updated, including the schedules, the project plan, the budget, the deadline for the submission of the finished product, etc. Change cannot happen immediately, it requires analysis, approval, and decision. The analysis can be made by several employees depending on the change requested. If it relates to the mechanical part of our project, the team from the Production and Testing Department will be included in the analysis. If it is related to the hardware and the software, the programming team will also be included. After the analysis, the time, material resources, cash, technology, and anything related to the additional work on the fulfillment of the change request will be evaluated.
Answer
Following the evaluation, a decision will be made by the respective team, a project manager together with the product manager, the program manager, and the project director. When the change request is accepted, the client will receive a proposal of certain parameters, resources, and time that will be necessary for the implementation through his representative – the project manager of the client. The decision is documented in a diary of the changes. Read more: Change management in organizations, https://phron.org/change-management-in-organizations/(Organizational change management is different than project CM)
Feedback
Once the customer’s decision has been sent, feedback is expected. If the request for the change is approved, a project manager includes the change in the project, as documented following the approved change request. And then changes in schedules, plans, scope, budget, and everything else on which the satisfaction of the request depends. Original source: “Change Control and Configuration management in Project Management practices”, https://www.islandjournal.net/change-control-and-configuration-management-in-project-management-practices/
Implementation
The fulfillment of the change request is also included in the logbook. It is very extensively signing out who will carry out the change, how it will do it, and how long and resources it will take. All this leads to additional costs that are good to describe in an annex, which is bound by the request for change, to the main contract of the project and when they will be paid. The implementation of the changes must lead to benefits for both parties – the client and the organization.
Project team participation in the Change Management Plan
The project team is crucial to the success of the project, so they must actively participate in the management of change. 5 ways I help the team quickly understand the process of changing the project:
The team knows that there will always be changes to the projects.
The changes are available. The process management process is not obvious to everyone. Most team members will not know what to expect from them until they are notified.
The changes are simple. Changing the project is often controlled chaos at best. Our team believes that change is disturbing – especially when we rethink large or canceled solutions that have long remained and the obstacles that have long been cleared. Planning must be adjusted, the budget must be changed, and the requirements should be changed. The team appeals to the project manager for guidance and stability. Let the process be as simple as possible for them.
Ready to help? The new way of working takes time to integrate successfully. If we were used to managing the change informally, the switch to an official process could take some time before it became “the way we do things here”. Let the team know we are here to help.
Don’t be afraid to say no. Not all changes are reasonable changes. If the team thinks the change is not suitable for the project at a time, it is rejected. Then we have to go into discussion with the applicant and reject the request.