Project Management PHẦN 6 pps

changes to the original project scope.

• Business changes: Nothing stands still, especially time. And with the passage of time, circumstances

within the business environment change. If a competitor announces a new product or the value of the

dollar declines, for example, the project scope can be affected to a greater or lesser degree. There is a

need for proactive response mechanisms to adjust the project scope.

• Personnel changes: As circumstances change, so do people. The client may leave, additional clients

may be brought into the loop, or the project manager may be pulled off the project. With each of these

possible changes come adjustments to project requirements, design, technology, and business

perceptions.

The initiation of changes in scope due to any of these sources must be tracked and evaluated by employing a

sound change control procedure. If change control is not in place, you become so involved in taking care of

bits and pieces that the original project outcomes (time, dollar, and/or resource baselines) cannot be achieved

as planned. Once baselines start slipping, questions arise that you must address in terms of proving who is

responsible for the overages caused by the scope changes. To cope with these issues, you need a mechanism

for change control.

Procedures for Managing Scope Changes

Scope changes have an enormous impact on the project because they deal with the end product or end service.

Change control procedures should be based on three objectives to facilitate efficient and effective scope

changes:

Key objectives for Change Control

1. To define what the project manager can and cannot do when a change of scope occurs

2. To establish an agreed-upon process for submitting the change and evaluating its impact on the

current project baseline

3. To show how to approve and disapprove—based on sound business premises—the time, effort,

and dollars required for the change

Five major steps are necessary for accomplishing these three objectives.

Step 1: Either you as project manager or the person requesting the change of scope completes the section of

the change control form (Figure 6-1) that describes the change (what) and its benefits (why). We suggest that

the person requesting the change complete this section since he or she is most familiar with the full scope of

the request. In some cases (for example, within politically sensitive project environments), the project

manager may need to complete the form and reconfirm with the client.

Step 2: The change controller (the project manager or a team member) assigns the document a change

number, indicates the date the change control form was received, and logs the change control request on a

change control log (Figure 6-2), which documents the change control number, the date submitted, a short

description of the change, and the department and telephone number of the person requesting the change. The

change controller then places this change on the agenda for the change control committee to address in Step 3.

Step 3: The change control committee is composed of members from the technical and the business arenas, as

well as a decision maker from the organization who will be paying for the investigation and implementing the

requested change. The committee should meet frequently to review pending change control forms and to

decide whether the change of scope warrants further action by the investigation team. If the change of scope is

canceled, the procedure stops here. If the change of scope is deemed worthy of further investigation, the

committee agrees to its funding. The members sign and date the change control form and assign it to the

appropriate individuals who will perform Step 4. The change controller then updates the change control log,

noting the approval date for the change control investigation and to whom it has been assigned.

Figure 6-1. Change control form.