Project Name
Project Change Management Plan
Date - Version
Project Change Management Plan
Introduction
This document is intended to describe the Change Control process in place to support and promote
project management best practices. The Change Control Plan is not intended to prevent changes, as it is
recognized that change is inevitable. The Change Control Plan is instead intended to ensure that changes
to important work products, processes, and other documented information are communicated to affected
parties both within and without the Project Team.
This Change Control Plan describes the process for proposing changes to work products and the process
by which change-controlled work products can be updated.
Justification
A project without Change Control is a project that is out of control. This process will help to:
 Communicate major changes to work products to a larger audience;
 Provide a process for input into, and feedback about, proposed changes;
 And provide transparency into the project management activities.
It should be noted that until a work product has been reviewed and entered into Change Control, the
work product can be freely updated. Only after the work product has been thoroughly reviewed and
accepted will changes to that work product be controlled.
Audience
The Change Control Plan is intended to be consumed by the following parties:
 Project Stakeholders, including:
o Project Managers
o Subject Matter Experts
o Sponsors
o Clients
o Project Team Members
o Anyone requesting that a work product be modified once it has been entered into Change
Control.
Version [#]
Page 1 of 5
Project Name
Project Change Management Plan
Date - Version
Change Controlled Work Products – Definition and Examples
A work product that is under Change Control is one that is considered important to the success of the
project; changes to these should be communicated to the project team and, potentially, to the greater
stakeholder audience. The Project Team reserves the right to decide which work products should be
placed under Change Control.
The following are examples of work products that may be placed under Change Control:









Project Charter
Project Schedule
Project Budget
Risk Management Plan
Communication Plans
User Acceptance Testing Plan
Project Close Criteria
Post-Production Plan
Training Materials
The Project Team may determine that there are other work products that should be placed under Change
Control, or that some of the above work products do not require entry into Change Control.
Placing Work Products under Change Control
Work products that are to be placed under Change Control must be reviewed and approved by the
Change Control board (described below). Work products should be in a finished state, i.e., usable by
Project Team members.
The process by which work products are placed under Change Control should reflect the following flow:
NO
Work Product
creation
Work Product
Work Product
Review
Acceptable?
YES
Enter work product
into Change
Control
Until a work product is under Change Control, changes to that product can be made freely.
However, once the review to place the work product under Change Control has approved the work
product, changes must pass through the Change Approval process.
Version [#]
Page 2 of 5
Project Name
Project Change Management Plan
Date - Version
Change Control Board
The Change Control Board is an entity responsible for determining whether individual Change Requests
to work products under Change Control should be approved. The Change Control Board will consist of
members of the Project Team who have a vested interest in controlling change to work products, and
should include at a minimum:
 Sponsor
 Project Manager
 Client
 Subject Matter Expert
The Change Control Board is responsible for:
 Determining which groups should be notified of individual Change Requests to work products
under Change Control
 Ensuring that said groups are notified
 Ensuring that appropriate time is provided to potentially affected groups, such that they can
respond to the Change Request, approve or disapprove of the Change Request, and modify any
other work product or processes that may be caused by the implementation of an individual
Change Request.
 Approving or denying individual Change Requests
The Change Control Board holds final say as to whether an individual Change Request is approved or
denied.
Change Approval Process
The Change Approval Process allows for changes to be made to work products that are already under
Change Control. The process is driven by the creation and review of Change Requests.
The process by which Change Requests are reviewed and approved (or denied) should reflect the
following flow:
NO
Change Request
created
Change Request
submitted to
Change Control
Board
Change
Request
acceptable for
review?
YES
Change Control
Board notifies
potentially
impacted groups
YES
Board
approves?
Potentially
impacted groups
provide feedback
to Change Control
Board
NO
Project Team
notified of update
to Work Product
Version [#]
Work Product
updated
Page 3 of 5
Project Name
Project Change Management Plan
Date - Version
A Change Request must provide the following information:





Work product to be updated
Requested change to work product
Reason for updating work product
Impact if work product not approved
Potentially impacted groups if work product updated
The Change Control Board will review Change Requests, and determine whether the Change Request
contains sufficient detail and content to review. If the Change Request is approved for review, the
Change Control Board will determine if any additional groups, beyond those noted in the Change
Request, should be notified of the Change Request.
Potentially impacted groups are responsible for providing feedback to the Change Control Board in a
timely fashion. Once a reasonable amount of time has passed, the Change Control Board will make a
final determination as to whether the Change Request should be approved.
If the Change Request is approved, the requesting party must update the work product and notify the
Project Team of the update to the work product.
The Change Control Board will meet on an at least weekly basis to review outstanding Change
Requests. Inclusion in this meeting is in no way limited to the Change Control Board.
Version [#]
Page 4 of 5
Project Name
Project Change Management Plan
Date - Version
Appendix A
Change Request Form
Change Request Number: __________
Impacted Work Product:
____________________
Requested Change to Document:
____________________
Reason for the Change:
Impact of the Change:
Impacted Groups External to the Project:
Version [#]
Page 5 of 5