HOW THE CHANGE
CONTROL PROCESS
AFFECTS PROJECT
QUALITY
Presented by Mark Troncone MBA, PMP®, CSM®
Agenda
 Project Facts
 What is Change Control
 What is a Change Control System
 Why is Change Control Necessary
 When is Change Control Created
 When is Change Control Communicated
 Change Control & the Project Baseline
 The Change Control Process
 The Change Control Form
 The Change Control Log
 Change Control Acceptance / Rejection
 Change Control Affects on Quality
About Me
• PMP® Certified – Project Management Institute
• CRM Certified SCRUM Master® – SCRUM Alliance
• Certified IT Business Analyst – State of Connecticut
• Active career transition mentor
• MBA - Management, BS – Marketing, AS - Accounting
• Work experience:
• TransAct Technologies (Presently)
• Starwood Hotels
• Affinion Group
• Hewitt Associates
• Wachovia Bank
• Bayer Pharmaceuticals
• Reader’s Digest
• James River Corporation
Project Facts
 66% of software projects are not expected to
finish on time or on budget
 Completed projects deliver only 52% of the
proposed functionality wanted by the end user
 60% of project delivered functionality is never
utilized by the end user
 56% of project defects originate in the
Requirements Phase of the project
Proper Change Control Planning can Affect the Above
What is Change Control
Identifying, documenting, approving or rejecting and
controlling changes to the project baselines
 A Change Request can occur anywhere in a project but
mainly occurs in the Monitoring and Controlling phase
(Check / Do) in the following areas:
 Direct and Manage Project Execution - as an output
 Monitor and Control Project Work - as an output
 Perform Integrated Change Control - as an output
(Change Requests Status updates)
 Close Project or Phase - (As Change Requests are agreed
to become Enhancements after the project Go Live period
and Project Closure)
What is a Change Control System
A collection of formal documented procedures that
define how a project deliverables and documentation
will be controlled, changed, and approved.
 A formal process for establishing Change Control must be
created by the Project Manager before he/she meets with the
Stakeholders and Project Team – this includes evaluating the
change request – Change Control Process
 A document that is to be used to track Change Control
Requests must be developed and presented to the
Stakeholders and Project Team – Change Control Log
 A document used by the Project Team to create a Change
Control Request must be developed and presented to the
Stakeholders and Project Team – Change Control Form
Why is Change Control Necessary
Change Requests are used to expand or reduce the project
scope, modify policies, processes, plans, or procedures,
modify costs or budgets, or revise schedules.
Change Requests are a formal document that must be
completed by the requestor and reviewed by the Project
Manager (for smaller projects 3-9 months) or a Change Control
Board (for larger projects >9 months).
It is necessary that a formal document be completed and
reviewed in order to keep control of Change Requests.
By doing so, you as a Project Manager, can control costs and
time factors which can lead to scope creep and unnecessary
cost/time overages on a project.
By using Change Control – you control PROJECT QUALITY
When is Change Control Created
A Change Control process must be created in order to
be implemented and enforced by the Project Manager
and is located in the Project Charter document.
 During the creation of the Project Charter document, a
section of this document must be dedicated by the
Project Manager to publish how the project will identify,
evaluate, address, communicate and process Change
Control requests.
 Change Controls can originate from:

Issues discovered in development or system testing

Issues discovered during UAT testing

Enhancement requests to known requirements

New Enhancement requests not addressed in requirements
When is Change Control Communicated
The overall Change Control process must be
communicated effectively to the Project Team and
the Stakeholders in order to be successful on any
project. The communication process occurs:
 During the Initialization Phase of a project, when reviewing
the Project Charter document by the Project Manager to
the Project Team members and Stakeholders
 Stressing the importance of the:

Change Control Process (written in the Project Charter)

Maintaining and using the Change Control Log

Creating requests using the Change Control Form
 Noting that Change Control procedures become effective
after a Project Plan is baselined. Before a Project Plan is
baselined changes can occur without needing a formal
Change Control Form created.
Change Control & the Project Baseline
Once a Project Plan is base-lined, it may only be
changed when a Change Request is generated and
approved through the “Perform Integrated Change
Control Process.

It is extremely important to communicate this when reviewing
the Project Charter with the Project Team and Stakeholders

Emphasis should be put on limiting the probability of:
 Time variances affecting Scope Creep
 Cost overages affecting Budget
 Changing requirements affecting cost and time
 Adding functionality that is not important or may not be used

The goal of Change Control is a commitment to Project Quality
The Change Control Process

Created by the Project Manager

Communicated during the Project Charter review

Agreed to by the Project Team and Stakeholders

Can be a formal process that is evaluated by a
Change Control Board/Team on larger projects or
the Project Manager alone for smaller projects
 Change Control Board comprised of 3-5 members
 Function to review Change Control Requests
 Present to Stakeholders with Recommendations
 Upon Stakeholder approval or disapproval take action
 Same Process for Project Manager alone
The Change Control Form
Header info
and company
Logo goes
here
Unique
Change
Control
Number
Should Include
Business Case
or Reason
Notice time
and cost
estimate
Signatures must be:
1) Lead Developer
or IT Lead
2) Project Manager
3) Stakeholder(s)
The Change Control Form
This form is used capture a Change Request and at
a minimum must contain:










Date of request
Unique Change Control Number => x-ref to CC Log
Name of resource requesting the change
Name of resource assigned to change
Time and cost effort estimate
System effected
Present situation
Recommended change
Estimated delivery date
Signatures
 Project Manager
 Lead IT or Lead Developer
 Stakeholder(s)
The Change Control Log
Company, Project,
and Product
information
Change
Authorization
Levels
Priority
Choices
Project Mgr,
Customer,
information
Company
Logo
Unique Change Control
Number matches Changes
Control Request
Priority
Level
Effects on Scope,
Budget and Time
Approval
Information
The Change Control Log
A document used to store and monitor all Change
Control Requests and will display:
 Change Control Authorization Levels
 A Unique Change Control Number (Used as an X-reference)
 Request by
 Request Date
 Change Description
 Priority Level (Options listed within the document)
 Effects on Scope / Budget / Project Schedule
 Decision (Update / Enhancement / Rejected)
 Approval (Y /N / TBD)
 Approved By
 Date Approved
 Added to Project date or Enhancement date
The Change Control Log

The Change Control Log:
 Updated by the Project Manager
 Noted – who has authorization to Accept / Reject / Defer
 Monitored by the Project Manager and the Project Team
 Scheduled review meetings to determine Acceptance or
Rejection or move to an Enhancement after Project is
officially “Closed”
 X-Referenced back to the Change Control Form
 Used at Project Close to:
o Review remaining /deferred Issues and Enhancements in order to list
in Project Closure document and to address “After Project Go Live
and Closure is concluded.
o Enhancements prioritized and scheduled (possible cost to customer)
Change Control Acceptance/Rejection
Change Control Meetings

Scheduled to evaluate the estimations (Cost / Time / Effort /
Delivery Date) in the Change Control form

The Project Change Control Board or Project Manager can
accept a requested change if in the opinion of the CC Board
or Project Manager the requested change Does Not affect
Cost/Time of the project, however…..

If the change requested after evaluation Does affect
Cost/Time of a project the Project Change Control Board or
Project Manager MUST present the findings to the
Stakeholder(s).

The authorized Stakeholders will be responsible to make
the decision if the change is accepted / Rejected / or will be
deferred after the project is completed as an Enhancement.
Change Control Affects on Quality
A formal Change Control Process ensures:
 Issues and Enhancements are controlled
The Stakeholders are involved in the final decision process
 Time / Cost effects on project schedule are evaluated and
communicated
 Project Budget is controlled effectively
 Lowers probability of “Scope Creep” and schedule “crashing”
 Requirements do not change arbitrarily after the Project Plan
is Baselined
 Only requirements that affect relative end-user functionality
are implemented
 A Quality Project is delivered
Ensuring Change Control is Observed
To ensure the Change Control Process is Observed:
 Emphasize process and forms during Project Charter Review
 Review Change Control Forms submitted
 Hold scheduled Change Control Review meetings
 Communicate to all Project Team members new requests,
updates on current requests including any requests
Accepted, Rejected, or Deferred
 Communicate to all Project Team members if a Change
Control Request is Accepted, how it will affect the Project
Plan and when it will be scheduled
 Review Issues/Enhancements deferred until after Project Go
Live and Project Closure that are scheduled to complete
QUESTIONS?
Tell me if you liked this presentation mtroncone73@yahoo.com