Change Request Process

There are a number of different steps in the change request process on any project. These are:

1.0 Raise the Project Change Request

If you are managing a large project then ensure that this is always the role of a business analyst on your team. Or worse case scenario get your assistant project manager to raise them. Do not if at all possible create a precedent and raise them yourself otherwise you will quickly find it a real burden on your time.

2.0 Allocate a Number to the Project Change Request

Once the change request has been raised then the assistant project manager or project management office (PMO) should allocate it a number and input it into the tracking system being used.

3.0 Project Change Request Board (PCRB)

At this stage of the change request process the change request would be discussed and considered at the PCRB. Now you don't have to convene a special group of people for this. Usually you would just get the few key individuals in your project team to attend or else in the case of particularly large project change requests, other interested parties who would be affected either as a result of an impact on their project resource allocation or project budget.

The outcome of this stage is that the change request will either be:

• Accept
• Reject
• Ask for more information ie an Impact Assessment

4.0 Impact Assessment

AS a result of stage 3, the change request is sent out to those teams which would be impacted by it, for them to assess what this would be. They would fill in the relevant information into the impact assessment and send it back to either the assistant project manager or PMO for them to collate.

5.0 Review at PCRB

The impact assessments received would be reviewed at a subsequent project change request board (PCRB).Key elements to consider would be the impact of the project scope statement or project cost controls. Other key elements to consider would be the impact on the process of software development and software testing life cycle.

6.0 Escalation to Programme Board

The last stage of the change request process. If the project change request board (PCRB) can't make a consensus decision on whether to approve or reject a project change request then it will need to be escalated upwards for a final decision. Reasons for this occuring could be disagreement from project management stakeholders, concerns over project management cost management and of course any additional concerns which result in additional project risk management.

Change Request Process - Tip

The business analyst skills within your team should really come to the fore during the change request process by simply ensuring a great many PCR's are never raised. You would be astonished how many duff change requests are raised for no good reason which simply clogs up the process and wastes valuable project time and cost

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