Your Organization Name
Your Project Name
Change Management Plan
Prepared by: / Your NameVersion: / Your Version
Document #: / Your Reference #
Date: / Release Date
Project Name
Change Management Plan
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Project Sponsor: Name Signature: ______
Project Manager: Name Signature: ______
Client Representative: Name Signature: ______
Quality Assurance: Name Signature: ______
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Revision History
Version # / Release Notes / Issue Date1.0 / Initial Draft
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 1
1.1. Purpose 1
1.2. Audience 1
2. Change Management Overview 2
2.1. Change Management Approach 2
2.2. Change Management Cycle 2
2.3. Sources of Change 3
2.4. Roles and Responsibilities 3
3. Change Management Procedures 4
3.1. Raise Change Request 4
3.2. Asses Change Request 4
3.3. Approve/Reject Change Request 4
3.4. Implement Change 4
3.5. Close Change Request 5
4. Scope Change Management 6
4.1. Scope Change Categories 6
4.2. Scope Change Management Cycle 6
4.3. Scope Definition 7
4.4. Scope Stability 7
4.5. Scope Change Recognition 7
4.6. Scope Change Control Procedures 7
4.7. Scope Verification 7
Appendix A – Change Request 8
Appendix B – Change Control Log 9
Document # Page ii Version 1.0
Project Name
Change Management Plan
1. Introduction
1.1. Purpose
The purpose of this Change Management Plan is to set out the methods and procedures to handle all changes affecting this project’s:
· Resources, costs, and timing as set out in the Project Plan
· Deliverable, product and process Quality
1.2. Audience
This Change Management Plan is intended for the Project Board, key stakeholders, and the core project team.
Author Instructions
Text in italics, such as this paragraph, contains instructions and information that is intended to give you guidance on what to insert as content. It is not meant to be part of the content itself. Delete the italicized lines before submitting the deliverable as final. Non-italicized text may be used verbatim at your discretion.
The deliverable author is to complete each section with the required information, as instructed in the italicized text.
2. Change Management Overview
The following sub-sections contain boilerplate text. Use it as is, or modify it to suit your project situation.
2.1. Change Management Approach
This Change Management Plan employs an industry standard cyclical approach to:
· Ensure standardized methods, processes and procedures are used for all project changes
· Facilitate efficient and prompt handling of all changes
· Maintain a proper balance between the benefits of change and the detrimental impact of change on the Project Plan.
2.2. Change Management Cycle
The Change Management Cycle is comprised of the following events:
· Raise and record Change Request (CR)
· Assess impact and value of change
· Present assessment results and obtain approval
· Implement change and re-baseline plan
· Close CR
The following diagram represents the flow of change management events.
2.3. Sources of Change
All project changes must enter the Change Management cycle in the format of a Change Request. Legitimate changes to the product/project may stem from:
· Responses to problems internal to the project
· Externally imposed requirements
· Change in business requirements or strategy
· Proactive changes to improve performance or benefit
2.4. Roles and Responsibilities
The following list outlines the key responsibilities of personnel involved in the Change Management process:
· Project Manager - assigned full responsibility for facilitating or executing the change management process to officially provide new requirements, scope, schedule and resources
· Project Sponsor – responsible for reviewing, authorizing and funding changes
· Project Coordinator – assists with estimating and scheduling change against existing baseline
· Configuration Manager/Change Manager – accept, log and track CR’s
· Change Advisory Board – comprised of Sponsor, Technical and User representatives, responsible for accepting or rejecting CR implementation
3. Change Management Procedures
The following sub-sections contain boilerplate text. Use it as is, or modify it to suit your project situation.
3.1. Raise Change Request
The change initiator communicates the details of the change to any project authority, such as the Project Manager, Project Sponsor, or any other member of the Change Advisory Board or Project Board. This constitutes the initial informal change communication. At this point, the project authority may direct the initiator to prepare a Change Request, or that duty may be delegated to the Project Manager or Change Manager (if one exists for the project).
Once the details of the change have been recorded on a Change Request form, it is submitted to the Configuration Manager or Change Manager to log into the Change Log.
3.2. Asses Change Request
The Change Request is escalated to the project core team for evaluation. A high level assessment is first performed by the Project Manager to determine if the CR is of sufficient magnitude to require independent funding for detailed assessment. If so, the Project Manager requests additional funding to carry out the extra assessment tasks.
The CR is assessed for its impact on the project plan (resources, costs and schedule) by the Project Manager and Project Coordinator. A separate timeline is built for later incorporation into the master plan, if and when the CR is approved. The Project Manager completes a brief Business Case with the assistance of the Project Board members (technical and user representatives).
3.3. Approve/Reject Change Request
The results of the CR assessment are presented to the Change Advisory Board and/or the Project Board. Based on the value judgement passed on the CR, it is accepted or rejected. If accepted, sign-off represents a new agreement on the updated Project Plan. The new timeline, Scope, costs and schedule are baselined.
3.4. Implement Change
The new work required by the change is undertaken and completed according to the new Project Plan. Success criteria or testing for the change are applied to the CR work. Completion is assessed at the appropriate milestone.
3.5. Close Change Request
Following successful implementation and testing of the CR work, the Configuration Manager makes a closing entry in the Change Management Log.
4. Scope Change Management
4.1. Scope Change Categories
Changes in Scope fall under two broad categories:
· Product Scope Change
· Project Scope Change
Changes in Product Scope are drawn from the sources identified in section 2.3 and follow the specified Change Request path through Change Management. Such changes also affect Project Scope, but are typically value-added and usually result in an increase in scope.
Changes in Project Scope are drawn from problems, issues, or executive decisions involving key project dimensions, specifically time, cost, and/or quality. Such changes usually result in a decrease in Scope to accommodate changes in the project’s duration, budget, or quality demands.
4.2. Scope Change Management Cycle
Document how your organization implements changes in Scope through the Change Management Cycle. The following text is an example of how the Change Management Cycle is applied in a straightforward project.
The Change Management Cycle is applied as follows:
· Changes in Product Scope, typically through Change Requests for additional functionality or performance, are handled through the documented Change Management Cycle.
· Changes in Project Scope are handled similarly by the Change Management Cycle but include an additional Risk Assessment step.
Project Scope changes can effectively be handled in the same way as Product Scope changes, but organizations which recognize there will be frequent and ongoing Scope changes (often when there are shifting requirements or other sources of project risk) should document a specific process for Scope evolution.
You may choose to document the Scope evolution process in a separate Scope Management Plan, depending on how formalized the process is. The Project Management Institute (PMI) recommends a plan with the components described in the next sub-sections.
4.3. Scope Definition
Provide a reference to the Scope document and/or provide a summary of the key points.
4.4. Scope Stability
Provide a brief narrative assessment of the stability of the project scope, including how likely it is to change, how frequently and by how much.
4.5. Scope Change Recognition
Describe how new conditions and situations which require scope changes will be formally identified and communicated to the Project Board. Also document how the Scope Changes will be categorized, such as Major/Critical, Minor/Non-Critical, etc.
4.6. Scope Change Control Procedures
Provide a brief descriptive narrative or point form summary of how changes in project scope will be handled. This includes how the change management is integrated into the overall change control system; that is, how it is identified, categorized, analyzed, communicated to the stakeholders, accepted, and implemented. It also requires procedures specifying how the project deliverables, including the Scope Definition, will be updated.
4.7. Scope Verification
Document how the scope changes will be formally accepted by project stakeholders. Usually it involves a formal review, discussion, and sign-off by the Project Board.
Appendix A – Change Request
Change Request FormChange Identification Section / Name or Project/Program
Change Control # / Date:
Short Title: / Affected System(s):
Requested by: / Supporting Materials Attached (yes/no)
Type of request (P, A, D, T): P=Plan/Sched Chg, A=Architecture Chg, D=Design Chg, T=Tech Chg
Description of Change Request:
Reason for Change:
Evaluation Section
Identify requirements, & products/deliverables changes:
Identify plan changes: / Estimate of effort (hrs) :
Total Hours:
Description of risks:
Risks associated with making and not making changes to system, project, and business:
Recommendation:
Evaluated by: / Date:
Decision Approval Section
Cancel __ / Postpone __
Reconsider on: ______/ Integrate into Project __
Decision Approval Signatures:
Sponsor: / Technical/User Rep: / Project Mgr:
Appendix B – Change Control Log
Change Management LogYour Project Name
No / Issue
date / Requestor / Title of
request / Impact and Deliverables affected / Resp. Person / Compl Date / Status
Document # Page9 Version 1.0