Successfully completed projects predominantly have one thing in common – effective change management techniques. This is because scope changes are – for the most part – inevitable in project management and a good Project Manager needs to be able to effectively manage change within their assigned projects or else, they risk losing control of their project as it relates to the triple constraint elements:
- Scope
- Time
- Cost
Well-established PMOs have Change Management Committees that are responsible for reviewing and approving scope changes to projects, whereas some smaller organizations may not have such a formalized process, which results in the Project Manager being fully responsible for overseeing all components of change management within their own projects. Let us look at some of the proven techniques to implementing effective change management in projects.
Designate a Single Point of Contact
As a Project Manager, it can be frustrating to find out that a new scope item was added to your project without your knowledge because it came from one of the stakeholders through a different resource within the project. To safeguard from this, the project team should collectively agree on a single point of contact that will be responsible for receiving all change request – in most cases, this responsibility falls under the Project Manager, but it could also be assigned to another project resource that will be communicating any new change requests to the Project Manager.
Budget for Contingency Funds
Project budgets are assigned for approved projects based on identified tasks and levels of effort involved for the project resources – at the very minimum. A change request may sometimes come in that was not covered under the approved budget, and there may be no more future budget allocation expected even though the change request must be included into the project scope. In such cases, maintaining contingency funds would help a Project Manager be able to incorporate the new change request within the existing project scope because of the ability to pay for the associated costs without worrying about the source of funding.
Standardize the Change Management Process
A standardized approach to change management provides greater clarity in how the process should be conducted and creates consistency across all projects. This can be achieved through the creation of templates that all new change requests must follow to be reviewed and approved. It also helps improve on productivity within the project because valuable time is not wasted on guessing how to draft a change request, or who to submit them to within a project team.
Monitor the Project Budget
Scope changes to a project baseline will undoubtedly have an impact on the budget because of the introduction of changes that were not a part of the original project scope that was used to obtain a budget. Project Managers can use budgeting tools such as MS Project or JIRA to keep track of how additional scope changes affect their assigned budgets. This makes it easier to monitor whether your remaining budget will be prematurely exhausted by the introduction of new change requests, and allows the Project Managers to take appropriate action to mitigate this risk by either requesting for additional funds or accessing contingency funds. In some cases, change requests may not be approved primarily because of a lack of additional funds required to include new scope items into an existing project.
At PM Imperative, we cover the latest trends in Project Management and Product Management. As PM practitioners, we understand the value the Project Managers and Product Managers bring to each organization and that’s why we focus on the most practical strategies that Project and Product Managers can implement immediately. If you found this post useful, be sure to check out our latest book: The PM Imperative – Guide for Leading & Managing Projects, People & Delivering Value. https://pmimperative.com/shop/
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