Change Requests

Posted on May 11, 2009 by


During the course of a project as situations change and the scope of the work is better understood and elaborated upon, it can be expected that there will be some changes to the original planning. A suggested change is called a Change Request. The third edition PMBOK® had several types of change requests that could be outputs of various processes, but this has been simplified so that now they are all referred to as Change Requests. The process that handles Change Requests is the fourth edition PMBOK’s Perform Integrated Change Control. Change Requests which have arisen from other processes are an input. These requests are discussed in Change Control Meetings where the request may be approved or rejected. The primary output of the Integrated Change Control process is Change Request Status Updates, meaning that the requests are now approved or rejected. Change Requests can only be an input into the Integrated Change Control process. If this process has approved a request, this Approved Change Request may be an input into these three processes: Direct and Manage Project Execution, Perform Quality Control, and Administer Procurements. Change Requests can arise during the performance of the following processes: Direct and Manage Project Execution, Monitor and Control Project Work, Verify Scope, Control Scope, Control Schedule, Control Costs, Perform Quality Assurance, Perform Quality Control, Manage Project Team, Manage Stakeholder Expectations, Report Performance, Monitor and Control Risks, Plan Procurements, Conduct Procurements, and Administer Procurements. Notice that the three processes that have Approved Change Requests as inputs also have Change Requests as an output.