1. Introduction
Process 4.5 Perform Integrated Change Control is one of the most important of the project management processes. Remember that the cost of implementing changes in the project goes up as the project gets further along. Therefore, it is best to prevent changes if possible, and if not possible, to make those changes as soon as possible in the project. If you cannot avoid making a change, then you need to go through the process of analyzing what the impact on the project will be.
2. Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs
Here is a chart summarizing the inputs, tools & techniques, and outputs.
| 4.5 PERFORM INTEGRATED CHANGE CONTROL | ||
| INPUTS | ||
| 1. | Project Management Plan | These are an output of 4.2 Develop Project Management Plan. The subsidiary plans that are particularly relevant are:
|
| 2. | Work Performance Reports | These are an output of 4.4 Monitor and Control Project Work; those particularly relevant are:
|
| 3. | Change requests | These are outputs of EITHER 4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work OR 4.4 Monitor and Control Project Work. Can include one of four categories
The first three adjust the work to the plan, the last one adjusts the plan itself. |
| 4. | EEFs | In particular, the
|
| 5. | OPAs | There are two categories of OPAs, the first being policies and procedures …
… and the second being documents and corporate knowledge databases.
|
| TOOLS & TECHNIQUES | ||
| 1. | Expert judgment | Stakeholders with expertise may be asked to sit on Change Control Board (CCB) |
| 2. | Meetings | Meetings of Change Control Board are referred as to as change control meetings. |
| 3. | Change control tools | Manual or automated tools may be used for change or configuration management. |
| OUTPUTS | ||
| 1. | Approved change requests | Only those change requests which are approved by the appropriate authority (such as the Change Control Board) are then input back into process 4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work. |
| 2. | Change Log | All change requests, whether approved or rejected, get recorded in the change log. |
| 3. | Project Management Plan updates | The same project management plans that are listed as input #1 for this process are updated:
Change management plan (managing the change control process and documents the formal Change Control Board) |
| 4. | Project Document updates | All documents that are considered part of the formal change control process are updated. |
Here are a few things to note:
Change requests are inputs from two different processes. If the need for the change is obvious and is noticed while the project work is being executed, then the change request may be an output of 4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work. On the other hand, if the need for the change is only noticed as a result of the monitoring the project (by measuring earned value at various points along the way, for example), then the change request may be an output of 4.4 Monitor and Control Project Work.
In either case, the change requests are analyzed as part of a process that was set out in the Change Management Plan. The tools & techniques for change management are expert judgment, meetings, and the tools used to facilitate these two techniques.
The APPROVED changes are then input back into the 4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work, although all change requests are entered into the Change Log, whether they are approved or not.
The next process is that of 4.6 Close Project or Phase, which I will summarize in the next post.
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4squareviews 
1) Is it the Change Management Plan that oversees the creation of the project’s PICC, such as who will be on the Change Control Board and the board’s level of authority? Could you provide an example of ‘change control tools’ how they’d be used on change and configuration management?