What is Change Control Management? Steps to Effective Change Control

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When an organization plans and undertakes a project, it has to keep room for expected or unexpected changes. Changes during the project are unavoidable. The reasons can be manifold. The change could occur due to a sudden shortage of manpower, or due to weather conditions, or due to customer requirements. Organizations need to develop a mechanism to manage these changes and subsequently take a decision on accepting or rejecting these changes based on their analysis. The change that is accepted should be responded to. This makes the development of a change control management system a necessity. This is essential to ensure that the project does not get off track and remains within the budget. This necessitates the creation of a whole new course of action. Here, we will first learn what is change control in Project Management and then we will discuss the steps of effective change control. So, let us start with change control.

Change control management

Change control is an approach, a method to manage the changes that affect the baseline of the project and that have the potential to get the project off track. It is a systematic approach used for managing all the changes being made in the course of the project. It is a system that the project teams use to make changes to a project that has already been approved. The changes could pertain to budget (addition or subtraction in the budget), timelines, and milestones. The change could even be related to the team where new people could be added or some old ones are removed as the project progresses. Change control is a mechanism to capture the change from the point it is identified during every step of the project cycle. The aim of this exercise is to ensure that only those changes are made which are actually required and unnecessary or the changes which are not needed are not made. Obviously, you would not like to disturb the project for any not-so-good reason. Because, if you do so, you would be wasting valuable resources and invaluable time. Change control in Project Management also makes sure that all the stakeholders have a say in or agree on the process of revising the basic elements of the project when the need arises. Change control management assumes a special significance when the project is a part of a bigger program because if the change is not managed the repercussions can be wide.

Change control is a part, a distinct element of Change Management. which is done in a sequence of steps. Being a distinct concept, it involves assessing the suggested changes and ascertaining if they should be implemented. Change control has to be effective so that it causes minimum disruption. There is a process, a sequence of steps as mentioned earlier, to manage the change control. Below, we describe the steps for effective change control.

Steps for effective change control

1. Identify what is to change

Normally, any change is started with the aim of improving the product or the process or achieving a specific result. It is essential for organizations to explicitly mention the objective of the change process before it starts otherwise it is sure to fail even before it begins. So, identifying the scope of the change is necessary so that everyone is clear about what they are trying to accomplish. When all stakeholders are clear about what needs to be changed and why and what improvement it will bring, they will be more focused on implementing the change and this will build a strong foundation for successfully implementing the change. All these questions need to be given careful consideration before initiating the change process. Care should be taken that the proposed change does not contradict your company's vision. Deviating from the organization's vision and goals can prove costly. So, this is the first step in an effective change control process.

2. Prepare a strong business case to bring all stakeholders on board

It is a strict no-no to straightaway dive into the Change Management process all on your own. It is not going to be possible for you to implement the change alone even if you have the required technical competence and knowledge. You would need the support of all the stakeholders to ring in the change. These stakeholders may be at many levels, inside and outside the organization. From the top management of the organization to the change champions to the customers and then to those who have to actually implement the change. Everyone should be consulted and taken into confidence. So, it is important that you build a strong business case with the right plan and strategy. This is particularly important because each set of stakeholders may have their own expectations which may be different from the others, Therefore, it is necessary to create a business case to give each one of them a message tailored to their expectations which will make them genuinely interested in implementing the change. And when all the stakeholders are on the same page, getting any additional resources required to implement the change, including finance, becomes easy. Hence, this is a vital step in the project change control process.

3. Create a roadmap for the change

Once you have got the buy-in from all the stakeholders, it is time to build a strategy to implement the change. Eloquently document your strategy by creating a roadmap for implementing the change. This should include the starting point of the change implementation process i.e. where would you start, the steps to be taken to reach the goal, and the method by which you will know that the process has been completed successfully. The roadmap should also mention the scope of the change, allocation of resources, and budgeting. Then provide a synopsis of the process and clearly describe the steps, show what would be the measurable targets and how you would measure the progress, and how you plan to analyze the results. Identify the key people who would help you or lead the Change Management process. They will be helpful in coordinating the activities at a micro-level. All this is important as it will demonstrate that the change is taking place in steps and in a structured manner and no shortcuts are being taken to implement the change.

4. Collect data and analyze

Once you have a roadmap and the consent of all the stakeholders, make some benchmarks against which you can measure your progress. As the Change Management process begins and you start the change implementation, collecting data and evaluating it to measure and track your progress proves to be immensely beneficial. Fully utilize this aspect to get a correct picture. It may be possible to measure some changes with ease while measuring others may be a little difficult. But preparing and presenting clear reports can greatly help in effectively communicating with all concerned and measuring the progress correctly. This also helps in keeping up the tempo of the process. Rightly tracking the progress is also important because it will bring out any delays and the causes related to the delay so that corrective action could be taken immediately. So, do not hesitate to collect data from multiple sources and analyze it diligently in order to prepare and present accurate reports reflecting the actual progress and the roadblocks, if any.

5. Communicate effectively

Effective communication is the key to the success of any endeavor. So it is with the change control management also. Open and strong communication with everyone is what binds all throughout the Change Management process. It is vital for cultivating a culture that is conducive to accepting the change gracefully. You should not communicate only to explain your plans and seek approvals but also to yourself understand and make others understand the problems that need to be solved. Healthy communication has to be the backbone for effective Change Management. We all know that people are very reluctant to adopt change. So, effective communication lines should be opened with everyone concerned at every stage of the process to remove any misgivings or doubts. Transparent communication between all will help all the stakeholders to have a clear idea of what is working and what is not. Clear two-way communication means people can speak out their concerns and offer suggestions. Effective communication can work wonders for implementing the change smoothly. Also, this way people become more responsive and willing to try out new methods or processes.

6. Track the risks and manage them

One of the most common reasons for resistance to change is the fear of the unknown. And this is one of the major risks in Change Management - the resistance to change. Another reason for resistance to change is the risk factor involved. People are usually averse to taking risks. And this is a quite normal response to any proposal for change. But then it can derail the entire change process and can put its entire success in jeopardy. The best way to deal with it is to correctly anticipate the level of resistance and prepare for it. This can be done by providing training to the leadership and arming them with the tools to combat resistance. With this, they would be better equipped to deal with all the concerns and doubts of the participants who are unwilling to make the contribution required of them in the Change Management process. This will promote transparency thus mitigating this risk and affecting the transition process smoothly.

7. Continuous review and improvement

Change Management is a continuous process. So, it is vital to regularly monitor the team's progress. Are they on the right track? Are they moving correctly toward the goal outlined in your roadmap? Moreover, you may be required to readjust your strategies mid-way through the process and better approaches may have to be incorporated into the plan. Therefore, it is important to regularly stop and assess with all the stakeholders, the amount of progress made and what can be improved to accomplish the goals. Also, this will also help you to see if any new impediments have cropped in and if yes then how to overcome them. It is always better to create a feedback loop where you can review regularly and identify challenges and adjust your plan accordingly.

8. Celebrate success

It is very important to keep the team motivated at all times to avoid burnout or boredom. Change control management is a tough process and there are setbacks and challenges coming up all the time. It is therefore important that you take out some time to celebrate the successes of the team and the individual members. Recognize their achievements at different milestones and celebrate those achievements with them. It not only keeps the team motivated and positive but also helps in sustaining momentum and keeping morale high. Every team or its member who is responsible for delivering a milestone should be given due recognition which will play an important part in fostering a culture in the organization that will facilitate the smooth adoption of the change process and implementation of the change.

The best of the plans go awry due to unexpected problems, setbacks, and obstacles that make the forward movement difficult. But by involving all the concerned people from an early stage, defining the process and the result of the proposed change clearly, gives you the structure you need to implement the change successfully. Change control management is easier said than done. But by adopting the above process, you can deal with the change and implement it rather easily. By incorporating clearly identified steps into your change process, and flexibility to adjust strategies and approaches, you can bring a culture of effective Change Management to your organization.