From small tweaks in your task timeline to large, complex changes like switching the main contractor, you need a special document to initiate and process every project change.
In other words, a Change Request Form. As a formal document, CRF marks the first step in tracking or managing any changes to your original scope, design, schedule or budget. As every project professional knows, a project is a controlled activity, often planned months or years in advance. So if you are changing a significant aspect of it, there needs to be a streamlined process that lets you initiate, analyse, review, and approve changes in a structured way. Thankfully, there is.
The Change Process
- Step 1: Each change is formally initiated by a specific member of the project team using a Change Request Form.
- Step 2: Once submitted, it is reviewed by relevant people (usually, project managers or owners). This is when a detailed Impact Assessment is carried out to understand how each change affects your resources, milestones, and overall goals.
- Step 3: Based on this review led by project high-ups, you are now in a better position to approve or reject a change using a Change Log.
- Step 4: Track each change using a comprehensive database to keep your entire team on the same page about how your project is changing or evolving.
Whether you are a client who wants to incorporate new technology or a contractor looking to update the scope of their construction project, you need a formal written record of every change request. Luckily for you, we offer a premade Change Request Form you can use to request, approve, document, and track all project-related changes.
Logging changes is a common practice in the construction industry, where they come in particularly handy during the planning & execution stages. They give project managers a chance to confirm if any resources (material or human) associated with a certain change are available and accessible. But every change is different; while some alter the very scope or deliverables of a project, others call for minor adjustments in budgets or timelines. Either way, project teams need to know what a proposed change entails and whether it has been approved and implemented.
Now, let’s explore each section of our Change Request Form in more detail.
Request Overview
The top of the form covers basic information, such as:
- The name of the project
- Change ID: A unique identifier to help you track your change requests
- The name of the change (e.g., shift from Javascript to Python, replacing wooden tiles with marbles, etc.)
- The name of the person requesting the change (also known as the Change Manager)
- The date when a change was requested
- The date when a change must be implemented
Once you add these details, it’s time to get down to the specifics of each change:
Description of the change
To make sure everyone is on the same page, the intended change needs to be clearly described right at the outset. Add relevant or specific details about the change being proposed so the approving party (usually the site manager or main contractor) knows precisely how the original design or plan is being modified.
Reason for the change
Here, you must explain why the change was requested or what issue it addresses in the blank space provided. Whether you are adding an extra floor or sprucing up the landscaping, it is important that both clients & contractors are duly informed of the reason or justification for each change before deciding whether to go through with it or not.
Impact Assessment
Think about how each change will affect your scope, timeline, budget, and resources.
Use this section to talk about any particular domain, area, or stage of a project that is going to be impacted by the change in issue.
To do this, you must first perform a change impact assessment, which involves determining how a change will affect your teams, tasks, tools, procedures, technologies, and systems. Although it may not always be feasible, the impact you are trying to evaluate should ideally be measurable so it can be easily assessed and compared.
The change impact checklist
In our template, we made a checklist to help you narrow down the potential impact of any proposed change:
- TaskScope Affected
- Cost Evaluation
- Risk Evaluation
- Quality Evaluation
- Additional Resources
- Duration
- Deliverables
- Additional Effort
- Impact on Deadline
- Alternatives/Recommendations
Blank space is provided against each item on the list so you can expand upon the nature and gravity of the impact you foresee.
Approval Status
Without a formal system in place to approve or reject changes, you might end up with a series of uncontrolled alterations to the original project. That’s obviously not what we want, so make sure every change is approved by the relevant person. Approving parties are normally ones in senior management or ownership positions such as project managers, investors, or domain experts.
In our template, we provide space for each project change to be reviewed by two parties:
1. Project manager
Project managers are the human powerhouses of a project. As the ones responsible for sticking to timelines, staying within budget & reporting back to stakeholders, it is imperative they give the green light to each proposed change. This helps ensure each change is necessary and in line with overall project aims & objectives.
2. Change manager
Now, identify the person or team responsible for taking the measures needed to manage, process, and track the change. In other words, a Change Manager.
This ensures accountability and clear ownership of each change while facilitating effective communication and coordination among team members. For example, a client may request the contractor to add a new floor to the building as the project goes along. In this case, the contractor will have to assign the change to the relevant engineers and architects, who must then try to incorporate the client’s demands into the existing building structure.
Who Is This Template For?
- Project managers
- Team members
- Stakeholders
- Clients
- Quality assurance teams
- Technical writers
Wrap Up
Whether you need additional time to complete your assigned tasks or extra resources to meet the expectations of your clients, a change request form helps you document & review every proposed change in light of its overall impact on the project.
By formalizing the process of requesting change and furnishing the details needed to evaluate and approve them, you can better manage changes to your project’s scope, budget, or timeline.
Use our pre-built framework to solve problems such as scope creep, delays, or resource constraints that call for modifications to the original plan. You can also use it to assess the feasibility and impact of each change before it is approved or implemented.
Our free & editable template can be instantly downloaded for use in Word and PDF formats!
