Set Up a Simple Change Control Process

Define request intake and triage

Use a standard request form with rationale, urgency, affected deliverables, and requested date. Triage requests by impact level and decision authority.

Small operational adjustments can follow an expedited path, while major scope changes require sponsor review.

Run impact analysis and decision

For each request, estimate effect on critical path, effort, risk profile, and dependent teams. Include alternatives such as defer, phase split, or replacement scope.

Record decision, rationale, and baseline updates. Teams should never infer approval from silence.

• Assign change owner and due date
• Version-control scope baseline
• Track cumulative change load

Late request for billing integration

During pilot prep, finance requests adding billing integration to phase one of Harbor Health portal.

1. Log request with business rationale and requested launch date impact tolerance.
2. Assess impact: adds four weeks, increases testing scope, and introduces new vendor dependency.
3. Present options: defer to phase two, or swap out secure messaging enhancement to hold date.
4. Sponsor approves defer option and baseline is updated with explicit phase-two commitment.

Common mistakes

• Implementing scope changes before impact analysis.
• Treating verbal requests as approved commitments.
• Approving many minor changes without cumulative impact tracking.
• Failing to update baseline documents after approval.

Try one

Sources

• Project Management Institute: What is project management?PMI overview of core project management concepts and practices.