PRINCE2 Change Theme
The PRINCE2 Change Theme covers both Change Management, which is about looking after the products in the project and Issue & Change Control Management, which is about handling issues and change requests.
I will discuss in this article:
- What is Configuration Management?
- What is a configuration item?
- What is an issue and what are the three types of issues?
I will describe the PRINCE2 Change Theme approach to change.
I will describe the Configuration Management Strategy document
I will describe how to prioritize issues using the MoSCoW technique and track severity
I will describe what the Change Authority does and about the Change Budget.
I will describe how the Configuration Management procedure which has 5 activities:
- Planning
- Identification
- Control Change
- Status Accounting
- Verification & Audit.
I will describe the Issue and Change Control Procedure in the PRINCE2 Change Theme, which has 5 steps:
- Capture
- Examine
- Propose
- Decide
- Implement.
The PRINCE2 Change Theme – What happens in real world?
One of the biggest issues many Project Managers have is the ability to say no, or at least that is what they would like to say when they are asked to add more requirements to the project.
This of course, depends on the organization. In some organizations where there is little understanding of Quality and a Change Control process, Project Managers that say no are not seen as team players and can quickly develop a name as being uncooperative.
In some projects, there may be a rush to get the project started and so the required amount of time is not spent on defining the requirements and Product Descriptions, and then the budget is set for the project.
It can later become apparent that extra functionality has to be added and the Project Manager needs to know how to handle this situation.
What I like most about the PRINCE2 Change Theme is that it shows you that as a Project Manager, you never have to say no or yes, but when requested to add new functionality, you can even thank the person for suggesting this, then provide them a Change Request form to fill in and offer help if required.
You then promise to follow up on this Change Request, letting the requester know that it will be Change Authority/Project Board that will decide on this request.
The PRINCE2 Change Theme also describes the roles and responsibility of the Executive and the Project Board; this is useful, as you may need to remind the Executive of this.
I have seen a few projects where the Executive was actually the person who was putting the pressure on the Project Manager to allow changes to creep into the project without providing extra resources. So this theme will show you how to deal with these situations.
Most Project Managers are also aware that they have to look after the products produced by the project and this is called Configuration Management.
This mainly involves tracking changes, making sure the correct persons have access to the latest versions, baselining documents, and providing a central, accessible storage location.
Some companies provide an easy-to-use documented IT system that makes it easy for the Project Manager to manage, control and distribute project information, while other companies provide systems that are very difficult to use and therefore ends up not being used.
The good news is that it is very easy to get an easy-to-use online system that will provide most of the required functionality including secure access to the information.
The last point before moving on is that most Project Managers don’t plan any time for Configuration Management activities and believe this is something they can do in the evening or perhaps while on a conference call. It is a very good idea to plan this work, however.
Purpose of knowledge in the PRINCE2 Change Theme
The purpose of the knowledge in the Change Theme is to help you identify, assess and control any potential changes to the products that have already been approved and baselined.
The Change Theme is not just about handling change requests but also handling issues that arise during the project. In fact, it is better to say that the Change Theme provides a common approach to issue and Change Control.
Change is inevitable in any project and all projects need a good approach to identify, assess and control issues that may result in change. This theme provides an approach to Issues and Change Control.
When is Issue and Change Control done?
Issue and Change Control happens during the full lifecycle of the project. Remember, the objective is not to prevent changes but to get changes agreed and approved before they can take place.
Each project requires a Configuration Management System that tracks products, records when products are approved and baselined, and helps to ensure that the correct versions are being used during the project and delivered to the customer.
Configuration Management:
Configuration Management forms part of the PRINCE2 Change Theme and is the technical and administrative activity concerned with the creation, maintenance and controlled change of the configuration of a product. This is a nice way of saying that Configuration Management is about looking after products in the project.
So what is meant by the term “configuration item”?
A configuration item is the name given to an entity (or item) that is managed by Configuration Management, i.e., a component of a product, a product or a Release. An example using a component in a laptop computer would be the cooling fan, the memory or the hard drive. An example of a product would be the complete laptop.
A Release is a complete and consistent set of products that are managed, tested and deployed as a single entity to be handed over to users. An example of a Release could be a new version of a laptop computer with a certain version build of OS, certain CPU, certain BIOS, and certain versions of applications.
The PRINCE2 Change Theme uses the term issue to cover any relevant event that has happened, that was not planned, and that requires some management action. For example, a question or a Change Request. Issues can be raised at any time during the project and by anyone with an interest in the project.
Types of issues
There are 3 types of Issues; they are
- Request for Change
- Off-Specification
- Problem/Concern which could also be a question.
Request for Change
Definition: A proposal for a change to a baselined product, i.e., a product that has already been approved. (This could be a Product Description document and one of the specialist products being created by the project. Example: A stakeholder requests to support a new language.)
Off-Specification
Definition: This is something that was agreed to be done but is not provided by the supplier or forecast not to be provided. Example: The supplier could not complete the automated Forget Password feature; therefore password will have to be manually reset by the central administrator.
Problem/Concern
Definition: Any other issue that the Project Manager needs to resolve or escalate. Example: One of the team was taken off the project for one week.
The PRINCE2 Approach to Change
The Issue and Change Management approach will be decided early in the project (IP stage), which is the first stage. This can be reviewed at the end of each stage in the Stage Boundary Process.
PRINCE2 has 6 management products that are used to control issues, changes and Configuration Management.
The Configuration Management Strategy document is used to establish the project controls and the rest of the documents help to maintain the project controls.
The other five management products are:
- Configuration Items Records
- Product Status Account
- Daily Log
- Issue Register
- Issue Reports
Here is a quick introduction of these 6 management products:
The Configuration Management Strategy. This document contains the strategy on how issues and changes will be handled in the project. E.g. how to identify products, how to control products and how to do status accounting and verification.
Configuration Items Records: They provide a set of data for each product used in the project (like meta data). E.g. The central desk of library would have card for each book with specific information including location, classification, ISBN number, etc…
Product Status Account: This is a report on the status of products. E.g. List status of all products produced by Supplier X in stage 3.
Daily Log: This log is used by the Project Manager as a diary for all informal information. Formal information is placed in a register (Issue or Risk).
Issue Register: Imagine a spreadsheet to capture and maintain issues.
Issue Report: This report describes an issue and according to PRINCE2 an issue can be 1) Request for Change, 2) an Off-Specification or 3) problem/concern.
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