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PRINCE2 Change Control Demystified
Here’s how to master the PRINCE2 recommended issue and change control procedure – whether for a change request, an issue, or just a plain old problem, concern, and although the PRINCE2 Manual does not mention it – an Opportunity!
In the absence of any other approach, PRINCE2 recommends the following issue and change control procedure, shown below:
Let’s deal with each type in turn:
Capturing issues
The first step in the procedure is to undertake an initial analysis to determine the type of issue that has been raised and whether it should be managed informally or formally. The project manager makes an initial assessment of the issue’s severity and priority.
The project manager is likely to receive many issues that can be handled without having to treat them formally, particularly if the issue can be resolved immediately (e.g. a team member raising an issue that their site access pass is about to expire). In such cases, the project manager should decide on the best course of corrective action.
The purpose of distinguishing between those issues that can be managed informally and those that need to be managed formally is to:
- ensure decisions are made at an appropriate level within the project management team
- avoid the project board being inundated with too many issues and therefore diluting the time it has available to deal with the key issues affecting the project
- reduce the administrative burden on the project manager when dealing with the day-to-day issues that may arise
Issues being managed formally should be entered in the issue register and given a unique identifier. The daily log can be used to record issues being managed informally.
Assessing issues
The next step is to assess the issue by undertaking an impact analysis.
However, the project manager needs to consider whether it is worthwhile doing a detailed impact analysis as the duration and effort required to undertake one may itself cause a deviation from the plan.
The impact analysis should consider the impact the issue has (or will have) on:
- the project performance targets in terms of time, cost, quality and scope, including whether there are any other products that are within the project’s scope that will also be impacted by this issue
- the project business case, especially in terms of the impact on benefits
- any other dependent products produced by the project
- the project risk profile (i.e. the impact on the overall risk exposure of the project)
If the project is part of a programme, the impact of the change on the programme as a whole should be considered. There may also be effects on other projects that are not necessarily part of the programme.
Examining the impact of issues can be wrongly taken to mean only the impact on the customer. Impact analysis must cover the three areas of business, user and supplier (e.g. including the supplier’s cost and effort required to implement a change and what products would have to be changed).
Having undertaken the impact analysis, the severity or priority of the issue should be re-evaluated.
The issue register should be updated to include the above information and the person who raised the issue should be kept informed of its status.
It may be necessary to request advice from the project board to check its understanding of the issue’s priority or severity before proposing resolutions.
Proposing corrective actions
After a full understanding of the impact of the issue has been gained, the next step is to consider alternative options for responding to it and proposing a course of action to take.
Consideration should be given to the effect each of the options will have on the project’s time, cost, quality, scope, benefits and risk performance targets.
There must be a balance between the advantage to be gained by implementing the option and the time, cost and risk of implementing it, as illustrated below:
The risk considerations should include both project risks (i.e. of not completing within tolerances) and risks to operational performance when the project’s products are in use.
If any of the proposed options would take the stage or project beyond any tolerances, seek advice from the project board. The project manager should execute any decision by the project board in response.
Deciding on corrective actions
The project manager may be able to resolve issues without the need to escalate them to the project board.
For example, a minor change to an approved detailed design document that does not affect any other products could be handled by the project manager (if allowed in the change control approach), as long as it is formally recorded.
Other issues may need to be escalated to the project board (or its delegated change authority) for a decision. For escalated issues and exceptions, the likely project board responses are shown below:
Project Board Considerations
Request For Change
Project Board Response
- Approve the change
- Reject the change
- Defer decision
- Request more information
- Ask for an exception plan (if the request for change cannot be implemented within the limits delegated to the change authority)
Considerations
If a request for change involves extra cost, there are three principal ways to fund it:
- use the change budget (if being used and of sufficient size)
- request that corporate, programme management or the customer increase the project budget
- de-scope other elements of the project
Tolerance should not be used to fund requests for change.
Off-specification
Project Board Response
- Grant a concession
- Instruct that the off specification be resolved
- Defer decision
- Request more information
- Ask for an exception plan (if the concession cannot be granted within the limits delegated to the change authority)
Considerations
The project board may decide to accept the off specification without immediate corrective action. This is referred to as a concession. When a product is granted a concession, the product description will need to be revised before the product is handed over to the user.
Problem/Concern
Project Board Response
To either provide guidance to enable the project manager to solve the problem, or to ask for an exception plan.
Considerations
Consider if the problem/concern be resolved by relaxing the stage tolerances?
Implementing corrective actions
The project manager will either take the necessary corrective action, which might include updating affected products, work packages, plans and registers, or create an exception plan for approval by the project board.
In both cases, the project manager will update the issue register with the decision and inform all interested parties.
Implementation of the corrective action must ensure that baselined products are updated in a controlled manner and with appropriate authorizations.
If a product that has been baselined is to be changed, a new version should be created to accommodate the change, and the baseline version is kept unchanged.
Old baseline versions should be archived where possible, not discarded.
After an issue has been closed, the project manager should update the issue register.
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