Program Change Request

Program Change Request (docx)

Purpose of Change Request

The change request form is the primary tool used for requesting, approving, and documenting changes to the program and is an important piece of the change management process.  Program managers must ensure proper change management control is enforced during the program to ensure the program remains within approved constraints, scope, and continues to deliver expected benefits.

Programs are long in duration and introduce organizational change that impacts many stakeholders.  Changes are inevitable, therefore must be managed properly.

Change Request Participants and Approvers

The change request form should typically be filled out by the individual or stakeholder requesting the change, although it may be filled out by the Program Manager to record the requested change. 

Before the change can be approved, the Program Manager will lead the program team or component project teams to analyze and document (on the form) the impact of the proposed change.  The approver should be the Sponsor of the program.

Instructions

  1. Requestor of the change should fill out Section 1 and 2 of the form and submit to the Program Manager
  2. The Program Manager will assess what type of investigation is required to determine the impact of the change.  If the investigation will take significant time (i.e. will take resources away from program deliverables that could impact timelines), an approval from the Sponsor should be obtained in Section 3 to undergo the investigation. 
  3. Complete the investigation to analyze the impact of the change. This may require time from program and component project team members.  The Program Manager and/or Requestor can now proceed to fill out Section 3 (impact)
  4. Submit the change request form to the sponsor for final approval of the change.  The sponsor may choose to discuss the change with governance before approving.
  5. Sponsor approves or rejects the change. 
  6. File the change request document in the document repository your project team is using.

Next Steps

For an approved change, update program management plan, RAID, benefit register, schedule, roadmap, and any other documentation that may need to be updated to reflect the change.  Communicate the change to stakeholders, including team members and governance.

Continue with program execution, making the appropriate changes.