Integrated Change Control

Integrated change control examines the proposed change and determines its effect on the entire project, not just the scope, schedule, costs, and contract. Integrated change control examines nine project management knowledge areas to determine what effect the change will have on each knowledge area:

• Scope – any change, even if it doesn‘t appear to affect the project scope, are always examined to see if the change may have any impact on the project scope.
• Schedule – the project manager examines the proposed change to see if the project  schedule is affected. The project manager consider resource availability, access to the job site, cash flow predictions, and deadlines in the project schedule.
• Costs – the project budget is constantly monitored for changes, even minor changes to the project budget can accumulate into significant cost overruns within the project. Labor is typically the largest expense on a project, so overages on completing project
  tasks can quick drive changes to the project costs.
• Quality– any change can affect the expected quality of the project work. Any change, in particular changes to the project scope, can affect the quality and must be monitored for defects and unacceptable project work. Changes to the project schedule
  can affect project quality as the work force may rush through assignments to meet the project schedule, but generate defects in the rushed work.
• Human resources – changes to the project may require additional labor, specialized labor, or if the project is delayed, the project manager may lose key resources that have other assignments that now conflict with the delayed project schedule. Changes
  to the project team, such as team members leaving the organization, can also affect the entire project.
• Communications – changes within the project must be communicated to the appropriate stakeholders at the appropriate time. When a change happens the project manager must examine who needs to be informed of the change and communicate the
  change in the best modality considering the change implications.
• Risk– changes to the project can threaten the success of the project. Minor changes can have a domino effect on the project and introduce significant risks. All proposed changes must be examined for any possible risks the change may introduce to the
  project‘s ability to reach its objectives.
• Procurement – changes to the project can affect the procurement of the project. Consider changes to the project scope and how the need for additional materials, contract labor, or facilities can affect the need to procure these goods and services.
• Stakeholders– changes to the project can positively or negatively affect the stakeholders‘ synergy, excitement, and support of the project. The project manager must examine the potential affect the change may have on the project stakeholders. Some changes can add or remove stakeholders to the project; for example, adding or removing elements to the project scope can add or remove additional stakeholders to the project.