Page 261 - Project+

should be assigned an identifying number for tracking purposes. Then, it should be

recorded in the change request log. This log is easy to construct in a spreadsheet file.
Table 9.1 shows a sample change request log.

TABLE 9.1 Change request log

ID Date Description Requestor Status Disposition Implementation
or Close Date

01 11/11 Add a drop- Nora Smith Submitted Approved 11/13
down box on to review
the entry committee
screen.

02 11/14 Implement Brett For review
virtual tape Whatley on 11/25
library for
backups.

You could add other columns to this spreadsheet for tracking purposes, depending on
the needs of your project. For example, you might want to add the date of the
committee’s decision, implementation status, and columns to track costs and hours

expended to implement the change.

After the change request is recorded in the tracking log, the next step is an analysis of
the change request.

Evaluate the Impact and Justification of Change

The changes are typically evaluated by the subject-matter experts working on the area
of the project that the change impacts, along with input from the project manager. The

following questions are a good place to start the analysis process:

Should the change be implemented?

What’s the cost to the project in terms of project constraints: cost, time, scope, and
quality?

Will the benefits gained by making the change increase or decrease the chances of
project completion?

What is the value and effectiveness of this change?

Is there a potential for increased or decreased risk as a result of this change?

After answering these basic questions, the expert should then analyze the specific

elements of the change request, such as additional equipment needs, resource hours,
costs, skills or expertise needed to work on the change, quality impacts, and so on. You
can use some of the same cost- and resource-estimating techniques we discussed in
previous chapters to determine estimates for change requests.

261