A change request is a documented proposal to alter an approved scope, requirement, schedule, price or operating condition. It gives the parties a controlled way to assess impact before changing the work or commercial commitment.
What should a change request contain?
- Requested change and business reason
- Affected deliverables, requirements and assumptions
- Cost, schedule and resource impact
- Risks, dependencies and acceptance criteria
- Requester, owner and required approvers
- Effective date and implementation plan
How does change control operate?
- Log the request against the current baseline.
- Assess technical, operational and commercial impact.
- Accept, reject, defer or request clarification.
- Update the contract, statement of work or plan if approved.
- Implement and verify the authorized version.
Change request vs. issue
An issue is a problem requiring resolution. A change request proposes an alteration to the approved baseline. An issue may lead to a change request, but fixing work that already failed its requirements may not justify extra scope or cost.
What should not happen?
Teams should not implement material changes based only on informal chat or meeting notes. Work completed before approval can create disputes over authority, price and acceptance.
