synthetic_policies/change_management_process.md

OPS-SOP-019: Change Management Process

Effective Date: 2025-08-01 Revision: 1.1 Owner: Project Management Office (PMO)

1. Purpose

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) establishes a formal process for requesting, evaluating, approving, and implementing changes to a project's scope, timeline, or budget. The objective is to control "scope creep" and ensure that any changes are properly assessed and approved before being acted upon.

2. When to Use This Process

This process must be initiated when a change is proposed that affects any of the "triple constraints" of a project:

• Scope: Adding or removing features, deliverables, or requirements.
• Timeline: Any change that could impact a major milestone or the final delivery date.
• Budget: Any change that results in an increase or decrease in the approved project budget.

3. The Change Management Steps

Step 1: Submission of Change Request

• Who: Any project stakeholder can propose a change.
• How: A formal Change Request (CR) must be submitted using the designated Jira ticket type.
• Content: The CR must include:
  • A clear description of the proposed change.
  • The business justification (the "why").
  • The perceived benefits and risks of implementing the change.

Step 2: Impact Analysis

• Who: The Project Manager (PM) is responsible for leading the analysis.
• How: The PM works with the project team to assess the impact of the change on scope, timeline, budget, and resources.
• Output: The PM documents the findings of the impact analysis directly in the CR Jira ticket. This must be a quantitative assessment (e.g., "This will add 80 hours of development work and delay the UAT phase by 3 days").

Step 3: Approval by the Change Control Board (CCB)

• A Change Control Board (CCB) is established for each project. The CCB's composition is defined in the Project Charter, but typically includes the Project Sponsor, PM, and key technical/business leads.
• The PM presents the CR and the impact analysis to the CCB.
• The CCB makes one of three decisions:
  • Approved: The change is accepted.
  • Rejected: The change is not accepted.
  • Deferred: The change may be considered at a later date.

Step 4: Implementation & Communication

• If the CR is approved, the PM is responsible for:
  • Updating the project plan, budget, and other relevant documentation.
  • Communicating the approved change to all project stakeholders.
  • Integrating the new work into the project's backlog and schedule.

4. Emergency Changes

In rare cases where a change is required to fix a critical issue, an expedited process may be followed with verbal approval from the Project Sponsor, but a formal CR must be submitted retroactively within 48 hours.

5. Related Policies

• Project Kickoff Procedure (OPS-SOP-018)

6. Revision History

• v1.1 (2025-10-20): Clarified the role of the Change Control Board (CCB) and added a section on emergency changes.
• v1.0 (2025-08-01): Initial version.