Which of the following activities is included in the Perform Integrated change control process?

Mahdi Niajalily

Mahdi Niajalily

PMP® , PSM, Project, Program & Portfolio Management Expert

Published Jun 25, 2019

Perform Integrated Change Control is the process of reviewing all change requests; approving changes and managing changes to deliverables, project documents, and the project management plan; and communicating the decisions. This process reviews all requests for changes to project documents, deliverables, or the project management plan and determines the resolution of the change requests. The key benefit of this process is that it allows for documented changes within the project to be considered in an integrated manner while addressing overall project risk, which often arises from changes made without consideration of the overall project objectives or plans. This process is performed throughout the project.

The Perform Integrated Change Control process is conducted from project start through completion and is the ultimate responsibility of the project manager. Change requests can impact the project scope and the product scope, as well as any project management plan component or any project document. Changes may be requested by any stakeholder involved with the project and may occur at any time throughout the project life cycle. The applied level of change control is dependent upon the application area, complexity of the specific project, contract requirements, and the context and environment in which the project is performed.

Before the baselines are established, changes are not required to be formally controlled by the Perform Integrated Change Control process. Once the project is baselined, change requests go through this process. As a general rule, each project’s configuration management plan should define which project artifacts need to be placed under configuration control. Any change in a configuration element should be formally controlled and will require a change request.

Although changes may be initiated verbally, they should be recorded in written form and entered into the change management and/or configuration management system. Change requests may require information on estimated schedule impacts and estimated cost impacts prior to approval. Whenever a change request may impact any of the project baselines, a formal integrated change control process is always required. Every documented change request needs to be either approved, deferred, or rejected by a responsible individual, usually the project sponsor or project manager. The responsible individual will be identified in the project management plan or by organizational procedures. When required, the Perform Integrated Change Control process includes a change control board (CCB), which is a formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, deferring, or rejecting changes to the project and for recording and communicating such decisions.

Approved change requests can require new or revised cost estimates, activity sequences, schedule dates, resource requirements, and/or analysis of risk response alternatives. These changes can require adjustments to the project management plan and other project documents. Customer or sponsor approval may be required for certain change requests after CCB approval, unless they are part of the CCB.

Changes may or may not impact the project baselines— sometimes only the performance against the baseline is affected. Decisions on those changes are usually made by the project manager.

Change requests that have an impact on the project baselines should normally include information about the cost of implementing the change, modifications in the scheduled dates, resource requirements, and risks. These changes should be approved by the CCB (if it exists) and by the customer or sponsor, unless they are part of the CCB. Only approved changes should be incorporated into a revised baseline.

Source: PMBOK Guide