Instigate and enforce a good change management system

Change management coordinators and people who have to approve changes spend a lot of time chasing signatures, putting information in to spreadsheets, and general admin duties that could be automated.

It is easy to lose track of changes, or not document them properly.

Documentation for changes often lags a long way behind the actual change occurrence.

Many companies use a collection of spreadsheets. This can be cumbersome because different copies are in different locations, people forget to fill in details. The change coordinator ends up having to fill in all details (when that person may not understand the change).

A very good system would only need the coordinator to set up the initial templates in the system and file hard copies of signatures on approvals as they are received.

Ideally want a system in which the internal instigator can log-in, tick boxes to show effects of changes, type the title and description, allocate who is responsible to enter costs and who should sign. The system should then send messages to those people to review the item fill in details (and attach supporting docs) and approve (all on the system), with printouts available for the person to print, sign, and send to coordinator to file (if required). Ideally want instigators to be able to do all with little work from coordinator except for filing hard copies.

It is even better if your system allows for electronic authorisation, eliminating the need to print and sign papers.

Often the problem with a system is that emails get sent and people don’t notice them, leading to change documentation to be overlooked. This can be avoided with a log-in system that lists what tasks are to be completed for that person.

A system should have a way of enforcing adherence. Ideally where each person who may have to authorise a change has an icon which tells them when something is waiting their authorization.

I system could be a simple database, or it could be a complete enterprise system. Having a system is the important part.

If a senior manager calls up and wants a report on all the changes on a project sorted by cost, with a good system you should be able to give it to him within a few minutes. If your change management system is just on a collection of spreadsheets, this may not be possible. Even better, a good system would allow the manager to log-in and look at the reports themselves.

Tagged with: authorisation • change management • change management system • database • reports • signatures • spreadsheets

Filed under: Communication • Design • Documentation • Planning • Time

You should document (in writing) any design changes or delays caused by the client.

This is very important for claiming cost or time extensions.

A good change management system is important. Spreadsheets can suffice for small projects with a small number of changes, but for larger projects, a good database system will help reduce the time required for change management.

You will need to record things such as (these are in no particular order):

• change title
• time delay
• extra costs (design, construction stage services, extra construction costs, administration costs, extra workshops, safety)
• who requested the change (which person from the client organisation
• approval status
• risks associated with the change (extra risks arising from changes in the design)
• change details
• why it is needed
• name of responsible person
• associated design drawings or packages
• cost codes (linked to your accounting system)
• date of change request
• change impact (minor, moderate, major)
• consequences
• date completed

It would be ideal if these can all be entered on one page in a system. You should then be able to output reports showing just some parts (say change title and cost), without having to duplicate information into spreadsheets etc.

You do not want to have multiple systems or spreadsheets that all have different versions of the information and are not linked.

There should only be one place where all the information on the change is recorded.

Tagged with: change management • change system

Filed under: Client • Design • Documentation