UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT
A change order records an authorized change under the project's contractual process. Before approval, a change request should describe the trigger, affected scope, alternatives and expected consequences. Separate the technical need from the commercial agreement: recognizing that work is necessary does not automatically settle its price or time entitlement. Use the applicable contract and delegated authority to determine who can instruct work and approve its commercial treatment.
Maintain statuses that distinguish submitted, under review, approved, rejected and implemented changes. Assess effects on dependencies, testing, documentation and operations as well as direct construction cost. When approval changes the controlled baseline, retain the previous version and a traceable explanation. Pending changes may still need visibility in the forecast according to policy. Close the loop by confirming the work and associated documents were updated; an approved amount in a register does not prove the change was implemented correctly.
Questions to take back to your team
- Does the approver have authority for scope, cost and time?
- Have testing, documentation and operational consequences been assessed?
- Can the revised baseline be reconciled to approved changes?
Further reading
Explore the primary references below. Requirements and applicability depend on your organization and jurisdiction.
