A change control board (CCB) is a group of people in a company responsible for examining, reviewing, and prioritizing change requests about a project. It can be a small group consisting of just the project manager and the project sponsor or as large as a committee of representatives from various relevant segments of the organization. Any change agreed upon by the committee is communicated to the project team and the client.
The authority conferred on the CCB can vary depending on the nature of the project, but any decision the board reaches is often regarded as final and binding. The decision to accept a change also depends on the project’s phase or stage. The main objective of the CCB, however, is to ensure that the deliverable meets the scope requirements, meets quality standards, and is accepted by the client.
Change Control Board and Members
Typically, a change control board consists of the development manager, the test lead, and a product manager. In some cases, a client representative may be included to ensure that the deliverables are accepted by the client. A small CCB is sometimes stronger because it facilitates quick decisions.
The function of a CCB will include some or all of the following: reviewing and approving change requests, prioritizing change activities, allocating resources to change projects, establishing unified reporting of change activities, and identifying and removing needed change activity roadblocks.
In many organizations, the CCB’s primary activity is reviewing and approving change requests. The board’s membership will depend on the organization’s functional makeup and may consist of representatives from areas such as Project or Program Management, Quality Assurance, Engineering, Manufacturing, Marketing, Regulatory Affairs, Documentation, Operations, and Research and Development. Other roles may be added to the board depending on need as the change affects the particular area. The membership of a CCB is unique to every organization.
Documents relating to the change are created at all stages of the change process. These documents may pertain to qualification and test requests, risk analysis matters, data on customer feedback, supplier audit reports, records on training, revised operating procedures, etc.
All these records are made available to the CCB for review. Furthermore, all the data generated in the change process become historical records, which will be filed and kept for reference within the organization as organizational process assets (OPA). These records will be helpful for presentation to third-party auditors for quality certification or compliance with regulatory requirements. In addition, the records also maintain a history of change, which will be subject to review in the future when there is a need to plan for any new changes change.
The Need for CCB
The need for CCB cannot be overemphasized. It doesn’t matter if your projects are small; it is always more productive to institute some CCB than not have any in place.
A CCB will assist you in managing many changes that will manifest during the project. Despite the fact that your stakeholders, sponsors, and project delivery team may have agreed on the cost, scope, and schedule of a project, something is bound to change before the project expires. Such changes will come in various forms and will affect your project positively and/or negatively.
The CCB helps you determine which changes to accept and undertake, which are to be rejected, and which may be shelved. This enables you to always make a rational decision instead of neglecting necessary changes or, on the other hand, executing changes before closely examining them.
The CCB’s responsibility includes listening to all ideas, considering the justifications behind each, and explaining to the project team, stakeholders, or sponsors why an idea was accepted and approved, rejected, or shelved for a more conducive situation for implementation.
The CCB confronts all these challenges. Other challenges include the need for more money to finance the change and more resources and time to complete the project. The issue of quality and the increase in risk are also pertinent.
The Project Manager must handle risk issues by administering the risk register as a component of a risk management plan. The risk register helps track issues and attend to them promptly. Input must be sought from stakeholders, team members, and end users. So tomorrow, when CCB requests you to submit a change request, do not see them as group monsters waiting to defeat you; see them as partners in progress. Remember, several CCB good heads are better than one project manager!
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ACTION ITEMS
- Understand the role and responsibilities of the Change Control Board (CCB)
- Determine if you need one within your project organization.
- Explore the justifications and benefits of having a CCB.
- If your leadership says no to CCB, what alternative can you explore to address changes to your project scope and high risks.
NEXT STEP
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