Change Request

Change Request is a new requirement that comes from a Stakeholder & was not specified initially when the requirements were finalized in an ongoing project. A Change Request is an unavoidable situation that is likely to arise in almost all projects. It can come from an internal Stakeholder or external Stakeholder. It could arise due to change in process, regulatory /statutory norms, changing markets etc. In short, it could be Business requirement, Stakeholder requirement or Functional requirement. A Change Request should not be avoided but rather welcomed & managed efficiently as it is crucial to Customer Relation Management & adds value to the organization. These phases of the project, if managed efficiently, can lead to a strong & long lasting relationship with the Client. Change Request Management is a responsibility of a Business Analyst & can be tackled well if there is proper planning & Systematic approach to it in a predefined way.
Once a Change Request is received the Business Analyst (BA) must document it & share it with all the Stakeholders (external stakeholders – for more clarity & internal stakeholders – for bringing everyone up to speed & on the same page).
First it must be discussed with the external Stakeholder in detail to thoroughly understand what the Change is, why is it required, how it will benefit the client.
Then on the instruction of the Project Manager /Senior Team Member the BA conducts a Feasibility Analysis to see if the change can be integrated with the existing solution or there has to be a modification to the solution to accommodate the change.
After the Feasibility Analysis, the BA conducts the Impact Analysis to study what impact the Change could have on the existing solution.
This is followed by Effort Estimation, which defines the additional cost & time required to implement the Change Request.
Then the Change Request is presented to the Change Control Board for formal approval.
The results of the above activities will help the Change Control Board to take an informed decision whether to accept the Change Request or to reject it. It becomes easy to weigh the efforts against the results they will bring in & decide if the effort is really worth it. This Systematic approach will also help the external Stakeholder to take an informed decision about the Change Request.
Thus, it can be concluded that effective management of A Change Request can distinguish a good BA from the rest. For this the BA has to communicate all the findings with the relevant stakeholders who will be impacted by the Change Request & help them make an informed decision.