Following on from the post yesterday on change management, I thought I would write a quick list of the elements that should go on a change request form.

• Serial number of id – to identify the change
• Name of originator and department
• Brief description of the change
• Reason for the request
• Estimated effort for project time and cost
• Authorisation or rejection decision and signature
• Reason if rejected

Change request forms should not be used unless you are working on a large project, that impliments design freeze. However by tailoring this form it is possible to get people to think before they request a change.

A more usuable form may include:

• Name of originator
• Description of change
• How it materially affects the success of the project
• Why the change cannot wait until phase 2
• The cost of the change in time and resource
• Reason for accepting or rejecting the change