Change Control Process in Software Engineering with Steps

What is Change Control?

Change Control is the process that a company uses to document, identify and authorize changes to an IT environment. It reduces the chances of unauthorized alterations, disruption and errors in the system.

Why Change Control?

Whenever any new or different changes are requested for the system, especially by stakeholders, it is neither optional nor ignorable. It has to be implemented without affecting other components of the system. This is when the change control comes handy. It helps project teams to modify the scope of the project using specified controls and policies. Change Control is practiced whenever a project is not progressing as planned.

It is mandatory that a formal document for change request is completed and reviewed in order to keep control of change requests.

Number of question one might encounter while analyzing Change Control like

Who will approve the change?
Does it require to run through a change control board?
How much time will be required to research and implement the change?
What are the impacts of changes to other components of the system (schedules, cost, resources, etc.)?
Is there any threshold under which the project management can approve it?

1 JIRA Software

On Jira Software Website

Yes

Forever Free Plan

2 ClickUp

On ClickUp Website

Yes

Forever Free Plan

Different factors of Change Control process

There are various factors that a Change Control process should consider

Steps in Change Control Process	Action taken in Change Control
Change request initiation and Control	Request for changes should be standardized and subject to management review Change requestor should be kept informed
Impact Assessment	Make sure that all requests for change are assessed in a structured way for analyzing possible impacts
Control and Documentation of Changes	A change log should be maintained that tells the date, person details who made changes and changes implemented Only authorized individual should be able to make changes A process for rolling back to the previous version should be identified
Documentation and Procedures	Whenever system changes are implemented the procedures and associated document should update accordingly
Authorized Maintenance	System access right should be controlled to avert unauthorized access
Testing and User signoff	Software should be thoroughly tested
Version Control	Control should be placed on production source code to make sure that only the latest version is updated
Emergency Changes	A verbal authorization should be obtained, and the change should be documented as soon as possible

Process of Change Control

Before we look into what is involved in Change Control process, we will get familiarize with what documents are used in Change Control. While carrying out Change Control, there are mainly two documents involved

Change Log: A change log is a document that list the details about all the Change Requests like project number, PCR (project change request) ID, priority, Owner details, Target date, status and status date, raised by, date when raised etc.

Change Request Form: It is used to document details required to support the decision making process like type of change, benefits of change, name of resource requesting the change, time and estimate cost, priority of change, authorized person detail, change request status etc.

Change Process Flow-Diagram

Change Process follows a specific pattern to implement the changes in the product or system. Here through flow-diagram we explained what are the steps involved in the Change Process.

Steps for Change Control

Steps for Change Control	Action
Change request identification	Identify the need for a change and describe it on the project change request form
Change request assessment	If the change is not valid, it has to be deferred or rejected Determine appropriate resources required to analyze the change request Perform quick assessment of the potential impact and update the change request form At this stage, rejected change request should stopped
Change request analysis	For analysis assign the change request to an authorized member Deferred change re-enter this analysis step At this stage, rejected change request should stopped
Change request approval	Identify change risk and complexity level before approval Identify the impact level of the change before approval Review impact of Change Request to authorized person for approval At this stage, rejected change request should stopped
Change request implementation	Update project procedure and management plans Inform about the changes to the team Monitor progress of change request Record the completion of change request Close change request

NOTE: The approval for Change Control may be done by Project Manager, Lead IT or Lead Developer, Stakeholder.

Change Management Vs Change Control

Change Management	Change Control
It is responsible for managing and controlling change requests to effect changes to the IT infrastructure or any aspect of IT services to minimize the risk of disruption of services and promoting business benefit	Change control includes activities like submission, recording, analyzing and approval of change to improve the overall performance of the system or product