Definition of Change Management - in projects
Change Management means many things to many people.
In the context of large engineering projects, it is a project management process to control how decisions are made as to whether - or how - a change to the scope of work (SOW) should be implemented, to ensure that the consequences - in terms of cost, schedule, quality, HSE, etc are fully understood and considered.
It is important to ensure that there is strong focus on the project cost control side of change, and also on the engineering, technical safety, and operational efficiency aspects.
An excessive bias in either direction is not good for the project.
It can be closely related to the interface management process because a change to the scope of work of one contractor could lead to interface issues - or further changes - with another contractor. Conversely, interface issues raised can lead to change proposals at one or both contractors.
The amount of overlap may have an influence on the skill set of the change manager and/or coordinators.
Find out more about WHAT change management is.