Chapter 16
Controlling Change and Versions
In This Chapter
Controlling change and stopping scope creep in its tracks
Getting to grips with the different types of project Issue
Dealing with Issues and changes
Tracking change with version control – configuration management
If someone wants a change to a building, a computer system, a business procedure – anything at all in fact – they nearly always start with ‘just’: ‘We just want one extra power socket by the door’; ‘We just need an extra report from the system’; ‘We just need . . .’.
One major project killer is scope creep – uncontrolled change where people add very small things to a project, one thing at a time, small item by small item: a 10-minute job here, a 20-minute job there, just a 5-minute job after that. And the project is a year long and costs £20 million, so surely you can accommodate a five-minute job? But the small changes build up, and of course you aren’t given any extra time, staff resources, or budget for them. Eventually, the cumulative effect is so great that it kills the project because the changes now represent substantial extra work.
In PRINCE2 scope creep can’t happen – well, almost. After you set up and agree the project, all changes come under change control. The response to the request may well be to say ‘yes’, but then the Project Board gives the time, budget, and staff hours to do the extra work. The project isn’t supposed to somehow absorb all this unplanned work with no impact.
What may seem a bit ...