Change Control in Business Analysis

Change Control Process

Business Analysts often function as agents of change, canvassing for improvements in the business or pointing out when a change should be nipped in the bud, for example, when the costs of implementing a requested feature outweighs the benefits. Changes often mark the beginning of projects, with some change requests coming in during the project and even after the project has been implemented.
Not all changes are created equally, however. While some change initiatives are implemented with minimal resistance, some are faced with stiff resistance, conflicting interests and fears that need to be managed to ensure that the desired change sees the light of day. Managing change requests is particularly important in ensuring that the business does not spend its limited resources on changes that offer no real value at the expense of those that can deliver real value and lasting benefits.

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.
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?

What role does the business analyst have in change and transition management?
Your analytical skills and experience can make key contributions to the processes of change and transition. For example, you can help pinpoint the exact nature of the change, and help implement the solution that brings about the change. Training plays a vital role in change and transition, and it will often fall within your duties as a business analyst to develop a training plan that helps people adapt to change and make a smooth transition to the new way of doing things, thereby helping to ensure the project's success.
A training plan is an excellent catch-all for capturing the information that needs to be communicated, as well as for planning the modes, forums, and dates for communicating the changes that the solution will bring. The business partners will often need to be trained to use new tools, applications, and processes (for example, when to start or stop a process, the best schedules and logistics for hand-offs, etc.). The business partners may need to be trained to perform new roles and fulfill new responsibilities. In organization-wide projects, some of the business partners will probably need training on change processes—the natural processes that people go through to adapt to change.
The tools of change and transition management play key roles in determining the success or failure of a project: open communications, feedback from business stakeholders, and establishing acceptance criteria at each project phase are all important to the success of the solution. And, as with any project documentation, be sure to review and update the training plan as other requirements change, to keep it in step with the project.

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

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

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