Software Project Management For Dummies®

Chapter 13. Managing Changes to the Software Project

In This Chapter

• Planning for and managing project changes

• Managing your project's scope

• Creating and following a change control system

• Getting a handle on project costs

• Dealing with variances in your schedule

• Expecting and accepting changes

Plan for changes. That's right; you will encounter changes during your software project, so accept these facts, and just plan for them. Maybe a key team member will be removed from the project at a critical time or your stakeholders will determine that some of the functionality that they didn't want at the beginning of the project is now critical. Or perhaps an outsourcing portion of your project that you planned to have completed in six weeks will now be extended for three more weeks. Don't blow a gasket.

Encountering changes during your software project is not a sign that you planned poorly; it's a sign that you are living in the real world where people change their minds, risks are encountered, and stuff happens. You're better off accepting the fact that you will encounter changes so that you can plan accordingly. That's why the title of this chapter is “Managing Changes to the Software Project” instead of “Trying to Eliminate All Changes to the Software Project.”

Introducing the Controlling Process Group

According to the Project Management Institute, the project management process group that deals with managing change is the controlling process group. You will discover a lot more about process groups ...