Effective Project Management: The Change Order Form

Back when I was consulting, the one thing that would give me cold sweats at night was expecting to get a call saying the clients wanted some changes to be made.

And I hate changes…well, not actually hate but maybe a really strong dislike…

The main reason is because of all the wasted time that was spent prior to that. All that time spent on negotiating the contract, workflow-ing the specs, drinking Starbucks…and of course let’s not forget hours actually spent working on the original requirements.

Now I don’t blame the client—because that’s what consulting is all about.

As their guide, it’s your job to figure out what they want. But unfortunately a lot of times they aren’t sure either.

That’s why contracts, requirements, specs, and all that stuff should never be considered the Holy Grail.

Of course it’s hard not to get personal because you spend so much time on it that it’s like your baby and someone is telling you, “Um…yeah…something’s wrong with your kid. It’s gotta change!”

Change order forms to the rescue!

There are four important elements of a change order form.

1. Description of Change — explain exactly what’s going to change. Is it a new feature? Is it a change from an existing requirement? If so, are other requirements affected?

2. Reason for Change — you must understand exactly why the client wants something changed. This lets you anticipate any other roadblocks that might occur. It also gives you a better understanding of the business-logic of the project.

3. Time and Cost — the most important thing to remember is the give-and-take nature of the change order process. Changes will come at the expense of either time or cost—and most of the time both.

4. A Signature — a change order is basically an extension to a contract. It must be signed—and preferably by the person who signed the contract.

This will save your butt (or at least your job) if you’re ever questioned about why these changes were made—especially if your client all of a sudden hires a new project manager because the old one was using corporate funds to…um…never mind.

So get it signed!

Here is a sample change order form:

Change Order Form (38 KB)

How we use Jumptree Project to track changes in features & requirements

1. We have a global category called Changes. Anything that’s even remotely a change will get selected as such.

2. Next we create a discussion about the changes that want to be made. Here we will discuss with the client how their changes will affect the cost and timeline of the project.

3. Once the client agrees to the changes and the extra time/costs, we then fill out the change order form, upload it, and ask them to sign it.

4. After the client sends it back to us, we delete the original file (in Step 3), and then scan and upload the signed change order form to the first post. We also add [Signed] to the title.

5. We’ll also add all the tasks that need to be made—note that clients can only see published tasks.

That way, your team will know the context of the changes and you’ll be able to better monitor them as well.

6. And finally, when all the tasks are closed, we’ll close the discussion—finalizing the changes.