What is change management and why is it important?

Change management system is established to deal with events that require formal changes in the
scope, budget, and/or schedule of the project is an essential element of risk control. Change
management systems involve reporting, controlling, and recording changes to the project
baseline. Change management is an important part of project management. The project manager
must examine the proposed change and determine the effect the change will have on the project
as a whole before allowing the change request to be implemented. In practice most change
management systems are designed to accomplish the following:
1. Identify proposed changes.
2. List expected effects of proposed change(s) on schedule and budget.
3. Review, evaluate, and approve or disapprove changes formally.
4. Negotiate and resolve conflicts of change, conditions, and cost.
5. Communicate changes to parties affected.
6. Assign responsibility for implementing change.
7. Adjust master schedule and budget.
8. Track all changes that are to be implemented.
Change management is a major element of the risk control process. Every detail of a project plan
will not materialize as expected. Coping with and controlling project changes present a
formidable challenge for most project managers. Changes come from many sources such as the
project customer, owner, project manager, team members, and occurrence of risk events. Because
change is inevitable, a well-defined change review and control process should be set up early in

the project planning cycle. Change is important for any organization because, without change,
businesses would likely lose their competitive edge and fail to meet the needs of what most hope
to be a growing base of loyal customers.
Change is important in organizations to allow employees to learn new skills, explore new
opportunities and exercise their creativity in ways that ultimately benefit the organization
through new ideas and increased commitment. If people understand the purpose of change, how
it affects them and their job, and believe in the importance and benefits of the change then
projects are far more likely to succeed.
References
Erik., W. L., & Clifford., F. G. (n.d.). Managing risk. In Project management (pp. 210 - 251). Mc
Graw Hill.
Ferris, K. (2015, March). Why Organizational Change Management is important for ITSM.
Retrieved from Why ocm is important: https://www.axelos.com/news/blogs/march2015/why-ocm-is-important
Richards, L. (n.d.). Change important organization. Retrieved from Smallbusiness.chron.com:
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/change-important-organization-728.html