Change Management and Version Control
A project with any complexity will be revised during its course. The scope, budget, and schedule are interconnected and changes to one aspect will usually affect the other parts. The challenge is tracking the effect of any change on everything else, and keeping all the participants aware of the changes. There are some essential tools for making this happen. Let’s take a look at them.
Documentation (Get it in Writing)
The first rule is to document all changes in a way that is trackable. Changes should be described and dated, and the budget and schedule should be updated. In most projects this document is called a Change Order. If a change is negotiated anywhere (on the site of the job, in a meeting, or over the phone) it should be documented with all components noted (price increase or decrease, completion date extended, and the nature of the change). If you are the Project Manager you may need to get input from others such as subcontractors, laborers, and suppliers to be sure that you have captured all the consequences of the change.
For example, if you are building a house and decide to change the size of a window after the house is framed, it may affect the window order (contact the supplier and make the change, which might cause a delay in the delivery date); the framer (who needs to modify the opening where the window will be installed); the window coverings (a different blind or shade will be needed than the one originally specified); and the finish carpenter (who may be ordering and preparing the materials for windowsills and trim).
If all the windows show up except for the one that was changed it could delay the timing for siding installation and the ability to secure the house from weather and trespassers. If the installation team is busy it might be a while before they can come back to install the window that was delayed. If very many changes are made it can be difficult to keep them updated. If the same window was changed more than once everyone needs to know what the final (most recent) decision is. It helps to give every Change Order a unique sequential number (CO #1; CO #2; CO #3 etc.) and track them in summary form in a list—manually or in a spreadsheet.
I once heard of a project where the landscape architect created plans, got bids from the contractors and plant suppliers, made changes and updates to the project, and then authorized the job. It took quite a while before anyone noticed that the people doing the work were using the old set of plans. Whose fault is that? How do you establish whose fault it is? What happens next? Does the work get torn out and re-done according to the new plans? If so, who pays for the re-work? Does someone finally file a lawsuit? If the project is delayed and the weather changes, who pays for the additional cost of working in the rain? The consequences of ignoring small changes can get surprisingly convoluted. The consequences of missing big changes can be catastrophic.
One essential step is to keep a distribution list and verify that everyone involved in the project is informed of all changes. This is easier when you are using electronic distribution (email) or a project website with a list of changes featured on it. However, some people may be busy, on vacation, inattentive, or new to the project. Just because you sent an email doesn’t mean everybody read it on time, but it does help sort out the responsibility if an un-noticed change leads to extra costs later in the project. An alert Project Manager will verify that Change Orders have been received and understood.
If you deliver hard-copies of a change, such as updated plans or specifications, get a receipt or signature showing that the new material was received. Prepare the receipt(s) ahead of time so that getting the sign-off is quick and easy. This will help establish a sequence so that everyone knows when the changes were communicated. It’s hard to implement a change if you never were informed that the change has been made.
Master Documents and Version Control
When a project is in the planning stage there can be many changes made in a short period of time. What happens when more than one person is creating changes? The Project Manager can keep a Master Document, where every change is captured and included in a single place. All documents should have a version number/date that allows everyone to know which document is most recent, and to be able to compare the versions.
This Master Document is usually in electronic format, such as a Word, Doc, Excel, Sheets, or drawing file such as AutoCad. Be sure to update the version number every time a change is made. If you want to distinguish small updates from significant changes, you can use decimals to show this: Version 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 … and then Version 4 when a milestone is reached (such as final approval of the specification). Sometimes labels are used: Pricing Set, Bidding Set, Permit Set, Construction Set, etc. Use whatever system works best for you as long as it captures the information that you need to keep track.
If documents are issued in order to receive bids this becomes crucial. Many projects are defined and put out for estimates/bids. When the estimates are reviewed they are often higher than the budget and parts of the project need to be scaled back (often called “value engineering”). This results in a new project scope, but some aspects of the project will be changed more than others. If you are going to finalize the project—and sign agreements for the materials, labor, and subcontractors—be sure everyone has the same set of finalized documents (revision date). The Project Manager (and onsite Superintendent) should check to be sure that outdated plans are not being used. All it takes is one old set of plans on a jobsite to create confusion.
Problem Solving and Consequences
If a serious mistake is made because changes are missed the parties involved will have to decide what to do about it. For some projects the mistakes can be corrected—you just need to figure out who is paying for it. For other projects the mistakes may be overlooked, because the consequences are not significant (e.g. interior wall paint colors). If the contractor made the mistake they will probably have to correct the problem, but if the owner made the mistake they may not be able to afford the correction and may decide to live with the not-quite-right paint color.
If the problem is significant, such as not following the revised structural requirements for a two-story home, the consequences can threaten the completion of the entire project. Sometimes lawyers get involved. The responsible party will have to pay to correct the problem, and if it’s the result of a Change Order that wasn’t followed, the person issuing the Change Order may need to prove that they communicated it to the person(s) that failed to follow it. If a subcontractor is following plans from the original contract, there needs to be proof that they were notified of a subsequent change.
Creative Projects
Some projects have so many changes that it’s difficult to keep track of them all. An example is when a very large creative project (such as software development) takes so long to finish that the underlying technology or requirements change during the project implementation. Instead of a fixed specification the project team begins work knowing the general goal but acknowledging that changes will happen.
Many of these projects are done on a “time and materials” agreement. The provider just keeps billing for the actual costs (plus a markup) until the job is completed. Whether it’s building a software project or a construction project with rapidly changing conditions there may be different standards for project tracking. Agile project management was developed to address these situations, and that is the subject of a different post.