How do you manage change control board meetings in a waterfall project? (2024)

The CCB is a group of stakeholders who have the authority to review, approve, reject, or defer change requests in a waterfall project. The CCB may include the project sponsor, the project manager, the customer, and representatives from different functional areas or departments. The CCB should be defined at the beginning of the project and documented in the project charter or the project management plan. The CCB should also have clear roles and responsibilities, such as who can initiate, submit, or vote on change requests, and how often and when the CCB meetings will be held.

The change request process is a set of steps and procedures that guide how change requests are identified, submitted, analyzed, evaluated, approved, implemented, and communicated in a waterfall project. This process should be aligned with the project scope, schedule, budget, quality, and risk management plans. All project stakeholders and team members should be made aware of the change request process and it should be updated as needed throughout the project. The change request process should include a form capturing the details of the proposed change, a log tracking the status and history of all requests, an analysis assessing the feasibility, viability, and desirability of each request, an evaluation comparing each request against project objectives, criteria, and constraints, an approval determining the final decision on each request, an implementation executing approved changes and updating deliverables, plans, and documents accordingly, as well as communication informing stakeholders and team members about changes and their impacts.

Before the CCB meeting, the project manager should review all the change requests that have been submitted and analyzed since the last meeting, and prepare a summary report that highlights the key information and recommendations for each change request. The project manager should also distribute the summary report and the relevant documents to the CCB members in advance, and request them to review them and prepare their questions and feedback. The project manager should also set the agenda and the objectives for the CCB meeting, and confirm the date, time, location, and attendance of the CCB members.

During the CCB meeting, the project manager should facilitate the discussion and decision-making process for each change request. The project manager should present the summary report and the analysis for each change request, and invite the CCB members to ask questions, share opinions, and raise concerns. The project manager should also ensure that the CCB members follow the agreed-upon criteria and procedures for evaluating and approving change requests, and that they document their decisions and rationale in the change request form and log. The project manager should also manage the time and the scope of the CCB meeting, and avoid getting into unnecessary details or debates that are not relevant to the change requests.

After the CCB meeting, the project manager should communicate the results and actions of the CCB meeting to all project stakeholders and team members, and update the project deliverables, plans, and documents accordingly. The project manager should also implement the approved changes and monitor their progress and performance, and report any issues or deviations to the CCB. The project manager should also collect feedback and lessons learned from the CCB meeting, and use them to improve the change request process and the CCB meeting effectiveness in the future.

Waterfall Project Management

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