Change request form template
A change request form is how someone asks to change a project after its scope, timetable or budget has been agreed, and how that change is assessed and decided instead of being quietly absorbed. This free Word template records the request and the reason, the impact on scope, time, cost and risk, the options, and the decision with signatures.
Running a company of 30 to 200 people? Documents like this are now worth money.
It's the paperwork behind change control: the rule, set in the project plan, that nothing is added, dropped or moved without a decision from someone with the authority to make it.
What's in the template
Change request
| Project | |
|---|---|
| Change request no. | e.g. CR-007 |
| Raised by | |
| Date raised | |
| Priority | Urgent, normal or low |
| Assessed by | Usually the project manager |
1. What is being asked for
In plain words: what should be added, removed or done differently. Describe the need, not only the solution, and attach any drawings, quotes or emails.
2. Why
- Request from a customer or user
- Problem found in the current plan
- Supplier change or price change
- New rule, policy or standard
- A chance to save time or money
- Other (explain below)
What happens if the change isn't made?
3. Impact
| Area | Impact (none, minor or major) | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | What is added or removed | |
| Time | Working days gained or lost; milestones affected | |
| Cost | Extra cost or saving, and which budget pays | |
| Quality | ||
| Risk | New risks, or risks reduced | |
| People and suppliers | Who has to do more, or something different | |
| Other projects or teams |
4. Options
| Option | Cost | Effect on dates | For and against |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Make the change as asked | |||
| B. Make a smaller version | |||
| C. Do it later, in another phase | |||
| D. Don't make the change |
| Recommended option | |
|---|---|
| Reason |
5. Decision
- Approved
- Approved with conditions (below)
- Deferred until (date)
- Rejected (reason below)
| Decided by | Someone with authority for this much time and money |
|---|---|
| Date | |
| Conditions or reason |
6. Signatures
| Role | Name | Signature | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requester | |||
| Project manager | |||
| Sponsor or change board |
7. Once approved
- Project plan, budget and Gantt chart updated
- New risks added to the RAID log
- Team, requester and anyone affected told
- Change log updated with the decision
How to use the form
- Anyone can ask; one person receives. Requests go to the project manager, not straight to whoever would do the work, so changes can't slip in through conversations with the team.
- Number it and log it the day it arrives, even if the answer is obviously no.
- Assess all four impacts (scope, time, cost and risk), plus the knock-on effect on other tasks and on people's day jobs. Get the estimates from the people who would do the work.
- Set out real options. "Do it later" and "do a smaller version" are often the best answers, and "don't do it" belongs on every list.
- Send it to the right decision-maker, using the approval limits below.
- Record the decision and the reason, and tell the requester yourself.
- Update the baseline before work starts. An approved change isn't finished until the plan, the budget and the Gantt chart all show it.
Who should approve a change?
Decide this when the plan is approved, not when the first request arrives. One way to set it up, with figures to adjust to your own project:
| Size of change | Who decides |
|---|---|
| Inside the project manager's tolerance: for example, no change to scope, no milestone moved and under £1,000 | Project manager, recorded in the change log |
| Uses contingency, moves a milestone or changes a deliverable | Sponsor |
| Breaks the budget limit or completion date in the project charter, or changes why the project is being done | Whoever approved the charter, often the managing director or board |
Larger organisations sometimes run a weekly change board. At 10 to 250 people, a named sponsor who answers within a few days is usually enough.
Example: a fictional office refurbishment
A request raised part-way through the studio refurbishment of a fictional 35-person architecture practice.
| Request (CR-004) | Add two soundproof phone booths to the open-plan studio. |
|---|---|
| Why | More of the day is now spent on video calls, and the new layout has fewer small rooms, so calls would move into meeting rooms already in demand. |
| Scope | Two booths, power to each, and a revised furniture layout. |
| Time | Six weeks for delivery. Fitting them during the build delays handover by a week; fitting them afterwards delays nothing. |
| Cost | £9,400 for two, from contingency, which would fall from £12,000 to £2,600. |
| Risk | The extra power points need the landlord's consent, and little contingency would be left for the last month. |
| Options | A: two booths now. B: one booth after handover (£4,700), reviewed in three months. C: wait for next year's budget. D: no booths. |
| Decision | Option B, approved by the managing partner, on condition it's fitted after handover so the move-back date holds. |
Common mistakes
- Corridor approvals. A verbal yes with nothing written down resurfaces as an overspend nobody can explain.
- Costing the change but not timing it, or the reverse.
- Requests that only describe a solution. "Add a booking page" hides the need ("customers want to book online"), which might be met more cheaply another way.
- A process so heavy that people avoid it. Set a threshold below which the project manager simply decides and logs it.
- Spending contingency without a request, so the sponsor finds out it's gone when the next problem arrives.
- Approving a change without updating the plan, which leaves the team working to two versions.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a change request and an issue?
An issue is a problem that has already happened. A change request asks to alter the agreed scope, timetable or budget. Issues often lead to change requests: log the problem in an issue log, and raise a change request if fixing it needs more time or money than the plan allows.
What is a change log?
The list of every change request on a project, with its number, title, date raised, decision and date decided. It shows at a glance what has changed since the plan was approved, and why.
Do small projects need formal change control?
They need the habit more than the paperwork. Even on a two-month project, writing down each change and who agreed it takes minutes and avoids arguments at the end.