Change Request Form

Definition

A change request form is the configuration management work product that formally requests a change to a baselined work product.

Objectives

The typical objectives of a change request form are to formally document the:

• Baselined work product to be changed.
• Desired change to the work product.
• Rationale for the change.
• Requestor of the change.

Benefits

The typical benefits of a change request form include:

• It clarifies exactly what the request is.
• It documents the requestor so that the requestor can be contacted if a question occurs during the configuration control task.

Contents

A configuration management plan typically has the following contents:

• Change Requestor
• Change Request Date
• Change Request Identifier
• Change Priority
• Affected Baselined Work Product(s)
• Desired Change
• Change Rationale
• Change Impact
• Change Status (Requested, Approved or Disapproved, Evaluated, Fixed, Tested)
• Responsibilities:
  • Evaluator
  • Implementor
  • Tester

Stakeholders

A change request typically has the following stakeholders:

• Producer:
  • Project Team member
• Evaluators:
  • Change Control Board by proxy to assigned project team member.
• Approvers:
  • Change Control Board
• Maintainers:
  • None. Not maintained.
• Users:
  • Project Team, which uses it to request changes to baselined work products.
  • Configuration Management Team, which use it to perform the configuration control and configuration status reporting tasks.
  • Independent Test Team, which uses it to identify new test cases.

Phases

A change request form is typically produced and maintained during the following phases:

• Business Strategy: Completed
• Business Optimization: Completed
• Initiation: Completed
• Construction: Completed
• Delivery: Completed
• Usage:<</B> Completed
• Retirement: Archived

Preconditions

A change request form can typically be produced if the following preconditions hold:

• The endeavor has started.
• The change control board is properly staffed and trained in change control.
• The affected work product has been baselined.

Inputs

A change request form typically has the following inputs:

• Work Products:
  • Affected work product(s)
• Stakeholders:
  • Change requestor
  • Change evaluator
  • Change implementor
  • Change testor

Guidelines

• Change request forms should be automated and maintained using a database and configuration management tool.
• Use the procedure in the associated work flow to produce this work product.
• If you tailor this work product, then tailor its associated standard, template, and inspection checklist.

Conventions

A change request form is typically constrained by the following conventions:

• Work Flow
• Content and Format Standard
• MS Word Template
• XML Template
• Inspection Checklist

Examples

• Example Change Request Form