Dec 13, 2019 1:20 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
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I’ll add to what others have said in that when a change request is required depends specifically on the configuration management (CM) requirements of the organization. Those often change over time and are often less rigid during planning, or at least less items require strict CM.
CM includes not only the product developed by the project, but also the processes and tools used in the development. Many documents such as the schedule and budget are placed under configuration control so even in the planning phase there may be an established baseline that cannot be changed without approval. The request and approval may be verbal or formally documented depending on the needs of the org and may be called different things. The CR is the generic term regardless of the name used by the organization.
The CR has multiple functions. In addition to being a means to request a change, it is also a record of what changed. One of the pillars of CM is maintaining a record of the configuration over time, not only the current state. If you want to know what changed between V1 and V2 of the baseline schedule, it is easier to look at the change record, than to try and compare both versions to figure it out.
