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How do we handle verbally submitted change requests?

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Md. Masudur Rahman Project Manager| Pride Group Dhaka, Bangladesh
Definitely we should document all the change request. But many a times we are getting verbal request.
Could we accept and ask them to submit in written in future or we should tell them that we can't accept verbal request, please provide us change request in written.
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Hong Jone Wong Product Manager| Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies Singapore, Singapore
What I usually would do is to document it down and parked it in the product backlog. We will discuss this in our next project meeting on the list of the product backlog items together with whatever change requests documented. In this way, it is making the change requests documented and discussed in a project meeting with the clients. Also, this helped me to answer to my development team on the insertion of new change requests and its rationale. Many times when these new verbal change requests were being discussed, it tends to be prioritised lowly against the other items and not being worked on at all.
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1 reply by Stéphane Parent
Apr 26, 2020 11:02 AM
Stéphane Parent
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H.J., how do you handle emergency change requests that cannot wait for the next project meeting?
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Stéphane Parent Self Employed / Semi-retired| Leader Maker Prince Edward Island, Canada
Apr 26, 2020 6:48 AM
Replying to Hong Jone Wong
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What I usually would do is to document it down and parked it in the product backlog. We will discuss this in our next project meeting on the list of the product backlog items together with whatever change requests documented. In this way, it is making the change requests documented and discussed in a project meeting with the clients. Also, this helped me to answer to my development team on the insertion of new change requests and its rationale. Many times when these new verbal change requests were being discussed, it tends to be prioritised lowly against the other items and not being worked on at all.
H.J., how do you handle emergency change requests that cannot wait for the next project meeting?
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1 reply by Hong Jone Wong
Apr 26, 2020 11:23 AM
Hong Jone Wong
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Change requests in projects are usually treated as not urgent. If they were urgent, they are likely to be issues/incidents/bugs. We would study the impact of not doing anything or if there were workarounds for that. Make an assessment on what was the best course of actions and make modifications (if needed) and inform the stakeholders.
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Hong Jone Wong Product Manager| Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies Singapore, Singapore
Apr 26, 2020 11:02 AM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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H.J., how do you handle emergency change requests that cannot wait for the next project meeting?
Change requests in projects are usually treated as not urgent. If they were urgent, they are likely to be issues/incidents/bugs. We would study the impact of not doing anything or if there were workarounds for that. Make an assessment on what was the best course of actions and make modifications (if needed) and inform the stakeholders.
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Peter Rapin Subject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent Consultant Ontario, Canada
There are two important parts to a change: 1) the description of the change - what it is you want changed, and 2) the impact of the change.

An undocumented change, regardless of size/nature, is open to misunderstandings.
"That is not what I said I wanted."
"You didn't tell me that it was going to cost that much"

The other thing to consider is that undocumented changes do not come as 'one-only'. It's like opening the flood gates - closing them takes a lot of effort if even possible.

In many projects change requests are too complicated, onerous and time consuming thus everybody wants to avoid the formality. Simplify it to a one-pager - what is required and what are the impacts.
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