Manage and control changes

PMP ECO · Business Environment (26%) · Task B3. Run every change through one disciplined door — assess its impact, decide, update the baselines, and communicate — so the plan stays honest.

What it is

Integrated change control is the process that governs any change to the baselines: a change request is raised → its impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk is analysed → the change control board (CCB) approves or rejects → if approved, the baselines are updated and the change is communicated and turned into work. Nothing changes a baseline except an approved change request.

Why it matters

• Uncontrolled change is how projects quietly die — each "small" addition compounds until the baseline is fiction.
• A single, transparent change process protects the team ("that's a change request") and gives the sponsor real trade-off decisions.

Where you do it in VanillaPM

The Change requests tab on the Control workspace runs the CCB flow: raise a change request, capture the impact assessment, record the CCB decision, and — for approved changes — bridge straight to the tasks that implement it, with a change log as the audit trail.

Walked example — Coral Ridge Resort

Mid-build, the owner wants to add a rooftop infinity pool with a sea view — a value-adder for a five-star brand. Rather than "just do it", it enters change control: the impact analysis shows added structural load (roof slab redesign), +$1.1M cost, +3 weeks on the critical path, and a new compliance item (pool safety code). The CCB (steering committee) weighs it against the peak-season open, approves a scaled version, and the baselines update; approved-change tasks flow into the schedule. The change log records the whole decision.

The artefact

• Change requests + change log — each with impact analysis, CCB decision, and the baseline updates it drove.

Best practices & pitfalls

• Do analyse impact across all baselines (scope and schedule and cost and risk and compliance) before deciding.
• Do update the baseline only via an approved CR — that's what keeps it a baseline.
• Pitfall: confusing change control (governing baseline changes) with change management (helping people adopt change — that's B7). Different disciplines.

On the PMP exam

Integrated change control is core Integration knowledge: the change request → impact → CCB → update baseline → communicate flow, and the rule that baselines change only through approved CRs. Watch the trap of a PM approving scope directly, or acting on a change before CCB approval.