Concept · under Managing and controlling changes
Integrated change control and the change control board for the PMP®
Integrated change control is the process every proposed change to an approved baseline goes through: the request is recorded, its impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality and risk is analyzed, the person or board with authority decides, and only then is the approved change built and the plans updated. Integrated means one decision weighs all of those effects together.
- Exam
- PMP
- Domain
- Business Env.
- Domain weight
- 26%
- Packages
- 9
- Updated
- Oct 13, 2026
01The path every change takes
02Who decides
The change management plan names who can approve what. Changes inside the project manager's authority can stop there; larger ones go to a change control board (CCB) or the sponsor. That authority is set up front, in the project charter and the governance framework, which also defines the escalation thresholds described in governance and compliance.
A CCB decides; it does not do the homework. The project manager arrives with the impact analysis and the options, so the board is choosing between known consequences.
Saying yes on the spot to a small request feels like good service, and it is also how scope creeps.
03Change control and the product backlog
| Point | Predictive baseline | Agile backlog |
|---|---|---|
| Where new scope goes | A change request to the approver named in the plan | The product backlog, ordered by the product owner |
| What counts as a change | Anything that alters an approved baseline | Adding or reordering backlog items is normal work; the sprint goal is protected once a sprint starts |
| Who decides | The authority set in the change management plan | The product owner, for backlog content and order |
| The record | Change log and updated baselines | The backlog itself and the release plan |
| Still under formal control | Everything baselined | Commitments outside the backlog: contract terms, budget, regulated scope |
Hybrid projects run both at once: the backlog absorbs detail inside a release, while the release scope, budget and contract stay under change control.
04Four kinds of change request
- Corrective action
- Brings performance back in line with the plan, for example adding a second reviewer after a run of late design approvals.
- Preventive action
- Lowers the chance of a future variance, such as training a second person on a tool only one person knows.
- Defect repair
- Fixes a component that does not meet its requirements, for example rewiring a control panel that failed inspection.
- Update
- A change to a controlled plan or document, so that it reflects a decision already made.
05From request to decision
Which step of the change path has each scenario reached?
Work packages 9
WP 01A project team identifies an alternative material that will accelerate the schedule by three weeks but increases the overall project budget by 12%. The change also requires a minor deviation from the initial compliance framework. How should the project manager handle this situation?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- AUpdating baselines before anyone approves the change skips the decision; the cost and compliance effects need an authorized approver.
- BA 12% budget increase and a compliance deviation are beyond what the team can adopt on its own.
- CA deviation is not automatically prohibited; whether it is acceptable is for the approving body to decide with the impact analysis in hand.
- DCorrect: the change touches schedule, cost and compliance at once, so it goes to the governance body that can weigh all three together.
WP 02A high-power client is furious about a missed deadline and demands that a premium feature be added to the software release at no extra cost. Adding this feature exceeds your delegated authority. How should you respond to the client?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- AOffering substitute scope still promises a change without analysis or approval and bypasses the process.
- BCorrect: Acknowledging the frustration keeps the relationship intact, and documenting the request for formal review routes it to whoever has authority to decide.
- CHiding the cost in another budget is dishonest and violates both change control and professional ethics.
- DApproving immediately exceeds the PM's delegated authority and skips impact analysis.
WP 03After a recent release introduced critical bugs, the technical lead suggests immediately reverting the affected files to their previous states in the repository to minimize downtime. How should the project manager handle this version rollback?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- ADeleting history removes the audit trail and the record of what went wrong.
- BCorrect: A rollback is still a change; documenting the rationale and getting approvals keeps configuration control and traceability intact.
- CFreezing the whole repository halts unrelated work and does not restore the service.
- DInformal reverts are fast but break configuration control and can introduce new, untracked problems.
WP 04A project sponsor unilaterally cuts a major deliverable to fund a sudden regulatory requirement, instructing the project manager not to log the change to save time. What is the appropriate corrective action?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- AGoing to HR is the wrong channel; the immediate need is to record the change properly.
- BHalting all work punishes the project for a decision the sponsor is entitled to make through the proper process.
- CCorrect: Every baseline change needs a record; logging the sponsor's decision through change control and assessing its effect on expected benefits keeps governance intact.
- DFollowing an instruction to skip change control leaves the baseline and the documentation wrong.
WP 05A scope change has no cost impact but extends the schedule by three weeks and raises regulatory risk. Which approval threshold applies?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- ANo cost impact does not mean low impact; a three-week slip and regulatory risk can exceed the project manager's authority.
- BCorrect: approval levels apply to every affected dimension, so a schedule and regulatory impact goes to whoever holds those thresholds.
- CUsing only the cost threshold lets large schedule and compliance impacts through without the right review.
- DDeferring the decision leaves the change unapproved while its schedule and risk impacts keep growing.
WP 06What is the main purpose of a change control board (CCB) in project governance?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- ACorrect: A CCB is the formal group that reviews, evaluates, and approves or rejects changes to the project's baselines.
- BStaffing and task assignment are resource management activities, not CCB duties.
- CExternal communication follows the communications approach; the CCB rules on changes.
- DDay-to-day management belongs to the PM and team; the CCB meets to decide on changes.
WP 07During an IT system implementation, several change requests have been submitted. What should be the project manager's first step in managing these changes?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- ARejecting every change ignores requests that may be needed and is not a decision based on impact.
- BCorrect: Each change request is first evaluated for its impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk, so the decision-maker can act on facts.
- CImplementing changes immediately bypasses approval and can damage the baseline.
- DForwarding requests with no analysis gives the sponsor nothing to decide on.
WP 08A stakeholder requests a minor wording change to an approved requirement. Which requests require formal change control versus backlog grooming?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- AOnce a baseline exists, changes that affect it need control; dropping all control invites uncontrolled scope change.
- BRouting every request through formal control overloads the process with changes the team can handle in the backlog.
- CA 10% budget threshold is arbitrary and ignores changes that affect contracts but cost little.
- DCorrect: Changes that affect contractual deliverables need formal control, while minor items that touch no commitment can be handled through backlog refinement.
WP 09A critical software bug halts user testing. The team implements a temporary workaround, recording it in the issue log. They now propose a permanent architectural fix that will require an additional two weeks of development. What should the project manager do next?
Debrief answer to open the notes
- AA two-week architectural fix changes the schedule and cost, so it needs approval, not just an issue-log update.
- BCorrect: the permanent fix affects baselines, so it goes through a change request where schedule and cost impacts are analyzed and approved.
- CAsking for money before analyzing the impact skips the change process the sponsor would rely on to decide.
- DKeeping a known workaround forever to protect the baseline leaves a defect in place without any decision.
Open a row to answer. Keys: 1–4 or A–D answer, N opens the next row.
06Integrated change control, in short
Can the project manager approve changes alone?
Within the authority the change management plan grants, yes. Beyond that limit the request goes to the CCB or sponsor, with the impact analysis attached.
Does every project need a change control board?
A board is common on large or contracted work. Smaller projects often give the approving role to the sponsor or the project manager. What every project needs is a named approver and a record. Where change control sits in the wider picture is on managing and controlling changes.
Who writes the impact analysis?
The project manager leads it and pulls in the people who own the affected work: the scheduler for dates, the cost owner for budget, subject matter experts for technical effects. The approver receives the finished analysis together with the options.
How does change control connect to the WBS?
The work breakdown structure and its dictionary are part of the scope baseline, so an approved change that adds or removes a deliverable updates them. See the work breakdown structure.