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 So, the project is up and running. The project requirements are defined and the contract is signed. All you need to do now is watch the project team get on and deliver. Unfortunately, life is never that simple, and you can bet that the project requirements will change during the execution phase.

Managing project changes is a potential cause of disruption to our projects and the relationships we have with our clients if it is not done well.

Never Say No To a Client

Change is Bad

It's often said that Salespeople never say No. And it's often true - whatever the customer asks for, they invariably say Yes, we can do that. Project Managers generally hate that as it constrains them into a corner where projects are not under their control. Project Managers often think that:

Saying Yes leads to Change

Change leads to Lack of Control

Lack of control leads to Suffering (which is a PM technical term for missing deadlines, budgets or quality objectives)

However, as a client-facing project manager, we should learn that to say No is just unacceptable to most of our clients. It's seen as negative and obstructive; that we're not prepared to be cooperative or even worse that our project team just can’t deliver. Either of these scenarios can cause us serious problems in our client relationships, and maintaining these relationships should be one of our top priorities.

Change is Good

On the other hand, saying Yes to client requests tends to result in more work:

Saying Yes leads to Change

Change leads to More Work

More Work leads to Happiness (another PM technical term for Increased Project Revenue and Gross Profit, which you're often responsible for)

Balance - a Neat Trick

Balancing between these two extremes; pretending that nothing can be changed and rejecting all proposed changes and accepting all proposed changes and causing major project control problems is a tough act. Trying to work it out mid-project is even tougher. Trying to work it out on the hoof is nigh on impossible.

Here's the basic magic formula:

Your request makes sense, but it raises potential risks and issues that might cost time and money.

Use this sentence even if the client request doesn't make sense. Some requests will, some won't, but it usually ends up with one of 2 results:

Our client backs off

Our client agrees to more time or more money or agrees to impact on other areas of the project when accepting the change

In either case, it's a useful holding action that then lets you instigate the change control process to effectively assess and manage the impact of change