The change management plan is a document that describes how changes to the project will be managed, monitored, and controlled12. It defines the roles and responsibilities of the change control board, the change request process, the criteria for approving or rejecting changes, the impact analysis, and the communication plan for changes34. The change management plan is part of the project management plan, which is the primary source of information for how the project is planned, executed, monitored, controlled, and closed.

The project manager should refer to the change management plan first because it provides the guidelines and procedures for handling changes to the project scope, schedule, cost, quality, or any other aspect of the project. The project manager should follow the change request process to document the proposed change, assess its impact, and submit it to the change control board for approval or rejection. The change management plan also helps the project manager communicate the change to the relevant stakeholders and update the project baselines and plans accordingly.

The schedule management plan, the scope management plan, and the cost management plan are also important documents for managing the project, but they are not the first ones to refer to when a change is requested. These documents describe how the project schedule, scope, and cost will be planned, defined, monitored, controlled, and reported . They are used to establish the project baselines and measure the project performance against them. However, they do not provide the specific steps and criteria for dealing with changes to the project. The project manager should refer to these documents after the change request is approved, to update the project schedule, scope, and cost accordingly and ensure alignment with the project objectives and stakeholder expectations. References: 1: Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. 2: Project Management Institute. (2020). Project Management Professional (PMP)® Examination Content Outline. 3: Teamwork. (2021). 10 project management best practices you MUST know. 4: Salapatas, J. N. (2000). Best practices—the nine elements to success. Paper presented at Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium, Houston, TX. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. : Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. : Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. : Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. : Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. : Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. : Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition.