What are the essential tools and techniques for change control management and analysis?

1 Why audit change control?

Auditing change control is a way of verifying that the changes that occurred during the project or product lifecycle were properly planned, approved, implemented, and communicated. It can also help you assess the impact of the changes on the project or product performance, quality, and risk. By auditing change control, you can ensure that you have a clear and accurate record of the changes and their rationale, and that you have followed the best practices and procedures for change control.

2 What to audit in change control?

The change control audit checklist should cover the aspects of the change control process, such as the change control plan, change requests, change log, change impact analysis, change approval process, and change implementation process. You should verify that the change control plan is aligned with the project scope and objectives, and updated and communicated regularly. Additionally, you should check if the change requests are clear and complete, and if they include the necessary information. The change log should be updated and maintained regularly to reflect actual changes and outcomes. Furthermore, you should ensure that the change impact analysis is conducted thoroughly and objectively. The approval process should be transparent and involve appropriate authority levels. Finally, you should check if the implementation process is coordinated, controlled, and documented according to quality standards.

3 How to audit change control?

Auditing change control effectively requires defining the audit scope and objectives, collecting and reviewing the audit evidence, reporting and communicating the audit findings, and following up and monitoring the audit actions. When determining the scope and objectives, you should decide what aspects of the process you want to audit, why you want to audit them, and what criteria you will use to evaluate them. To collect evidence, you should gather relevant documents, records, data, and feedback related to the process, as well as interview and observe key stakeholders. After summarizing your results in a report, you should communicate the findings to relevant parties and solicit their feedback. Finally, you should track and verify the implementation of corrective and preventive actions based on your findings, then monitor the progress of the change control process.