So many changes, so little time!

#TLDR: Our lives are full of changes, and unless we follow a simple way to track and manage them, the world seems to be falling apart! Worry not... we've got you covered!

Change is happening around us all the time, and some of those changes impact our lives, personal and professional! In the personal arena, flooded basements, car troubles, medical emergencies, taxes, etc., cause changes in our circumstances and responses. The individual changes are impactful and a priority, so adding the changes from the professional life doesn't help. These are the unexpected departure of a team member, the arrival of a new boss, a reorganization that left you with less/more work, a change to customer demand, a shift in IT security standards, a change in compliance requirements, a reduced budget, missed deliverables by the contractor, the list goes on.

It is easy to get overwhelmed, get burnt out, feel hopeless, and disengage at work. But what if we told you that you can use all this change to your advantage in the modern workplace?

We do it using simple change logs that are accessible and editable by all stakeholders. And to be clear, we use these only on the professional side of our lives. Here are the simple steps and a template:

1. Create a structured scope document with each scope item numbered. We recommend using an indented numbering style (1, 1.1, 1.1.1, etc.).

2. Create the scope change log and put it on your MS Teams channel or Slack thread, where it is accessible to all stakeholders

3. Add 'change notification' to the change log post, so whenever there is a change, an automatic notification will go to all stakeholders

4. Keep the format of the change log simple. It is meant to provide tracking rather than detailed documentation. Here is an example: If the project scope is changing due to component pricing/availability change, mention it using a single sentence rather than providing the vendor correspondence and market survey justifying the pricing/availability changes

5. Use the columns as follows:

   1. Plus: Any additional activities/resources in the scope

   2. Minus: Any activities/resources removed from the scope

   3. Type of change: Resources, Activities, Budget

   4. Impact of Change on Schedule, Budget, and Compliance

   5. Requester and approver of the change with time stamp

6. You can use this template across a portfolio of initiatives or for individual projects. What is important is that you cover the core activities that occupy your work life or have a critical impact on your professional prospects.

How do you manage your changing world? What works for you? Where are you struggling? Share your experiences and concerns. Ever wonder how your peers (those with similar experience levels but from different industries/functions/geographies) are handling their scope change challenges? Join one of our cohorts for a 12-week journey to build clarity and confidence!