The process of requesting a change and having the change approved requires several steps and usually involves multiple people. This topic describes each step of the change request process in detail, based on the default workflow steps.
Configure Open Plan for the PM Compass Add-In
Configure Open Plan access rights
Sync Cobra and Open Plan before starting a change request
Concepts for change management
Rules for editing change details data
Workflow steps and workflow alerts
How change request data is stored
Completing the process when a workflow fails
Single Control Account Change Request |
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The CAM creates a new change request and starts the workflow steps |
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Select a Workflow TypeThe CAM typically originates the change request, but it could be originated by anyone such as a work package manager. PM Compass provides a number of default change request types that can be edited or copied. Deltek strongly recommends that you copy and rename the change request types that you want to use so that you can easily go back to the original default types if you need to without having to restore anything. Use Administration » Workflow Type Configuration to complete this task.The change request forms allow the originator to select the project and control account, and document general information about the change request. Non-Schedule ChangesIf you have some projects not connected to a schedule, or you want to edit cost data without editing activities, you need a special change request type that doesn’t allow you to change the schedule from within PM Compass. See Create a change request type for non-schedule changes in Related Topics for more information. |
How to...Create a Budget Change Request Create a workflow type for non-schedule changes Integrate your cost and schedule
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Edit Cost and Schedule Data in the Change Details ViewAfter entering the information, the CAM clicks the Change Details button to access the Change Details view. The Change Details view displays control accounts, work packages, and activities in the schedule and allows the CAM to add, edit, or delete schedule data or work package costs. Use this view to add the activities and/or work packages required for the change request. These change requests do not affect the source project at this stage. After the change request is approved, the source project is updated with the information entered in this view. At this step, the costs associated with resource assignments on the activity have not yet been calculated. A subsequent step requires the CAM to approve the change request, at which time the costs are calculated. After entering the requested changes, the CAM clicks Workflow View to save and access the form. |
Learn more about...Rules for editing Change Details data Storing cost and schedule change request data The Change Class Options field Loading changes into the cost system as additives or replacements |
Start the WorkflowClicking the Start Workflow menu option on the toolbar submits the change request and starts the workflow steps. |
How to...Set step notification defaults
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Multiple Control Account Change Request |
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The PCA creates a new Contract Change Request and starts the workflow steps |
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Budget Change Request for Multiple Control AccountsThe PCA typically originates the Contract Change Request, but it could be originated by anyone such as a work package manager. PM Compass provides a default Contract Change Request that can be edited or copied. Deltek strongly recommends that you copy and rename the Contract Change Requests that you want to use so that you can easily go back to the original defaults if you need to without having to restore anything. Use Administration » Workflow Type Configuration to complete this task.The Contract Change Request allows the originator to select the project and describe the change request. They can select one or more control accounts and enter the change in the Change Details view and start the workflow steps. See Add multiple control accounts to a change request in Related Topics for information about adding and removing control accounts prior to starting the workflow steps. If the originator prefers to enter all changes in the schedule using the Open Plan Add-In, they will need to edit the workflow type to make the Control Account field not required. They may then start the workflow steps and all changes can be made in the schedule. In this case, the scheduler must be assigned to the first step in the workflow. See Modify a workflow type to support selecting control accounts in Open Plan in Related Topics for more information. Cost System-Only Forecast Change Request for Multiple Control AccountsThe CAM uses a Forecast Change Request (FCR) to create a cost system-only forecast change request involving multiple control accounts. This change request has a single step. When the change request is submitted and the PCA approves the changes, they are automatically applied to the Cobra forecast. See Forecast Change Request workflow for more information. |
How to...Create a Contract Change Request Add multiple control accounts to a change request Modify a workflow type to support selecting control accounts in Open Plan Create a Forecast Change Request Integrate your cost and schedule View unapproved requests from the same change management category
Learn more about...Contract Change Request workflow Forecast Change Request workflow The "Multiple control accounts: Generate this workflow type" field |
Start the Workflow StepsWhen the workflow steps are started, if a step includes an approver such as the Control Account manager (CAM), the CAM's for all selected control accounts must approve or add/edit the detailed changes for work assigned to them before the change request moves to the next step. The originator can edit Change Details data before the workflow steps are started. After the workflow steps are started, only the CAM for each control account can edit the schedule and cost details relating to their control account. The Control Account Child Change RequestsBy default, a Control Account Change is automatically generated for each control account selected on the Contract Change Request. This child workflow contains the cost details for the change amount related to the specific control account and is useful when viewing important change requests for a control account in the dashboard. There are no workflow steps and there is no approval process at the child level. Unapproved Change Management Requests CheckWhen you create a new Contract Change Request and click Start Workflow, PM Compass checks to see if any of the control accounts you selected are currently part of another In-Progress change request in the same change management category. If they are, a warning message displays: The Control Account has unapproved Change Management workflows. Do you want to continue? When this occurs, Deltek recommends that you run an Unapproved Change Management Requests report to analyze all open change requests with all control accounts selected on the change request before starting the workflow steps. See Unapproved Change Management Requests report in Related Topics for more information. |
Learn more about...Using step notification defaults |
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Edit Cost and Schedule Data in the Change Details ViewAfter logging into PM Compass, each CAM should select the parent control account change request and click the Change Details button to access the Change Details view. This view displays information for all control accounts that are selected in the Contract Change Request; however, each CAM can only edit their own control account information. This is based on the assignment for that step in the workflow. It allows you modify the workflow step so that, for example, the change request is assigned to a different user field on the control account. Using the Change Details view, the CAM can expand their control account node to see the work packages and activities defining the work. When they add, edit, or delete schedule data or work package costs, the changes do not affect the live project. After the Contract Change Request is approved, the source project is updated with the information entered in this view. At this step in the workflow, the costs associated with resource assignments on the activity have not yet been calculated. A subsequent step requires the CAM to approve the change request, at which time they will see the calculated costs. When the first CAM saves their changes, the sandbox, or temporary project, is created. After all CAM’s have edited and saved their control accounts, the workflow steps are progressed at the parent level and the change request moves on to the Scheduler. Where is the Changed Data Stored?When you make changes in the Change Details view, PM Compass stores the changes in the Change Action table. You can see the log of changes using the query: select * from CAM_CRChangeAction. When Apply Changes is executed, PM Compass looks at the changes listed in the Change Action table and applies those changes to the live project. |
Learn more about...Storing cost and schedule change request data Loading changes into the cost system as additives or replacements |
Single / Multiple Control Account Change Request |
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The Scheduler applies the changes to the scheduling application |
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If the Workflow Type Configuration option Create, Edit, or Delete Activities is selected, the workflow must contain a step for the scheduler to apply the changes to a read-only copy of the schedule and create a Change Baseline. The workflow then runs schedule integration to calculate the costs associated with the updated activity dates and/or resource assignments on the activities. This step of the workflow requires accessing Open Plan to review the change and approve the change request using an Open Plan Add-In called PM Compass Change Requests. This dialog displays all change requests assigned to the scheduler that need to be approved or completed and have an Open Plan schedule attached. A change request without a schedule attached must be approved in PM Compass to advance to the next step. The workflow steps control if/when the scheduler is to be notified. If the PCA/CAM selects a change request type that contains this step and a project that does not have an Open Plan schedule attached, the change request is not listed in the Open Plan PM Compass Change Requests Add-In. |
How to...Configure Open Plan for the PM Compass Add-In
Learn more about...The Create, Edit, or Delete Activities option |
Use Open Plan to Review a Change RequestAfter the scheduler selects a change request from the PM Compass Change Requests dialog box and clicks Apply, the Open Plan project opens in a special read-only mode that can be edited without affecting the live project. The changes entered in the Change Details view are applied. At this point, the scheduler can see the effect of the change request on the entire schedule, including deliverables or target dates in the schedule, and they can use all of their custom views and processes to analyze the data. If the Open Plan project properties does not have a start view selected on the Preferences tab, the scheduler will have to select a view manually. If an error is encountered, the scheduler can click View Log to view the details associated with the errors.Determining What ChangedPM Compass uses calculated fields to determine what changed with a change request. There are two basic types of changes:
The changes can be viewed
by adding the calculated field, PMC_changed_text,
to the Open Plan view. After applying the change in the Open
Plan Add-In, click in a blank cell and click You can also see what changed by logging into PM Compass and clicking the View Summary button on the Change Details View toolbar. Tip: After the change request is complete, the information in the View Summary dialog box is no longer available from the workflow form. To save a copy of the Change Details report and the cost/schedule change logs, add the Export Change Details step action to your workflow Complete step before the Apply Schedule Changes, Apply Cost Changes, and Remove Temporary Data step actions. For steps, see Export the Change Details Report And/Or Change Logs in Related Topics. The information is exported to an Excel spreadsheet and attached to the workflow form Links tab. New activities added in the Change Details view always have an activity ID of ACT001, ACT002, and so on. PM Compass Workflow Options Dialog BoxAfter the change is applied, the PM Compass Workflow Options dialog stays on top so that the scheduler can easily approve or reject the change when they are ready. They can minimize the dialog to perform edits in Open Plan. The Automatically Include All Changes in the Change Baseline checkbox indicates whether all activities that are changed automatically become part of the change request or if the scheduler will use the PMC Include in Baseline column to manually select the activities that are to be included. The scheduler can add the PMC_Changed_Text column to the view to see which activities have been changed and will be added to the change. Edit a Change RequestBefore approving or rejecting a change request, the scheduler can edit the schedule in this view. For example, they can add or edit activities, make changes to relationships, set target dates, edit resources, and import data. There are a number of editing rules. For example, you cannot delete activities during this step in the workflow. If you add resource assignments in the Open Plan Add-In, then you need to add the resource assignment as a change amount and enter the cost class on the assignment record. The cost class is the same as the change number. See PM Compass Add-In online help for more information about editing data in Open Plan. When the scheduler clicks Save in the Open Plan Add-In, the changes made in the schedule that were automatically or manually selected, are written back to the change request. They can see these updates in the PM Compass Change Details view. Approve or Reject a Change RequestWhen the scheduler approves a change request, the following occurs:
Tip: After the change request is complete, the information in the View Summary dialog box is no longer available from the workflow form. To save a copy of the Change Details report and the cost/schedule change logs, add the Export Change Details step action to your workflow Complete step before the Apply Schedule Changes, Apply Cost Changes, and Remove Temporary Data step actions. For steps, see Export the Change Details Report And/Or Change Logs in Related Topics. The information is exported to an Excel spreadsheet and attached to the workflow form Links tab. When a change request is rejected, the default workflow settings assign the change request back to the originator. If the scheduler rejects it after making changes and clicking the Save button, the changes made to the schedule are still saved and can be seen in the PM Compass Change Details view and in the View Summary dialog box. The Open Plan PM Compass Change Requests Add-In help includes step-by-step instructions for working with change requests. |
How to...Export the Change Details Report And/Or Change Logs Learn more about...The budget baseline that represents the approved project budget, or PMB Projects Schedule Integration tab Change Management Fields in Open Plan
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The workflow step for the scheduler to apply the change includes a cost system process step action to run schedule integration. When a change request includes changes to resources, the CAM cannot see the costs associated with the added resources. This step in the workflow calculates the costs associated with the resources so that they can be viewed from the change request. The Cost System Process step action runs the Cobra schedule integration process (using Cobra's API) which calls the Integration Wizard. The configuration file selected in the Schedule Integration Configuration field is passed to Cobra’s Integration Wizard to update the temporary Cobra project with the Change Baseline created by Open Plan. After schedule integration has run, the change request is updated.
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How to...Use the Links tab to view Cobra errors View the rate file used to calculate the costs for a change request
Learn more about...Cobra Integration Wizard configuration file settings The Schedule Integration Configuration field Cost System Process = Schedule Integration step action Change Details on Form tab (Workflow Type Configuration) |
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Most change requests that include a change to the schedule have an effect on the rest of the project. If the option to Automatically Include All Changes in the Change Baseline is selected, the downstream changes are those activities whose dates change due to their relationship with the manually changed activities. The Create Downstream Workflows step action, which runs on the System Queue, is used to automatically create downstream change requests for all control accounts that have new dates due to the change request. When the Downstream Change requests are created, they become child workflows of the parent. The workflow steps are started and the affected CAM's are notified. As with all other PM Compass parent/child relationships:
Downstream changes are not visible from the main change request. The dates used for each work package can be viewed in the temporary project. |
How to...Create Downstream Workflows Step action Learn more about...Date calculation differences in Open Plan and PM Compass What happens during a Create Downstream Workflows step action?
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The next step is for the CAM (or each CAM for a Contract Change Request) to approve the change request now that the costs are displayed on the Costs tab and the totals are on the change request form. The CAM can approve the change request or make changes before approving. The changes that can be made are based on the settings in the workflow steps. The default In-Progress step status of this step is In Review. The CAM can edit two types of data without the change request having to go back to the schedule and cost system:
For a Contract Change Request, a CAM cannot add new control accounts after the workflow steps are started and the change request has been to the scheduler. While they can edit material change requests in this step, the related control account would need to have been added to the change request before starting the workflow steps. The changes made in the cost and schedule can be viewed by clicking the View Summary button to display the View Summary dialog box. After the change request is complete, the information in the View Summary dialog box is no longer available from the workflow form. To save a copy of the Change Details report and the cost/schedule change logs, add the Export Change Details step action to your workflow Complete step before the Apply Schedule Changes, Apply Cost Changes, and Remove Temporary Data step actions. For steps, see Export the Change Details Report And/Or Change Logs in Related Topics. The information is exported to an Excel spreadsheet and attached to the workflow form Links tab. A CAM cannot change activities in the schedule during this step without sending the change request back to the scheduler to be re-applied and have the costs recalculated. If the review action is not triggered by clicking Edit Schedule, the CAM selects the workflow action of Approve to move the change request on to the next step. Editing the ScheduleIf the CAM needs to make changes to the schedule, they must click the Edit Schedule button. The default review action on this step enables the Edit Schedule button on the Change Details toolbar. When this button is clicked, the workflow action changes to Submit. When the CAM submits the change request, the workflow steps send it back to the scheduler where the process starts over. For a Contract Change Request, if one CAM makes a change to the change request, the entire Contract Change Request is sent back to the scheduler. Approving a Change RequestWhen the CAM approves a change request, and the change class is a budget class, PM Compass checks for negative undistributed budget, negative management reserve, and negative BAC for the work package. If any of the checks fail, a warning message displays if you are approving in Form View or an email is sent if you are approving in List View. See System checks when a change request is approved in Related Topics for more details. Example of What Happens When One CAM Rejects a Contract Change RequestThere are three CAM's assigned to a Contract Change Request.
When the change request is rejected, the timephasing that the first CAM performed is lost because the new change could affect the dates. The work package update that the second CAM completed is retained, and the change request goes back to the scheduler to reapply the change. |
How to...Export the Change Details Report And/Or Change Logs
Learn more about...Editing the schedule after the scheduler applies the change Rules for editing change details data System checks when a change request is approved Date calculation differences in Open Plan and PM Compass |
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The default In-Progress status for this step is In Review. This setting allows the Project Controls Analyst (PCA) to make minor changes to the costs without rejecting the change request. For example, the PCA might select an appropriate resource code, add required codes to the work package, or even change costs by switching out resource codes. If the PCA should only approve or reject a change request and not have the ability to make any changes, change the workflow status to In Approval. Tip: If the scheduler and PCA are the same person, you may want to move the PCA step so that it follows the scheduler step. That way the scheduler/PCA can approve the schedule and see the costs before the change request is sent to the CAM. If you change the workflow steps and review action, confirm that the review action is set to send the change request back to the person who is applying the schedule. |
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The default In-Progress status of the change request is In Approval and the IPT and PM cannot edit any data. If the change request is approved, it moves on to the scheduler. If it is rejected, it goes back to the originator. |
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The last step completes the change request and commits the changes to the live project. The complete step can be performed from within PM Compass or you can perform it from Open Plan (using the Add-In) if the Create, Edit, or Delete Activities Workflow Type Configuration option is selected. Tip: If a change request for the same activity was approved before your current change request, you may want to complete the change using the Open Plan Add-In because it includes a check to see whether the budget baseline has been updated since the change baseline was created.The workflow portion of the process is scheduled using the process server.
When you click Complete on the change request Workflow Actions menu, or in the Open Plan Add-In, the following step actions are scheduled to run on the process server (they run in the order documented and always go to the system queue):
For a detailed description of the above step actions, see The Change Management step actions in Related Topics. Tip: If you want to keep a record of the changes, add the "Export Change Details" step action to the workflow. You can set it to export the Change Details (Time Phase) report and the cost/schedule change logs as Excel spreadsheets and attach them to the workflow form Links tab. The Export Change Details step action must be added to the Complete step before the Apply Schedule Changes, Apply Cost Changes, and Remove Temporary Data steps.Tip: Whosever role it is to complete the change request should be familiar with both Open Plan and Cobra so that they can resolve any issues if there are errors during processing. It may be helpful to create a special responsibility at the project level to which you assign this complete step. That way the person completing change requests can verify that the change goes in correctly and can correct any issues. See Completing the process when a change request fails in Related Topics for more information. |
How to...Complete the process when a change request fails Export the Change Details report and/or the cost and schedule change logs Learn more about...System checks when a workflow is completed Completing a change when the calendar has been advanced The Change Management step actions Apply changes to the live project
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Reporting on Approved Change Requests |
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The change requests are used in the Work Authorization report. This report displays the Initial Work Authorization followed by all approved change requests. The benefit of using this report (instead of creating a new Initial Work Authorization) is that you only need to have one set of approvals for a change request. In addition, the report shows the initial work authorization followed by the approved changes. |
How to....Run a Contract Change report
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