Project Managers: Change Control is a Key to Your Success! As a new project manager, it was obvious that my success was dependent on customer satisfaction. I understood that I needed to build strong relationships with my customers. I needed them to trust me and respect me in order to complete the job. They were essential to keep the project’s priority high, provide financial support, and be subject matter experts. I loved to give them good news, but I hated to give them bad news. I came up this equation for some reason: Announce new requirements (or any change of direction) = Bad news. This is when I discovered that my amazing customers, with whom I had a great rapport and respect, had no idea why the project was delayed or why it cost more money. It was almost as if all those conversations and agreements about adding five days to development for more detailed error messages had never happened. How could this happen? My customer was delighted; the final result was exactly what they wanted. There were no changes; everything was as it was from the beginning. This was another example of Information Technology taking too much time. I had also learned a new formula: Skipping change management = Undocumented Overages + poor customer perception. I moved on determined to be a better project manger and to maintain a great working relationship. You can bet there was change management on my next project. It was documented in the project plan, and I shared it with the entire team. When the first change was made, I assisted my customer by filling in the change request. This was great customer service! All my customer had to do was read and approve the form, and then we were off. This was not an easy task, as you may have noticed. This was perceived to be a form that Information Technology had to fill out in order to keep the project moving. I still had to get customer buy-in. So I discovered: Change management without customer participation = Documented Overages and poor customer perception. I didn’t give up on change management, but I realized that my customer was my partner in the process of change management. They had to support and understand the process. They had to understand the value of tracking changes. I had to understand that customer service is about getting their support and participation. These are some of the lessons that I have learned along the journey: