How Should Project Managers Deal with Frequently Changing Requirements?

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Every project manager must be familiar with the advice from leadership: “Always respect the client and strive to meet their needs.” Under such guidance, projects often begin smoothly and proceed according to the original plan, leaving the client satisfied. However, as the project progresses, clients may start requesting frequent changes, which adds significant extra work for the team. Sometimes, clients even bypass the project manager and directly assign tasks to team members, leading to information asymmetry and numerous issues. Ultimately, these actions can cause project failure. When the project fails, the responsibility falls on the project manager. Not only is the project unsuccessful, but the project manager may also lose the trust of both leadership and team members. So, what should a project manager do?

Should a Project Be Centered Around Requirements?

A precise understanding of requirements accounts for about 60% of a project’s success factors. Misunderstanding requirements can easily lead to project failure. Establishing effective and efficient communication with the client during the development process is crucial to success. Therefore, it is essential to fully understand and respond to the client’s perceptions.

In practice, we often find that even after delivery milestones and communication schedules are agreed upon, clients may still share their “ideas” with us. Hence, it is important to clearly distinguish between “ideas” and “requirements.” Clients who propose ideas are usually concerned about the project’s progress and are willing to be involved in follow-up activities. As a project manager, you should increase such clients’ engagement and enhance interaction with them. For example, communicate and interact actively to make clients feel that your team is working diligently and can provide strong support when needed. During this process, if the client’s input consists mainly of “ideas,” strive to stabilize the client and maintain the original project plan through professional communication. If it is a clear “requirement,” the following steps should be taken.

First, the requirement must be formally confirmed by the client. This includes the user requirements specification obtained through requirement analysis, as well as any changes during the project. These should be signed off by the client. The confirmation should cover project objectives, scope, and functional requirements. It is also important to maintain requirement research records and a requirement tracking table. Often, due to a lack of expertise among requirement analysts, insufficient attention from project managers and requirement leads, and the absence of effective tools or processes to monitor this stage, requirement records fail to achieve their full potential. Requirement tracking is critical because, after all, requirements for any project are not static and may change at any time.

How to Effectively Handle Requirement Changes?

1. Contractual Constraints

The impact of requirement changes on a project is evident to all. When signing a contract with a client, include relevant clauses such as setting a time limit for proposing changes, specifying which types of changes are acceptable, unacceptable, or partially acceptable, and stipulating that a change management process must be followed for any requirement modification. The binding force of the contract should not be overlooked.

2. Establish a Change Approval Process

In projects, team members often hesitate to follow formal requirement management procedures for minor changes, believing it reduces efficiency and wastes time. However, this mindset can make requirement changes uncontrollable and ultimately lead to project failure. Therefore, even minor changes should go through a formal requirement management process. Otherwise, small issues may accumulate and become unmanageable. Clearly define the approval steps, responsible personnel, matters requiring approval, and the approval workflow. Any change that has not undergone the approval process is invalid and will not be accepted.

3. Manage Changes by Priority

The notions that "the client is always right" or "the client is king" are not entirely accurate in project management. Some client requests may be unfeasible, and any new or modified requirements can disrupt the project and affect the client’s cost, investment, and returns. When a client insists on changes, suggest that they prioritize the new requirements based on importance and urgency. This can serve as a basis for evaluating the change. Formally submit a requirement change plan to the client, detailing the impact on timeline, cost, schedule, and additional workload.

4. Assign a Dedicated Person for Change Management

Without a dedicated person, team members may be unable to communicate with the client promptly due to their existing workloads. Therefore, assign a dedicated requirement change manager to facilitate timely communication with the client and to track and report the progress of requirement changes. Additionally, form a project change control team comprising representatives from all involved parties, including decision-makers from both the client and development sides, to determine which changes to accept.

5. Inform the Client of the Cost of Changes

Clients should understand that all changes come at a cost, such as delays, increased expenses, and reduced efficiency. From the project’s current state, analyze the impact of new requirements with the client. For example: the current delivery deadline is very tight; the requirements have already been confirmed, and the overall framework is in place. A change would require starting over; frequent changes will compromise the project timeline and significantly reduce efficiency; the current project version already meets the agreed-upon key requirements.

In requirement management, strive to assess whether the client’s requests are reasonable. If not, use communication to help streamline their demands. To effectively simplify requirements, start with a root cause analysis to understand the true purpose behind the client’s new requests. Then, identify project risks, study countermeasures, and address the issue with targeted solutions.

The Importance of Team Trust in Addressing Requirement-Related Issues

It is inevitable to encounter problems related to requirements, and these issues can stem not only from external sources but also from within the team. For example, when clients communicate directly with other project team members, it not only leads to information asymmetry but also reflects insufficiently developed "team trust and collaboration." Building a team is easy, but nurturing it is challenging. Team development cannot be achieved through simple incentives alone. It requires the project manager to understand the team's strengths and mitigate its weaknesses, clearly identify each member's advantages and challenges within the project, and engage in self-reflection by allowing the team to provide feedback on their own shortcomings. When problems arise within the team, such as a member becoming the "weakest link," the project manager has an obligation to coordinate resources to help them grow. This approach also enhances team cohesion. Throughout the project, trust is the highest priority. When a solid foundation of trust is established, even if the project encounters requirement-related challenges, team members will trust the project manager to lead them to success, preventing the team from falling apart.

In practical work, different companies and projects may have different versions of requirement management processes. Project managers must adapt to local conditions and changing circumstances by establishing a requirement change process tailored to their project within the given environment. By applying these processes flexibly, they can manage requirements more effectively and achieve project goals more efficiently.