What is a Change Control Board

Change control board – reviewing and approving change requests

Change management defines a procedure for recording, evaluating, deciding, implementing, and tracking changes or change requests. The Change Control Board is a group within an organisation that reviews the impact of change requests, in order to approve or to reject them. Other tasks, such as planning steps to implement the change request and communicating the changes, may also be the responsibility of the Change Control Board or be assumed by other roles or employees.

In software development, a Change Control Board (CCB) is sometimes referred to as a Software Change Control Board (SCCB). As soon as a change request is approved, information is usually sent to the project team and, if necessary, to the customer or stakeholders. Requirements and test cases may need to be rephrased, project baselines changed and risks reassessed. Although customer satisfaction is always a premise of the Change Control Board, approval or rejection also depends on the current project phase and project progress. In such a case, communication with customers is particularly important.

The composition of change control boards

The composition of change control boards, which are usually responsible for numerous projects and developments at the same time, varies from organisation to organisation. A typical committee could consist of

• the development manager,
• a test manager,
• a product manager
• and the project manager.
• In some cases, stakeholders are also involved.

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) as a collection of predefined processes, functions and roles defines a Change Advisory Board (CAB) instead of a Change Control Board. The CAB focuses exclusively on the risks of change requests and provides the change manager with recommendations. Change Management as such describes a broader function that manages the entire process of creating, reviewing, evaluating, approving, tracking, and monitoring all changes.

If you like the article or would like to discuss it, please feel free to share it in your network. And if you have any comments, please do not hesitate to send us a message.