Project Change Orders

The Change Order records changes to the original scope of the Project. Usually this means additional work, sometimes less. Anyway the difference between the original scope and the changes must be clear in the Project's reporting. Still the change must become part of the contract.

Common causes for change orders are:

  • The Project's work was incorrectly estimated
  • The customer or project team discovers obstacles or possible efficiencies that require them to deviate from the original plan
  • The customer or project team are inefficient or incapable of completing their required deliverables within budget, and additional money, time, or resources must be added to the project
  • During the course of the Project, additional features or options are perceived and requested.
  • If the contractor has to add work items to the original scope of work at a later time in order to achieve the customer's demands, a fair price for the work items and fees must be added for the materials and labor.
  • Extreme weather conditions cause delays or require additional work to complete construction.

In all these situations it is important that customer and contractor agree on the change. The functionality around change orders provides the opportunity for a formal approval procedure:

  1. Estimating the costs of the change in the different cost types: Resources, Material, Expenses and Equipment.
  2. Requesting an approval through the Sales Person responsible for the Project and/or the Person Responsible for the Project, usually the project manager.
  3. Embedding the change in the Project as a separate task but linked to the Element and / or Activity work breakdown structures.
To See
Learn how to create a Change Order Change Order
Learn how to create a Project Task from a Change Order Project Task
Learn about the Change Order Approval Approval workflow

Product Video

Project Change Orders

See Also

Project Change Order Approval
Welcome to Industrial Equipment Manufacturing