PRINCE2® wiki

Change authority

The change authority is a person or group to whom the project board may delegate responsibility for reviewing and approving change requests or off-specifications. This authority may be given a change budget and can approve changes within that budget.

Relationship with the project board

The project board can choose to establish a change authority separate from the project manager, with the authority to report back to the project board. This delegation should align with the project tolerances, supporting decision-making and ownership at the local level, where the relevant knowledge and capacity to make those decisions exist. The use and composition of the change authority are documented in the issue management approach.

The project board ensures clarity regarding who is authorized to make decisions and within what tolerances. These authorities should be established during initiation and captured in role descriptions and the relevant management approach. Delegated authorities should be reviewed at each stage and whenever there is a change in project tolerances or authorized personnel.

The project board considers whether and how to delegate change authority and establish a change budget.

Scale and delegation

Depending on the size and complexity of the project, it may be useful to delegate change authority to several levels within the project management team. The parameters for this delegation are specified in the issue management approach.

Change authority may delegate responsibilities across multiple levels depending on the severity of issues. Here’s an example of how different roles may have changed authority responsibilities:

For example, with a level 2 issue (change request), The project manager could approve a change if only one product is affected and the change is under €400, provided it is within the agreed tolerance.

The project board can handle the change authority if few changes are expected. However, if many changes are anticipated, having a dedicated change authority group is more efficient. This streamlines the change process and reduces the time required from the project board, allowing them to focus on more critical project matters.

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Written by Frank Turley.

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