Project Control, Change Management, and Closure
What the exam tests
Control, change, and closure test integrated change control, baseline discipline, performance reporting, and end-of-project transition.
Core rules
- Integrated change control evaluates every change request for impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, and benefits. The change control board approves, rejects, or defers; approved changes update the relevant baselines and plans.
- Configuration management controls versions of deliverables and documents so the team works from the approved version.
- Performance reporting compares actuals with baselines using EVM, milestones, and quality metrics; forecasts should state assumptions.
- Closure includes customer acceptance, transition to operations, contract closure, final report, archive, lessons learned, and resource release. Lessons learned are captured throughout and consolidated before the team disperses.
Worked example
A stakeholder requests a new report worth 10 days and $20k while CPI is 0.90. The PM documents the request, analyzes schedule and cost impact, and sends it to the CCB. If approved, the baseline and forecast are updated; if rejected, the request and rationale are recorded. Reasoning: the PM does not unilaterally absorb scope or silently change the baseline; the CCB owns the decision.
Traps
- Accepting small changes informally until scope creep appears.
- Updating the baseline without approval.
- Treating a final meeting as closure while acceptance and transition remain open.
- Waiting until the last day to collect lessons learned.