Change request overview

Change requests may be created by team members assigned the Change Requests [R/W] role. Additionally, new change requests may be automatically generated from problem reports. In such cases, the Header and Details sections will be populated with information from the related problem report. The originating problem report will also be linked in the Related Processes section.

The following sections are available to describe the request:

Section	Purpose
Header	Use this section to describe the request. You must specify a Title, Description, and Change Template. You may also specify a Priority, Change Reason and Change Reason Code. When a priority is selected, the Status section shows the priority graphically in the Flag field. The selected Change Template assigns the responsible coordinator and required change control board (CCB) approvers. A unique number will be generated automatically upon creation.
Details	This optional section provides fields to capture additional details about the request, such as the affected product, item, and quantity. You can also document known risks and root cause information.
Images	Upload images to describe the change and its possible solution. Use the comments fields for each image to provide additional information. Further files can be uploaded in the Attachments tab.
Status	This section contains automatic indicators about the overall progress, priority, task progression, and approval status. These fields are especially useful when reviewing a list of requests in workspace views. - The Progress field reflects the request’s workflow status, such as NEW (new request), REV (review pending), CCB (CCB review due), or CO (Change Order initiated). - The Flag field indicates the priority of the request. - The Tasks Progress field shows the completion progress of initiated change tasks. - The Approval Status field indicates whether the request has been approved or rejected, based on its workflow status. For example, a status of Rejected marks the request as rejected, while a status of Change Order in Progress marks it as approved.
Related Processes	Use this section to link the request to preceding processes, such as a Design Review or CAPA process. If the request is already addressed by an existing change order, you can select the relevant process here. This prevents the creation of a new Change Order upon approval of the request.

The Attachments tab may be used to upload documents that describe the change, its impact, and possible solutions in more detail. These attachments will be accessible to all stakeholders involved in the process.

Items and BOMs impacted by the request may be listed in the Affected Items tab. If the request was created from a problem report, this view may already contain entries, as the affected items are copied from the problem report. Similarly, all affected items of the change request will later be copied to the related change order once the request is approved. Items can be associated with multiple change requests simultaneously.

Specify responsibility and tasks

A Change Approval Template must be selected when creating the change request. The template values populate several fields throughout the change request and subsequent change order, where applicable.

The template also defines the standard change tasks for the request. Once the request is submitted to the Review & Impact Analysis status, tasks from the template that are part of the change request process are copied into the Task Planning tab. This ensures that each change process based on the template follows a consistent set of tasks, helping to maintain defined standards. For more details, refer to .

Once all details have been entered, you may submit the request for review using the Submit for review workflow action. If the request is no longer valid, it can be canceled to prevent further actions. The request owner can also return the request to the Create state after submission if additional information becomes available.

Cancel a change request

If the request is no longer valid, you may cancel it to prevent further actions to be taken. The following is captured in the Cancellation Details section:

Cancelled In Status – The last status of the request before it was canceled.
Cancelled By – The person who canceled the request.
Cancellation Comments – Comments added when canceling the request.

Review a change request

When a change request is submitted and reaches the Review & Impact Analysis status, the assigned change coordinator (defined by the selected change template) is notified and the request also appears in their My Outstanding Work list.

The review may reveal that the change involves a supplier or impacts a specific customer. Additionally, certain types of changes may require customer approval before being released. Such information can be recorded in the Stakeholders section. This information will later be copied to the change order, where customer approval may influence the change approval process.

As part of the review and analysis stage, the reviewer must assess the financial impact of the request and the expected efforts. Both can be documented in the Financial Impact Assessment and Efforts Assessment sections respectively. Once figures are provided, the system calculates the totals. This information may be required by the change control board (CCB) to decide on the request's approval, but it is not mandatory. However, if total efforts are defined, they will be copied to the resulting change order as the target effort.

If the change request is still valid but will not be addressed immediately, it can be moved to the Shelved status. In this status, the Progress fields in the Status section are greyed out to indicate that the request is on hold. Once the request is returned to the Review & Impact Analysis state, the Progress fields will return to their normal colors. This functionality can be used in Workspace Views to track the progress of all ongoing change requests.

Generate and complete change tasks

Use the Task Planning tab to define a list of activities to be completed before the change request is submitted to the change control board. When you transition the change request to the Perform Tasks state, the system automatically generates the corresponding change task processes. Once all tasks are complete, the request transitions back to the Review & Impact Analysis status.

You may adjust the tasks in the Task Planning tab — add or remove tasks, or update values such as dependencies, IDs, titles, descriptions, priority, assignee, and target start dates. Start with a standard set of tasks as copied from the template, then tailor them to fit the specific change request.

Each entry must have an alphanumeric ID, an assigned person, and a Target Completion Date. If you define a Reviewer, the system notifies that person when the task results are ready for review and approval. If you do not define a Target Start Date, the system uses the current date.

Initiate tasks

Initiate the tasks using the Initiate Tasks workflow action.

When you complete the transition, the system does the following:

Calculates Target Start Dates based on the Target Completion Date and any dependencies specified in the Depends On column. This also determines the values in the Target Duration and Days Remaining columns.
Creates change tasks for each entry in the Task Planning tab and places them in the Change Tasks workspace. Each task receives a number in the format <CT> - <CR number> - <ID> – <Title>, making them easy to identify.
Shows links to these tasks in the Task column at the far right of the Task Planning tab.
Adds tasks to the Schedule tab according to their Target Start and Completion Dates.

Manage tasks

You can only adjust the list and details of tasks in the Task Planning tab. After making changes, use the Update Tasks workflow action to update the change tasks and notify assignees. You cannot remove tasks using Update Tasks; instead, archive the task to remove it from the Task Planning grid.

To simplify task management, the system removes completed change tasks from the Task Planning tab. This tab only lists tasks that are still due, helping you focus on outstanding activities.

The system also adds related change tasks to the Schedule tab so you can track their schedule.

See for details about managing change tasks.

Complete and monitor tasks

When someone acknowledges or completes a task, or adds comments in the Follow-Up & Status Updates section, the system records the task name and number, status, person, date, and comment in the Change Tasks Activity Log field of the Follow-Up & Change Tasks Tracking section of the main Change Request tab. Each task has its own entry, but only the latest activity appears for each. This helps the change coordinator track the latest task activities and monitor overall progress.

You can easily track completion of related change tasks using the Tasks Progress field in the Status section, which counts the number of completed tasks:

If a change task contains items in the Affected Items tab, these are automatically copied to the Affected Items tab of the CR or CO upon completion of the task if they do not exist there already. This is so that the change coordinator can monitor all affected items throughout the change process.

Note: Once you define entries in the Task Planning tab, you cannot submit the request to CCB Review or Change Order in Progress states until tasks are complete. If required, you could cancel tasks in the Task Planning tab to skip task execution. You also cannot proceed in workflow if there are pending change tasks listed in the Schedule tab.

Reject a change request

If the request is not considered a valid change, the coordinator or reviewer may use the workflow action Reject Request. This moves the change request (CR) to the Rejected state. In this case, the request owner is notified automatically about the rejection and the system will capture the result and rejection date in the Status and Statistics & KPIs sections.

Note: You may only reject a CR from the Review & Impact Analysis state and before any tasks have been initiated.

Approve a change request

After completing the review and impact analysis, the change request coordinator can approve the request and initiate the change order process directly if no approvers have been selected. If approvers have been selected, then a change control board (CCB) review is required.

Use the Change Control Board Review section to review and manage required approvals for the request. If the selected change template includes predefined approvers, the system lists them in the Required column. The coordinator can also add additional approvers from the list of team members. When the request reaches the Change Control Board Review status, the system copies all required and additional approvers to the Remaining Approvers list. Each user must approve the request by performing the Approve workflow action, which moves them from the Remaining Approvers list to the Approved By list. This process makes it easy to track outstanding approvals.

If any remaining approver rejects the request and returns it to Review & Impact Analysis status, the system clears the Remaining Approvers list. All selected approvers must approve again the next time the request reaches the Change Control Board Review status. The same process occurs if the change request coordinator returns the request to review status.

You can repeat the Change Control Board Review multiple times. The system tracks each repetition in the Statistics section and records whether the CCB was skipped.

After final approval or direct initiation of the Change Order, the system updates the Approval Status in the Status section:

Generate a change order

You must implement the requested change through a change order process. When the change request reaches the Change Order in Progress status, the system automatically initiates a new change order and links it to the request. The system also copies details from the request to the change order, such as the selected change template.

If you want to link the current request to an existing change order, select the process in the Related Processes section. When you select an existing process, the system links the current request to that change order instead of creating a new one. This mechanism also allows you to connect multiple change requests to a single change order.

The change request remains locked in the Change Order in Progress state until the related change order is completed. Once the change order is complete, the system automatically completes the change request and, if applicable, the related problem report.

If you cancel the change order for any reason, you can return the change request to the Review & Impact Analysis state to determine if the change is still required. If not, you can cancel the change request. If you need a different change, the system generates a new change order when the workflow reaches the Change Order in Progress state again.

Once the system initiates a change order for a change request, it displays the change order in the request’s Schedule tab for easy tracking. This view also provides access to tasks performed in the context of the change order.