What action should a project manager take when needing to manage changes during the project?

When managing changes during a project, creating change requests is a fundamental action that allows for structured and formalized handling of any alterations to the project plan. Change requests serve as the official documentation of a requested change, detailing the nature of the change, the reasons behind it, and any potential impacts on the project’s scope, schedule, or budget. This formal approach helps ensure that all changes are evaluated rigorously and that stakeholders are appropriately informed and involved in the decision-making process.

The process of generating change requests is important because it initiates a systematic review of the proposed changes, allowing for better decision-making. This documentation is essential for maintaining project integrity, ensuring accountability, and keeping a record of all changes for future reference, which is crucial for project success and stakeholder communication.

The other actions, although related to managing changes, may not effectively capture and process the request in the same structured way. For instance, conducting an impact assessment or preliminary review is important but typically occurs after a change request has been initiated. Documenting requests in a change control log is part of the overall process that follows the creation of change requests, as it ensures that all changes are tracked. Therefore, while all actions are relevant within the context of change management, creating change requests is