Why does the project manager frequently resist changes?

Answer 1

Change often requires a significant amount of work in terms of adjusting the project scope, technical requirements, cost review, schedule review, resource management issue and quality factors. The later that change happens in the lifecycle of a project that bigger the impact and higher likelihood that the cost of the change will be significantly higher, and thus higher chance that the project will fail to achieve the required schedule or come in at the specified cost. Project Managers often resist change especially if it involves 'scope creep' or the addition of new requirements, because they can be a major cause of project failure. Change can be beneficial, but it is not seen that way all the time. Many projects would fail if no changes were allowed, however the important point to note is that change must always be controlled, evaluated, reviewed, the full impact understood, recorded, authorised by the appropriate authority and fully implemented across the project. If change is implemented properly it works, if it is not implemented properly it can be catastrophic for the project and sometimes for the company.