A change request has no budget impact listed. Is zero credible?
Incomplete change impactCheck direct effort, testing, coordination, support, and opportunity cost before accepting a zero-cost claim. A change can be inexpensive, but the conclusion needs an explicit basis.
What to do now
- Identify affected work and interfaces
- Estimate delivery and operating consequences
- Check displaced work and commitments
- Record the justified impact assessment
When to escalate
Escalate when
The change consumes material resources or affects a protected constraint.
Who decides
The budget owner and authorized finance representative
Example
A label change is minor, while a workflow-rule change adds testing and training effort.
Mistake to avoid
Treating work done by salaried staff as automatically cost-free.
Prevent a repeat
Review remaining cost and commitments, not only money already spent; reconcile with the authorized finance source.
Related cases
- Our budget ignores internal staff time. Should we include it?Incomplete cost visibility
- How do we forecast the final project cost?Incomplete cost-to-complete forecast
- How do we assess the impact of a change properly?Incomplete change analysis
- Our reports hide missing data by showing zero. What should change?Unknown mistaken for none