Reference
What is Change request?
A change request is anything asked for that was not in the agreed scope, quoted before it is built. It is the mechanism that keeps a fixed-price project honest for both sides, and its absence is what turns scope creep into a dispute.
Also called: variation order · scope change
How it should work
- The request is made, in writing or verbally
- The supplier says what it would cost and what it does to the date
- The client decides, before any work happens
- The scope document is updated so both sides have one current version
What should not go through it
Small adjustments during a build — wording, ordering, a swapped image. Charging for those is pedantry and it damages the relationship far more than the revenue is worth. The process is for genuine additions.
Why it protects the client too
A supplier who silently absorbs every request eventually rushes the end of the project, and the part that suffers is whatever was scheduled last. That is usually testing.
Where this is covered in depth
A definition can only go so far. Writing a website brief that gets you comparable quotes covers this properly — 3 minutes, free, no email required.
Who wrote this
Anas Bin Masud builds e-commerce sites and does technical SEO for businesses in the UK, Canada and Pakistan. These definitions come from client work rather than from a content brief — where an entry describes a mistake, it is usually one found on a real site. More about how I work.