Change on a project is inevitable, its impact and frequency are not. You can take steps to minimize both the number of changes and the magnitude of those changes.

Those steps are inclusion, review, and response. You must include all project stakeholders in the design process. Follow your RACI explicitly.

Do not short-circuit the review process, both internally and externally. Involve your client and other off-project stakeholders. Double the time allocated for model review, it’s a wise investment.

Process all change order requests and requests for information quickly. Make sure change orders have both cost and schedule impacts assigned, even if they are wild guesses. It is better to have a sense of the size of the change than no measure at all.

Should any changes need immediate attention (actual work) before approval, regard that as a red flag. Your policies and procedures are not working. There should be time to evaluate a change before it’s necessary to effect the change. If there’s not enough time, your system is broken. Fix it at once, before change takes over your project.