Discuss the importance of following a well-integrated change control process on IT projects. What consequences can result from not following these best practices? What types of change control would be appropriate for small IT projects? What types of change control would be appropriate for large ones?

It doesn't matter how well the project is and how good a team is, there will always be instances when the modification is stated for the project along the way. when you are working on a project please make sure that change control process is available, if one's organization doesn't have one he/she must establish one.

Here is the definition of change control:

Change Control” is a formal process. It is set up to enable project teams to modify the scope of the project using specified controls and policies. Change can include anything that would impact the project time, budget, scope, all of which can impact quality. Most of the time, it’s scope that impacts the other items.

Four steps of Change control:

Define the change Request

Submit and Review the Change Request.

Define Options and Create Response Document.

Final Decision And Approval.

If one is not following these best practices then the consequences will be delay in the project completion, increase in the cost of the project. which means that project will not meet it's deadline as well as budget.

For small IT projects important change control types are:

Engineering

Quality Control: Quality control is very important for maintaining customer expectations.

Quality Assurance: Quality will be assured as soon as the project is deployed at customer's location.

The above explained type of change control applies for large projects as well with inclusion of some more as given below:

Production

Research & Development: Research and development is very crucial for big projects as well as small projects.