Change Order Manager — pf-change-order v1.1

Turn a 4-6 hour change order process into 30 minutes, included with your subscription.

A Cowork plugin that serves as an alternative to Procore's change order module with AIA A201-2017 compliant documentation, cost/schedule impact analysis, forensic schedule defense, notice compliance tracking, and professional owner approval package generation.

Installation

Download the pf-change-order.plugin file
Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Settings > Plugins
Click Install Plugin and select the downloaded .plugin file
The plugin will be installed and available immediately

Note: All data stays local on your machine. No external API calls or cloud storage required.

The Problem

Construction teams spend 4-6 hours per change order assembling documentation, calculating cost/schedule impact, and preparing owner approval packages. Procore ($10K+/yr), Buildertrend ($4.8K+/yr), and CoConstruct ($4.2K+/yr) offer templated workflows but lock data in proprietary formats and force expensive subscriptions.

Change Order Manager automates the entire workflow — form generation, impact analysis, document assembly, and approval package creation — in 30 minutes, with zero vendor lock-in.

Key Features

1. Change Order Form Generation

Generate structured change order forms from natural language descriptions. The plugin extracts scope changes, cost breakdown (labor, materials, other), and schedule impact from conversational input or spreadsheets.

Input: Change description + cost CSV (optional) Output: Structured change order data (JSON) with ID, description, scope changes, and cost summary

2. Cost & Schedule Impact Calculation

Automatically calculate the financial and schedule impact of each change order against the project budget and original schedule. Includes variance analysis and risk flagging (exceeds budget, extends schedule past original end date).

Input: Change order data + project budget/schedule CSV Output: Cost variance, schedule variance, contingency remaining, risk assessment

3. Supporting Documentation Assembly

Automatically search your project folder for supporting documents (quotes, RFIs, change justifications, photos) and generate a manifest for the approval package.

Input: Change order ID + project folder path Output: Document manifest with types, file paths, and total size estimate

4. Change Order Log & Tracking

Log each change order to a CSV file that tracks cumulative project impact (total approved COs, total cost added/removed, schedule impact). Generate summary reports showing project status across all change orders.

Input: Change order data + approval status Output: change-order-log.csv + cumulative impact summary

5. Professional Approval Packages

Generate professional owner approval packages (DOCX) with executive summary, cost breakdown, schedule analysis, supporting document list, and signature block — ready to email to project owners.

Input: Change order data + impact analysis + document manifest Output: change-order-approval-package.docx

Workflow

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  /change-order:change-order-setup                       │
│  Initialize workspace (run once)                         │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
┌────────────────▼────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  /change-order:change-order-generate                    │
│  Input: Change description + cost breakdown             │
│  Output: change-order-parsed.json                        │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
┌────────────────▼────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  /change-order:change-order-impact                      │
│  Input: Project budget + schedule CSV                   │
│  Output: change-order-impact.json (variance + risks)    │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
┌────────────────▼────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  /change-order:change-order-assemble                    │
│  Input: Project folder path                             │
│  Output: change-order-docs-manifest.json                │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
┌────────────────▼────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  /change-order:change-order-track                       │
│  Input: Status (draft/submitted/approved/rejected)      │
│  Output: change-order-log.csv + summary                 │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
┌────────────────▼────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  /change-order:change-order-package                     │
│  Output: change-order-approval-package.docx             │
│  → Ready for owner signature                            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Getting Started

1. Install & Setup

Install the plugin in Cowork
Run /change-order:change-order-setup and provide your project folder path:
```
/change-order:change-order-setup ~/my-project
```
Wait for the readiness report (dependencies checked, folders created)

2. Create Your First Change Order

Run /change-order:change-order-generate:

Conversational mode (default): Answer questions about the change (what changed, cost breakdown, schedule impact)
Spreadsheet mode: Upload a CSV with cost line items

3. Calculate Impact

Run /change-order:change-order-impact and upload your project's budget/schedule CSV:

Current contract price
Current contract schedule
Contingency reserve (if any)
Cumulative prior change orders (if any)

The plugin will calculate variance and flag risks (over budget, extends timeline).

4. Assemble Supporting Docs

Run /change-order:change-order-assemble and point to your project folder. The plugin searches for quotes, RFIs, change justifications, and photos related to this change order.

5. Log & Track

Run /change-order:change-order-track to log this change order to your project's change order history. Track cumulative impact across all COs (total added cost, schedule extensions, approval status).

6. Generate Approval Package

Run /change-order:change-order-package to generate a professional owner approval package (DOCX) with executive summary, cost breakdown, schedule impact, and all supporting documents listed.

Open the DOCX, review, sign, and send to the project owner.

Or Run the Full Pipeline

Run /change-order:change-order-pipeline to execute all 5 steps in sequence:

/change-order:change-order-pipeline

The plugin will guide you through each stage and produce the final approval package ready for owner signature.

Commands Reference

Command	Purpose	Frequency
`/change-order:change-order-setup`	Initialize workspace	1× (first time)
`/change-order:change-order-generate`	Create change order form	Per change order
`/change-order:change-order-impact`	Calculate cost/schedule variance	Per change order
`/change-order:change-order-assemble`	Search & manifest supporting docs	Per change order
`/change-order:change-order-track`	Log to change order history	Per change order
`/change-order:change-order-package`	Generate approval package (DOCX)	Per change order
`/change-order:change-order-pipeline`	Run all 5 steps	Per change order (fastest)
`/change-order:change-order-status`	View progress & change order log	Anytime

AI-Powered Features (10 features)

AIA A201-2017 Compliant Change Order Forms: Generates change orders with cause classification (Owner-directed, DSC Type I/II, design error, force majeure per AIA §7.2-7.4), CSI MasterFormat 2018 cost coding (Division 01-49), and 21-day notice compliance checking per §15.1.2
Cost Impact Analysis with Eichleay Formula: Calculates cost variance, contingency analysis per AACE RP 10S-90, markup validation per AIA §7.3.4, and unabsorbed home office overhead using the Eichleay formula (BCA standard for Owner-caused delays)
Forensic Schedule Analysis per AACE RP 29R-03: Delay classification (Owner-caused, concurrent, weather, force majeure per AIA §8.3), measured mile productivity analysis, liquidated damages exposure calculation, and six accepted AACE methodologies
AIA Document Taxonomy Search: Searches project folders using 12-category AIA document type taxonomy (RFIs per G716-2004, ASIs per G710-2017, CCDs per G714-2017, submittals per §3.12), with CO-type-specific gap analysis
AIA G701-2017 Status Workflow Tracking: Enforces valid status transitions (draft → submitted → pending-owner → approved/rejected/revised/void), cumulative impact tracking per AACE RP 59R-13, and trend analysis (cost >10%, rejection rate, approval cycle)
Professional Owner Approval Packages: Nine-section DOCX per AIA G701-2017 format with executive summary, AIA form fields, CSI-coded cost breakdown, schedule analysis, supporting doc index, risk flags, and three-party signature block (Owner + Contractor + Architect per §7.2)
Dispute Defense Documentation: AIA Article 15 claims framework, Spearin doctrine (implied warranty of plans), AACE RP 29R-03 forensic analysis, claims chronology, evidence checklists, and federal Contract Disputes Act procedures
Notice Compliance Management: Tracks 21-day claim notice (AIA §15.1.2), 14-day ConsensusDocs, 30-day federal FAR deadlines, state-specific mechanic's lien statutes (10 states), and generates notice letter templates
Federal Project Support: FAR 52.236-2 differing site conditions, FAR 52.243-4 changes clause, Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage (40 USC §3141), Miller Act surety bonds (40 USC §3131), FAR 31.105 cost allowability
Full Pipeline Automation: End-to-end workflow from change description to signed approval package in one command, with checkpoint tracking and cumulative project impact analysis

How It Compares

Feature	Change Order Manager	Procore	Buildertrend	CoConstruct
AIA A201-2017 compliance	✓ Full (§7.2-7.4, §8.3, §15)	◐ Partial	◐ Partial	✗ None
Change order forms	✓ Full (CSI-coded)	✓ Full	✓ Full	✓ Full
Cost impact + Eichleay	✓ Full	◐ Basic	◐ Basic	◐ Basic
Forensic schedule analysis	✓ AACE RP 29R-03	✗ None	✗ None	✗ None
Doc assembly (AIA taxonomy)	✓ Full (12 categories)	✓ Full	◐ Partial	◐ Partial
Dispute defense	✓ Full (Spearin, Art. 15)	✗ None	✗ None	✗ None
Notice compliance tracking	✓ Full (10 states + federal)	✗ None	✗ None	✗ None
Owner approval packages	✓ G701-2017 format	✓ Full	✓ Full	✓ Full
Change order log	✓ Full (AACE trending)	✓ Full	✓ Full	✓ Full
Federal project support	✓ FAR/Davis-Bacon/Miller	◐ Partial	✗ None	✗ None
Real-time collaboration	✗ None	✓ Full	✓ Full	✓ Full
Owner web portal	✗ None	✓ Full	✓ Full	✓ Full
Data stays local	✓ Yes	✗ Cloud	✗ Cloud	✗ Cloud
No vendor lock-in	✓ Yes	✗ No	✗ No	✗ No
Cost	Included with your subscription	$10K+/yr	$4.8K+/yr	$4.2K+/yr

What You Give Up (Honest Assessment)

Change Order Manager is fast and affordable, but it's single-user and document-oriented:

No real-time team collaboration: If your team needs to edit the same CO simultaneously, this isn't it. Workaround: Designate one CO coordinator to run the plugin, share outputs for review, incorporate feedback, regenerate.
No owner web portal: Owners can't log in and see COs. Workaround: Email the generated DOCX approval package, track responses manually.
No automatic approval notifications: You send the package via email and track approvals manually. Workaround: Use your project email to notify owners; log approvals in the change-order-log.csv yourself.

These aren't bugs — they're intentional design choices. The plugin solves the document generation pain (4-6 hours → 30 minutes). Approval workflows are handled via email and manual tracking.

Technical Details

Requirements

Python 3.8+ (check with python3 --version)
python-docx (installed via pip install python-docx)
~65K tokens per full workflow run (small enough for fresh Cowork session)

File Organization

Your workspace after setup:

my-project/
├── .change-order/              # Hidden — plugin state
│   ├── config.json
│   ├── change-order-project.json
│   ├── logs/
│   └── templates/
├── inbound/                    # Your uploads (CSV, project docs)
├── processing/                 # Plugin intermediates (JSON)
├── outbound/                   # Final deliverables (DOCX, CSV)
└── archive/                    # Auto-backed-up old versions

User files go in inbound/. Generated documents go in outbound/. You never touch processing/ — that's plugin internals.

Cost (API Users Only)

Estimated cost per change order workflow:

Full pipeline (all 5 steps): $0.12–$0.18 USD
Individual steps: $0.02–$0.05 USD each

Note: Cowork/Claude Desktop subscription users are NOT charged per-token. This cost applies to API users only.

Estimated Cost per Use

Disclaimer: Token estimates are approximate and based on typical usage patterns measured from skill prompt sizes. Actual costs vary with input data size, conversation length, and complexity. Estimates use Claude Sonnet 4.6 pricing ($3/1M input, $15/1M output). Cowork and Claude Desktop subscription users (Pro/Max/Team) are not charged per-token — these estimates apply only to direct Anthropic API usage. Running stages individually in fresh sessions uses fewer input tokens than running the full pipeline sequentially, because pipeline mode accumulates conversation history across stages.

Per skill (run individually in a fresh session):

Stage	Skill Prompt	User Input	Total Input	Output	Est. Cost
change-order-generator	~3.1K	~800	~6.7K	~3.1K	~$0.07
change-order-tracker	~2.8K	~800	~6.4K	~3.0K	~$0.06
dispute-defense	~3.5K	~800	~7.1K	~3.5K	~$0.07
notice-manager	~3.5K	~800	~7.1K	~3.5K	~$0.07
impact-calculator	~4.1K	~800	~7.7K	~4.1K	~$0.08
approval-package-builder	~3.2K	~800	~6.8K	~3.2K	~$0.07
docs-assembler	~2.9K	~800	~6.5K	~3.0K	~$0.06
Standalone total			~48.4K	~23.5K	~$0.50

Full pipeline (all stages in one session — context accumulates):

Stage	Base Input	+ History	Total Input	Output	Est. Cost
change-order-generator	~7.2K	0	~7.2K	~3.1K	~$0.07
change-order-tracker	~6.8K	~3.9K	~10.8K	~3.0K	~$0.08
dispute-defense	~7.6K	~7.7K	~15.3K	~3.5K	~$0.10
notice-manager	~7.5K	~12.1K	~19.6K	~3.5K	~$0.11
impact-calculator	~8.1K	~16.4K	~24.5K	~4.1K	~$0.13
approval-package-builder	~7.2K	~21.3K	~28.5K	~3.2K	~$0.13
docs-assembler	~6.9K	~25.3K	~32.2K	~3.0K	~$0.14
Pipeline total			~138.1K	~23.5K	~$0.77

Running the full pipeline once typically costs $0.54–$1.00 in API tokens (Claude Sonnet 4.6).

Known Limitations

Architectural Constraints

No persistent database: Change orders are logged to CSV, not a live database. Multi-user edits can conflict. Workaround: One person manages the log, exports/imports as needed.
No real-time API integration: Can't pull live data from Procore or your ERP system. Workaround: Export data as CSV and upload to the plugin.
No e-signatures: Plugin generates documents; you sign them externally (email, DocuSign, HelloSign).
No multi-user real-time collaboration: Single-user plugin. Workaround: Designate one CO coordinator.
Session-based operation: Runs only when you invoke a command. No background syncing or scheduled reminders.

Validation & Guardrails

The plugin includes safeguards to prevent common errors:

Cost validation: All cost entries are summed and checked for negative values (flags credit memos)
Schedule validation: Schedule impact is flagged if extending past original contract end date
Budget tracking: Contingency remaining is calculated and flagged if falling below 10%
Document completeness: Approval packages are checked for all required sections before export

Troubleshooting

Error: "Python 3 not found"

Fix: Install Python via Homebrew (macOS) or apt (Linux), then re-run setup:

# macOS
brew install python3

# Linux
apt-get install python3

Error: "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'docx'"

Fix: Install python-docx:

pip install python-docx

Error: "Workspace path not found"

Fix: Create the directory first, or provide an absolute path:

mkdir -p ~/my-project
/change-order:change-order-setup ~/my-project

Change order log is corrupted

Fix: Backup the corrupted file and start a new log:

mv outbound/change-order-log.csv outbound/change-order-log-backup.csv
# Next CO will create a new log file

Customization

Customize Document Templates

The plugin ships with a professional change order approval template (DOCX). Customize it:

Open ~/{workspace}/.change-order/templates/change-order-approval-base.docx in Microsoft Word
Edit colors, logos, fonts, headers/footers — make it match your company's brand
Keep the {{placeholder}} markers intact — the plugin uses these to fill in your data
Save — your customizations are used for all future COs

See templates/README.md for detailed customization instructions.

Add Custom Fields

The plugin uses a standard change order form. If you need custom fields (e.g., "Reason for Change", "Affected Systems"), you can:

Edit the DOCX template to add new sections
Email your feedback to the plugin maintainer with your custom field request

Support & Feedback

Found a bug? The plugin logs all errors to .change-order/logs/run-latest.log. Share that log when reporting issues.

Have a feature request? Let us know what would make the plugin more useful for your workflow.

Version History

v1.1 (Deep Domain Knowledge — 2026-03-16)

6 new professionally structured SKILL.md files with authoritative construction law references
AIA A201-2017 compliance throughout (§7.2-7.4, §8.3, §15, G701-2017, G702-1992)
Eichleay formula, measured mile analysis, AACE RP 29R-03 forensic schedule methods
Dispute defense with Spearin doctrine, Article 15 claims, Contract Disputes Act
Notice compliance tracking with state-specific lien deadlines (10 states)
Federal project support (FAR, Davis-Bacon, Miller Act)
All 5 stub commands updated with proper descriptions and workflows

v1.0 (Initial Release — 2026-03-08)

Change order form generation from conversational input or spreadsheets
Cost and schedule impact calculation with variance analysis
Supporting document assembly and manifest generation
Change order log with cumulative impact tracking
Professional owner approval package generation (DOCX)
Setup command with dependency checking
Full pipeline command for end-to-end workflow
Status command for progress tracking

Questions? See the detailed command help (/change-order:command-name --help) or check the templates README for customization guidance.

Important Disclaimers

AI-Generated Content: This plugin uses AI (LLM) technology which can produce inaccurate or incomplete outputs. All content should be treated as a starting point and reviewed for accuracy before use.
Not Professional Advice: Outputs do not constitute legal, financial, tax, medical, or other professional advice. Consult qualified professionals before making decisions based on generated content.
No Compliance Guarantee: References to industry standards, regulations, or guidelines are for informational purposes only. This plugin does not guarantee compliance with any law or regulation. Users are responsible for verifying all outputs meet their specific regulatory requirements.
No Endorsement or Affiliation: Mention of third-party products, standards, or organizations does not imply endorsement, partnership, or certification by those entities.

Change Order Manager