Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. – Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

Of the great saints, Francis perhaps sets the most inspirational example of personal change and sacrifice. Born into a wealthy family, he lived a high life as a young man until taken captive during a war to defend Assisi. Emerging a year later as a changed person, he sold all his possessions and devoted the rest of his life to serving others.
 

Accept the things you cannot change

As discussed in the Project Plan chapter,
it is vital to properly plan your portal project and not to simply 'wing it'.

Through decent Stakeholder Analysis
and Prioritisation, your should have a
Project Scope that meets the business
need. From your pilot, you will have
confirmed that delivery is feasible.

Resist the temptation, then, to make continual changes and tweaks to the Project Scope. Have the courage of your convictions and 'stick to your guns'.

Frequent, unwarranted changes in direction are likely to demotivate the team, confuse
your stakeholders and cause costs to
escalate. Where changes are also poorly thought through, there may be an impact on benefits and/or delivery may not prove
feasible (where not tested in a pilot).
 

Change what is not working, if you can

Having said that change for it's own sake is not a good idea, there will clearly be occasions where controlled change has to happen if the project's objectives are to be met (e.g. where strategic priorities change or where a pilot proves a course to lack feasibility).
 

The wisdom to know the difference

Given that changes to scope or method may at times be required, but that poorly planned change is unwise, it seems only logical to ensure that the wisdom of your governance is fully utilised in planning and approving change.
 

The Change Board

To avoid creating a separate bureaucracy (and to allow for flexible and responsive changes), my recommendation is to have a subset of the Project Board responsible for approving any project changes.

Project Change should be a standing item at the bottom of the (say monthly) Project Board agenda. If there are any changes to propose, then the members of this 'Change Board' stay on to discuss the proposals, whilst the others leave.