Change Management Best Practices
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The document outlines a step-by-step guide for effective change management practices in IT organizations. It emphasizes the importance of a structured process to prevent crises caused by improperly implemented changes, detailing steps from defining a process and creating a change advisory board to communicating changes and evaluating their outcomes. Key components include documenting all changes, assigning roles, and maintaining flexibility for ongoing improvements.
Change Management Best Practices
- 1. Change Management Best Practices Step ITIL by Step A Step-by-Step Guide Many IT organizations are familiar with the Monday Morning Crisis. Most IT problems are realized on Monday mornings because a change was implemented over the weekend and no formal process was followed. The organization is sent into reactive mode as IT struggles to resolve the issue and get everything back up and running. Change Management was created to handle situations just like this. A good change management process acts like a traffic controller at an airport. It will make certain that everything flows smoothly and that there are limited communication gaps. Step 1: De ne a Complete Process for All Changes Sample Change New Management Process The following should be considered when designing a change management process: How changes are requested Submit New Request How to assign priorities How changes are processed and scheduled for implementation Who will receive change requests ore Change Re Re que dM Pending Review Who will track and schedule changes Nee Info jec st te d How changes are applied Change escalation guidelines Additional Ne Request ed Initial Approval List of criteria for backing out changes Info Requested M Inf ore Send to CAB Rejected o if a problem occurs Back-out Procedures Advisory ues t Req cted How the change process will be measured for Board Review Re je Send to CAB effectiveness Step 2: Design a Change Request Form Emergency Change Approved CAB Approved; Implement TechExcel ServiceWise includes a A proposed change request should include a complete graphical work ow editor. With description and the intent or purpose of the change. Error in Change this editor, organizations may ‘draw’ their process into place. In addition, the person or department who requests the Change Implementation To the left is an example of how an organization might change should include information that describes who choose to implement the Implementation or what will be affected during implementation and after change mangement process. Va Validate Change deployment. This could include locations, departments, li da tio user groups, servers, and applications. n Fa il ed Change Validation Tip: Items to include on a Change Request · Change Requestor · Description of Change Validation Successful · Date submitted · Test Plan Change Complete · Target date for the implementation of change · Backout Plan · Service desk tracking number (if applicable) · Identify who and what will be affected Change · Risk level of change · Relevant Documentation Complete Step 3: Create a Change Advisory Board (CAB) Create a change advisory board that includes representation from every user group within your organization. The board should review all change requests and approve or deny each request based on completeness, readiness, business impact, business Tip: Keep in mind some changes need, and any other conflicts. The board should review each change in order may require user training to ensure all associated documentation is complete, based on the risk level. The board should consider business impact and requirements when reviewing change requests. Once a change has been approved, the change advisory board is responsible for the communication of the change to all affected parties. www.techexcel.com
- 2. Change Management Best Practices By Chandra Callicutt, Product Manager, TechExcel, Inc. A Step-by-Step Guide Step 4: Designate a Change Controller A must for successful change management is the change controller. This role is generally held by a memeber of IT that will act as a coordinator for all change process details. A Change Controller is Responsible for the Following: Accept and review all change requests, making certain they are accurate and complete Run periodic change review meetings with change advisory board personnel Present complete change requests to the advisory board for review of business impact, priority, and scheduling Maintain a change calendar that is made public to help eleviate scheduling conflicts Help communicate changes to appropriate locations, departments and teams Monitor changes as they are implemented for accuracy, and make certain only authorized changes are being deployed Schedule of Changes Server Memory Upgrade - 2PM ERP Application Patches - 11PM Phone Message Update - 4PM Database Server Maintenance - 1AM E-mail Server Upgrade - 2AM TechExcel ServiceWise includes a public calendar for viewing scheduled changes Step 5: Make Communication a Top Priority Once a change has been approved, the next step is to communicate details of the change by setting expectations, aligning support resources, communicating operational requirements, and informing users. The risk level and potential impact to affected groups, as well as scheduled downtime as a result of the change, should dictate the communication requirements. Step 6: Implement with Care Apply approved changes systematically, making certain to monitor the results. If the changes being made are having an adverse affect on other systems or applications, back out of the change. In the event a planned change does not produce the expected results ,make certain to document the process that was followed so that future plans will not include faulty design. Tip: During Implementation, when a change does not go according to plan, do not continue to make additional changes. Instead, abort the scheduled change and set up a test environment that can foster the creation of a new plan. www.techexcel.com
- 3. Change Management Best Practices By Chandra Callicutt, Product Manager, TechExcel, Inc. A Step-by-Step Guide Step 7: Evaluate the Design, Execution and Result of Each Change It is nearly impossible to predict the outcome of all changes, especially in today’s complex environments. Organizations must commit to an in-depth evaluation of all changes, paying close attention to those affecting critical business resources. High impact changes should be tested prior to deployment if possible. The following should be considered during change validation: Note the total impact of the change Observe and document any side effect, positive or negative, of the change Decide whether or not the change implemented produced the desired effect If the change is unsuccessful, follow the back-out plan as dictated within the change request. Step 8: Create and Update a Change Log The single most overlooked part of change management is documentation. All activities performed before, during, and after a change should be documented. IT staff often fail to document changes as they are applied. Failing to keep a log of all changes may lead to confusion and ongoing problems associated with previously implemented changes. The change controller should always make certain they receive formal documentation regarding every change. Tip: When designing the workflow for a change management process, include a sub-task after implementation that prompts for a mandatory documentation upload or text entry. Step 9: Change As Required As with any process, there is always room for improvement. Everyone involved with a change management process, including the IT staff members, the change controller, the change advisory board and executive management should meet and review the processes in place and look for areas of improvement. As an organization changes, so will the processes in place that help to manage it. Flexibility will lead to overall success. Terminology: RFC (Request for Change): Form used to record the details of a change request FSC (Forward Schedule of Changes): Schedule that contains details of upcoming changes Risk Assessment: Determining and ranking the level of risk associated with a particular change, i.e. low, medium, high and critical Impact Analysis: Determining who and what will be affected by a change. Impact analysis includes applications, systems and people Back-out Plan: Includes the steps to be followed if a planned change does not produce expected results Test Plan: Includes how a change will be tested prior to live environment deployment Change Controller: A member of IT that will act as a coordinator for all change process details CAB (Change Advisory Board): Formed by grouping respresentatives from every user group within an organization to review changes as they are requested www.techexcel.com