PACE-IT: Basics of Change Management

Basics of change management.

Instructor, PACE-IT Program – Edmonds Community College

Areas of Expertise Industry Certifications

PC Hardware

Network Administration

IT Project Management

Network Design

User Training

IT Troubleshooting

Qualifications Summary

Education

M.B.A., IT Management, Western Governor’s University

B.S., IT Security, Western Governor’s University

Entrepreneur, executive leader, and proven manger with 10+ years of experience turning complex issues into efficient and effective solutions.

Strengths include developing and mentoring diverse workforces, improving processes, analyzing business needs and creating the solutions required— with a focus on technology.

Brian K. Ferrill, M.B.A.


– The reason for change management.

– Different change management processes.

PACE-IT.

The reason for change management.Basics of change management.

The reason for change management.

In a simple network, it is fairly easy to evaluate, not only the necessity for a change, but also the possible impacts of that change.

However, as the network system increases in size and complexity, it becomes more difficult to not only determine what changes are necessary, but also the possible impacts that the proposed changes will have on the system as a whole.

It is quite possible—even highly probable—that a single change will have a ripple effect on the whole system. Change management processes are used to introduce changes to a system in a controlled manner to minimize possible disruptions and potential pandemonium.


Different change management processes.Basics of change management.

Different change management processes.

– Document the reason for a change.» Proposed changes should have a solid reason for

occurring.• A best practice is to include why the change is needed

for IT reasons and also for business reasons.» As the change proceeds through the process, more

documentation may be added to the reasons for a change.

– Change request.» A formal change request procedure is used during the

approval process and should include several other subdocuments that can be used to gain approval.

• Configuration procedures: document the exact steps required to implement the change, including affected devices, applications, and processes.

• Rollback process: as all change carries risk, a plan to reverse changes is required.

• Potential impact: a good-faith effort to identify all possible impacts to the overall system, both the positive and the negative.

• Notification procedures: after the potential impacts have been identified, the people responsible for the affected systems must receive notification of the proposed change.



– Approval process.» Proposed changes should be vetted and approved, not

only by management, but also senior IT personnel, security experts, and a selection of those affected by the change.

» Some companies create change control boards to, not only evaluate proposed changes, but to also:

• Implement a means of approving changes.• Assure that all approved changes have been fully

tested and documented.• Meet periodically to assess the status of an approved

change—to help keep it on track for implementation.• Maintain responsibility for the change and verify that

the process is proceeding according to the configuration procedure.

• Help ensure that approved changes are implemented correctly.



– Maintenance window procedure.» A maintenance window is the amount of time that a

system will be down or unavailable during the proposed change.

• Before the final schedule is developed, an evaluation of all affected systems must be performed with particular attention paid to mission critical systems.

• It is possible that the proposed maintenance window may exceed the allowable downtime for critical systems, which will affect when the maintenance window can be scheduled.

– Authorized downtime.» Once the maintenance window has been identified, it is

then possible to determine the optimum time to implement the change.

• In many cases, system changes need to occur during off-hours (e.g., after the close of business or during weekends).



– Notification of change.» After sufficient time has elapsed in which to evaluate

any issues, all stakeholders (the people who approved the change and all others affected by the change) should be notified of the successful completion of the change.

• This allows the stakeholders to further monitor the systems for any unforeseen or residual issues relating to the change.

– Final documentation.» The change process should end with an update to

documentation including:• Network configurations.• Additions to the network.• Physical location changes.

» A closing change report should also be created that summarizes the change to help refine the change procedures and processes even further.

• It should include what went right and what went wrong during the approved change.


What was covered.Basics of change management.

Introducing a change into an existing IT system has a high probability of having a ripple effect. Change management processes are used in an effort to introduce change into systems in as controlled a manner as possible, reducing the likelihood of disruption.

Topic

The reason for change management.

Summary

Change management procedures move through several processes, including documenting the reason for the change, making a change request (configuration procedures, rollback process, potential impact, and notification procedures), approval process, maintenance window procedure, approved downtime, notification of change, and final documentation.


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PACE-IT: Basics of Change Management

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Transcript of PACE-IT: Basics of Change Management