Change Management Process
2 Change management process 2.1 Overview and process diagram The process of change management is shown in Figure 1 and summarised below. The process is initiated by the creation and submission of a Request for Change (RFC). In line with the Change Management Policy, the following types of change will be processed: • • •
Standard Normal Emergency
This document mainly relates to the last two of these types, the normal and emergency changes. Standard changes are low-risk, pre-approved changes and so do not need to follow the full review and approval process. Standard changes will generally be recorded in the service desk system as service requests and the implementation process of each standard change will be fully documented. Normal changes are “business as usual” changes which are expected to make up the majority of the RFCs that are logged and handled through the change management process as described in this document. Although not emergencies, they will be prioritised in order that resources can be allocated in as effective a manner as possible. Once an RFC has been submitted it is recorded in the change management system and reviewed for completeness and appropriateness. If acceptable it is then assessed and evaluated by the most appropriate people according to the nature and scope of the change. Major or high-risk changes may be escalated to the IT steering group or the executive board. If the conclusion from the assessment is that the change should be authorised then it moves to the build and test stage, after which it is deployed under the control of change management. The success of deployed changes is then reviewed at an appropriate time after implementation. At each point, the CMS is consulted and if necessary, updated.
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