Change Management - An IT Service Management Perspective on Effectively Managing Change (part 1 of 2)

IT Service Management (ITSM) is a discipline within the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework that is used for managing small, medium and large-scale technology systems. ITSM is geared toward customers, putting the customer relationship first as opposed to focusing on the IT philosophy.

The objective of IT Change Management is to manage the change process such that introduction of errors and incidents related to change are minimized. It ensures that standard methods and procedures are used so that changes can be addressed expediently and with the lowest impact on service quality. It is essential that all changes are traceable so that what changed can always and easily be determined.

There are many benefits to effective Change Management, including:

· Reduce time to implement changes;

· Better cost estimates for proposed changes;

· Enhanced management information regarding changes;

· Improved ability to smoothly regress to a previous state in the event of change failure or unanticipated results;

· Disruptions to ongoing service provision are minimized.

Change Management includes the processes required for managing requests to effect changes to the IT Infrastructure or IT services in a controlled manner and usually within a pre-defined framework. This promotes business benefit, while minimizing the risk of disruption to services. It approves or rejects each Request for Change (RFC) and strives for a balance between flexibility and stability.

Change Control is a Change Management process which pertains to the procedures that ensure all changes are controlled.

The Change Manager facilitates the Change Management process and is responsible for filtering, accepting and classifying RFCs. as well as obtaining any required authorizations, as may be the case when it is necessary to approach IT Management for some changes. The Change Manager is also responsible for planning and coordinating implementation of the changes. Communication is key the Change Management process.

The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is the body that meets regularly to assess, prioritize and plan changes, usually addressing the more significant changes. The CAB has members from various parts of the organization, including representatives from each major IT section, customers and suppliers.

For a continuation of the ITSM Change Management topic, read my subsequent article, "An IT Service Management Perspective on Effectively Managing Change (part 2 of 2)," which presents information regarding the process, process control and activities, related costs and potential problems.