Change Management (ITSM)
Encyclopedia
Change management is an IT service management
discipline. The objective of change management in this context is to ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes to control IT infrastructure, in order to minimize the number and impact of any related incidents upon service. Changes in the IT
infrastructure may arise reactively in response to problems or externally imposed requirements, e.g. legislative changes, or proactively from seeking improved efficiency and effectiveness or to enable or reflect business initiatives, or from programs, projects or service improvement initiatives. Change Management can ensure standardized methods, processes and procedures which are used for all changes, facilitate efficient and prompt handling of all changes, and maintain the proper balance between the need for change and the potential detrimental impact of changes.
ITIL
Change Management within ITSM (as opposed to software engineering
or project management
) is often associated with ITIL
, but the origins of change as an IT management process predate ITIL considerably, at least according to the IBM publication A Management System for the Information Business.
In the ITIL framework, change management is responsible for controlling change to all configuration item
s in the configuration management database, (or "CIs" in the CMDB
) within the live environment, test and training environments (all environments under the control of 'ICT Operations'. It is not typically responsible for change within development projects (see below).†
methodology adopted for the project. However close liaison between development project managers and the Change Manager is expected and the project manager may be required to utilize Change Management for items within the production or test environments that are required for testing or release.
s.
ITIL defines the change management process this way:
ISO 20000
defines the objective of change management (part 1, 9.2) as:
Change management is responsible for managing change process involving:
Any proposed change must be approved in the change management process. While change management makes the process happen, the decision authority is the Change Advisory Board (CAB), which is made up for the most part of people from other functions within the organization.
The main activities of the change management are:
concept of change management includes developing business justification. This is a broadening of scope from other concepts of change management, and overlaps into the concerns of IT portfolio management
and those areas covered by the initiation phases within programme management and project management.
For example, the IBM "Yellow Book" conception of change control (as a subset of resource control) was strictly concerned with the transfer of deliverables from projects into production. Similarly, Schiesser in IT Systems Management defines Change Management as "a process to control and coordinate all changes to an IT production environment."
IT Service Management
IT service management is a discipline for managing information technology systems, philosophically centered on the customer's perspective of IT's contribution to the business. ITSM stands in deliberate contrast to technology-centered approaches to IT management and business interaction...
discipline. The objective of change management in this context is to ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes to control IT infrastructure, in order to minimize the number and impact of any related incidents upon service. Changes in the IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
infrastructure may arise reactively in response to problems or externally imposed requirements, e.g. legislative changes, or proactively from seeking improved efficiency and effectiveness or to enable or reflect business initiatives, or from programs, projects or service improvement initiatives. Change Management can ensure standardized methods, processes and procedures which are used for all changes, facilitate efficient and prompt handling of all changes, and maintain the proper balance between the need for change and the potential detrimental impact of changes.
ITILItilItil may mean:*Atil or Itil, the ancient capital of Khazaria*Itil , also Idel, Atil, Atal, the ancient and modern Turkic name of the river Volga.ITIL can stand for:*Information Technology Infrastructure Library...
Change Management within ITSM (as opposed to software engineeringSoftware engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
or project management
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
) is often associated with ITIL
Itil
Itil may mean:*Atil or Itil, the ancient capital of Khazaria*Itil , also Idel, Atil, Atal, the ancient and modern Turkic name of the river Volga.ITIL can stand for:*Information Technology Infrastructure Library...
, but the origins of change as an IT management process predate ITIL considerably, at least according to the IBM publication A Management System for the Information Business.
In the ITIL framework, change management is responsible for controlling change to all configuration item
Configuration item
The term configuration item or CI refers to the fundamental structural unit of a configuration management system. Examples of CIs include individual requirements documents, software, models, plans, and people...
s in the configuration management database, (or "CIs" in the CMDB
CMDB
A configuration management database is a repository of information related to all the components of an information system. It contains the details of the configuration items in the IT infrastructure. Although repositories similar to CMDBs have been used by IT departments for many years, the term...
) within the live environment, test and training environments (all environments under the control of 'ICT Operations'. It is not typically responsible for change within development projects (see below).†
Change management in development projects
ITSM change management is not typically responsible for overseeing changes that occur within deployment or development projects which are typically delegated to a change management process dictated by the project managementProject management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
methodology adopted for the project. However close liaison between development project managers and the Change Manager is expected and the project manager may be required to utilize Change Management for items within the production or test environments that are required for testing or release.
Process overview
Change management would typically be composed of the raising and recording of changes, assessing the impact, cost, benefit and risk of proposed changes, developing business justification and obtaining approval, managing and co-ordinating change implementation, monitoring and reporting on implementation, reviewing and closing change requestChange request
A change request is a document containing a call for an adjustment of a system; it is of great importance in the change management process. A change request is not raised for a wording change in a letter....
s.
ITIL defines the change management process this way:
- The goal of the change management process is to ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes, in order to minimize the impact of change-related incidents upon service quality, and consequently improve the day-to-day operations of the organization.
ISO 20000
ISO 20000
ISO/IEC 20000 is the first international standard for IT service management. It was developed in 2005, by ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7 and revised in 2011. It is based on and intended to supersede the earlier BS 15000 that was developed by BSI Group....
defines the objective of change management (part 1, 9.2) as:
- To ensure all changes are assessed, approved, implemented and reviewed in a controlled manner.
Change management is responsible for managing change process involving:
- Hardware
- Communications equipment and software
- System software
- All documentation and procedures associated with the running, support and maintenance of live systems.
Any proposed change must be approved in the change management process. While change management makes the process happen, the decision authority is the Change Advisory Board (CAB), which is made up for the most part of people from other functions within the organization.
The main activities of the change management are:
- Filtering changes
- Managing changes and the change process
- Chairing the CAB and the CAB/Emergency committee
- Reviewing and closing of Requests for Change (RFCs)
- Management reporting and providing management information
Controversies
The ITILItil
Itil may mean:*Atil or Itil, the ancient capital of Khazaria*Itil , also Idel, Atil, Atal, the ancient and modern Turkic name of the river Volga.ITIL can stand for:*Information Technology Infrastructure Library...
concept of change management includes developing business justification. This is a broadening of scope from other concepts of change management, and overlaps into the concerns of IT portfolio management
IT portfolio management
IT portfolio management is the application of systematic management to large classes of items managed by enterprise Information Technology capabilities. Examples of IT portfolios would be planned initiatives, projects, and ongoing IT services...
and those areas covered by the initiation phases within programme management and project management.
For example, the IBM "Yellow Book" conception of change control (as a subset of resource control) was strictly concerned with the transfer of deliverables from projects into production. Similarly, Schiesser in IT Systems Management defines Change Management as "a process to control and coordinate all changes to an IT production environment."
See also
- IBM Tivoli Configuration and Change Management Database
- Network configuration and change managementNetwork configuration and change managementNetwork configuration and change management a discipline in information technology. According to research from IDC and Gartner, NCCM is one of the fastest growing markets in the ITOM market. Organizations are using NCCM as a way to:* automate changes;* reduce network downtime;* meet compliance....
- Organisational Change ManagementChange managementChange management is a structured approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organizational process aimed at helping employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment....
also referred to as Change Management - ITIL main articleItilItil may mean:*Atil or Itil, the ancient capital of Khazaria*Itil , also Idel, Atil, Atal, the ancient and modern Turkic name of the river Volga.ITIL can stand for:*Information Technology Infrastructure Library...
- ITIL Incident ManagementIncident Management (ITSM)Incident Management is an IT service management process area. The first goal of the incident management process is to restore a normal service operation as quickly as possible and to minimize the impact on business operations, thus ensuring that the best possible levels of service quality and...
- ITIL Release managementRelease managementThe release management process is a relatively new but rapidly growing discipline within software engineering of managing software releases....
- ITSM main article
- Microsoft Operations FrameworkMicrosoft Operations FrameworkMicrosoft Operations Framework 4.0 is a series of guides aimed at helping information technology professionals establish and implement reliable, cost-effective services.- Overview :...