Change management is a process designed to manage and control changes that are made to business requirements. The goal is to ensure that all changes are properly recorded and approved. This will help to maintain the continuity of the project and make sure that it stays on track.
To begin, a company should create a clear and concise change management plan. The document should define roles and responsibilities of various individuals and groups and the processes used to manage and control changes. It should be a straight forward process that focuses on the right areas and has a high level of transparency. A good plan should include a change log and metrics to measure the effectiveness of the changes.
One of the main purposes of change management is to streamline the implementation of smaller changes. If an organization does not adapt quickly, it could fall behind the competition. For example, a company that fails to implement a security patch could face a major incident. Organizations that have an effective change management plan in place will not have to worry about this type of problem.
Other important parts of a good change management plan include proper documentation, a formal methodology, a change log, and tools for tracking and managing change. These elements work together to minimize the impact of changes on the day-to-day operations of a company.
A change log is a document that records all changes in a project. A Change Request Form is used to identify proposed changes. Project leadership then reviews these requests, making a decision whether or not to accept them.
There are three types of changes. Those are the standard, the normal, and the emergency. Typically, a standard change is the least risky and involves no more than a simple rework of a system. A normal change may involve moving to a new data center, for instance.
An effective change management process is a combination of both formal and informal methodologies. A formal methodology will reduce the chances of change-related incidents and improve the quality of changes. The formal methodology will also help to minimize the impact of changes on the daily operation of a company.
A well-designed and implemented Change Management Plan will keep the project on track and will ensure that all necessary measures are in place. This includes a Change Issues Decision Log (CID) to track the status of all changes.
A Change Request Form is a logical first step in the change management process. Once the Change Request Form is submitted to the project leadership, it is assigned a change authority and reviewed by the executive steering committee. Following this, the request is passed on to the project manager, who will record its details in the CID Log. Finally, the Change Issues Decision Log will show the status of the change and its impact on the SLAs.
Although the process of managing a change to the business requirements is complicated, it can be simplified if one possesses a detailed change plan. A detailed plan will also help to ensure that all stakeholders are on board.