Change Management

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Welcome to the Change Management learning. Click each sequential tab below to find key learnings and information.

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Introduction ::

Change Management Goal

The Change Management process controls the lifecycle of all changes. The objective of Change Management is to ensure that changes are managed in a controlled manner, and changes follow appropriate processes to capture that they are:

Recorded
Prioritized
Implemented

Evaluated
Planned
Documented

Authorized
Tested
Reviewed

Business Drivers

Change Management improves operational efficiency, business goals effectiveness (improved process management to aid achieving goals), and accountability identification of change activities. It provides structure so that historical concerns ("Problem Statement") are minimized while positive outcomes are achieved ("Solution Statement"). {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

Problem Statement: IT environments are organizationally oriented by job or IT capability (siloes) regarding IT assets & lifecycles. This results in less effective and inefficient use of IT resources that negatively affects Intel's business units.
Impact	Hard to proactively prevent change collisions. Hard to identify change related causes of incidents, what happened, and who to contact for review/escalations. This leads to slower resolution time stemming from a lack of a Change Management database.
Organization Focus	Challenges in managing organization alignment and visibility. organization processes, calendars, and tools.
Product Focus	Inefficient processes that lack coordination of l Roadmaps l Projects l Sustaining Support l Varied Processes & Calendars
Solution Statement: Use a holistic approach for organizing IT's resources to provide specific services. IT is judged by the quality of services offered rather than only the success of individual organizations.
Impact	Change Management database relationships allow people fuller comprehension of relationships and clearer visibility to upstream/downstream change factors.
Organization Focus	Improvements that enable quick response to emergency changes to re-stabilize the environment. quick response by an Incident Specialist to identify configuration item relationships and status.
Product Focus	Business process opportunities to streamline the Ability to see configuration item relationships (upstream/downstream change factors and contributing affects) Utilization and leverage of Change Request Collision avoidance capabilities.

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Change Management: Benefits {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

Change Management provides organizations with processes that support increased visibility into services, faster response times, and improved traceability of cause-affect and solutions success. The following summarizes key benefits achieved with effective change management use.

Configuration Item Visibility

Change History
Incident History
Configuration Item Dependencies

Faster Triage of change related incidents

Ability to Proactively Evaluate

Identify and assess potential changes to other service components; avoid possible collisions of multiple changes
Inclusion of Change Advisory Board (CAB) members to represent and communicate status to affected stakeholders

SOX Compliance

Addresses and satisfies control points required for business critical systems

Track Change Status and Identify Contacts

Effective service focus with Change Management database integration to identify the relationships between service components
Ability to focus on the service view which is independent of the organization structure
Leverage tools, processes, and service roles in standardized & integrated processes
Leverage accountability to manage behaviors; focus on Service Management roles & responsibilities

Use the change record data to document efficiency opportunities for automated standard changes

Appropriate management of information, notifications, and approval requirements based on the change type:
(1) Minor, (2) Emergency, (3) Significant, (4) Major, (5) Standard (future)

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Change Management: Policies {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

Change Management policies help guide the intent of the processes in support of the goals & objectives. Policies are a control measure to guide the change management process flow. Each service may define detailed policies appropriate to their service while working within the boundaries of the overall IT change policies.

Change Management policies address the following areas:

Record/Create	Any Configuration Item (CI) managed as part of a service requires a change record if the baseline profile is changed. These change requests are recorded in the IT authorized change management tool. If a CI can break or impact the service, then it needs to be under change control, i.e., systems, computing hardware, networks, applications and computing facilities.
Evaluate/Validate	The change authority evaluates changes in accordance with the policies of the service and those set by all IT process areas, i.e., security, capacity, availability, continuity, etc. Each service establishes the admission criteria for each change.
Authorize/Assess	The change authority/manager - per Change Advisory Board advice - may deny a scheduled or unscheduled change. Reasons may include, but are not limited to: inadequate planning, inadequate back out plans, the change timing will negatively affect a key business process such as year end accounting, or if adequate resources are not readily available. Adequate resources may be a problem on weekends, holidays, or during special events.
Authorize/Approve	The change authority will accept, reject, or ask for revisions to changes based on the evaluation.
Prioritize	Changes are prioritized by the impact, urgency, and risk to the service(s). The change manager uses the Change Advisory Board (CAB) appropriate to the type & priority of the service changes before implementation begins.
Plan	Each service produces a change schedule for planned changes. Notification and communication is completed for each scheduled or unscheduled change by following the steps contained in the service(s) Change Management Notification Procedures.
Document/Planning	A Change Management Log is maintained for all changes. The log must contain, but is not limited to: Date of submission and actual date of change Owner and custodian contact information Nature of the change Indication of success or failure signed by all parties/services involved Copies of original files and attachments
Test	Changes are appropriately tested to ensure requirements are met and there will be minimal disruption to IT services.
Implement	Change and release managers coordinate their activities to implement planned changes.
Review/Verify	Adherence to policy is documented and reviewed appropriately. The change manager reviews changes for continuous improvement opportunities. Unsuccessful changes require additional review including a post implementation review.
Review/Close	To minimize process fatigue, the overall health of IT and individual service change management is measured by IT defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Continuous improvement plans are executed when KPIs are not met.

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Request for Change (RFC) & Change Types {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

A Request For Change (RFC) is a formal proposal for a change to be made. An RFC includes details of the proposed change and is sent as an input to Change Authority by the Change Creator.

5 Types of Change determine how notifications are managed and the appropriate approval requirements.

	Definition	Examples	Flow Characteristics
Minor	Little work; little risk of causing significant service problems.	Create virtual server on Load Balancer, Router, change snmp community string.	Can be approved by Change manager without submitting to Full CAB.
Emergency	Known or perceived threat to production environment.	Service Impact Hardware failure on switch that is impacting data center. Proxy block to site threat.	Extra notifications and escalation. If no response by Change Manager after 30 minutes (future).
Significant	A change that will require significant effort and which will have a substantial impact on services.	OS Upgrade on Network Device, or firewall, load balancer. Hardware Switch trying to multiple routers.	Full CAB Review; Attach Robust Change Description, Test Plan, Back out Plan.
Major	A change that will require very large amounts of effort and could impact a major part of the organization.	Exchange Switch Upgrade (replacing Hardware supplier), Proxy Uplift.	Full CAB Review; Attach Robust Change Description, Test Plan, Back out Plan.
Standard	Standard, repeatable, low risk, documented process that has been reviewed and approved. Could be automated, no human touch.	DNS changes, Standard Router Module Install, ACL/Firewall.	ENC Service Request Module, No Approval Required.

3 Factors Affecting Change Requests are evaluated to determine the change type needed.

		Risk
Business Perspective: Relates to how the issues affect the business and the consequences. Each service sets guidelines & direction to determine business impact. Levels-Qualifier	User Perspective: Relates to the immediacy of the need for the end users and their performance. Each service provides guidance to the requesters. Levels-Qualifier	Breadth & Complexity Provides insight into total risk that a change may have in destabilizing the service or its environment. Very high High Moderate Low None

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Configuration Item (CI) {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

Services have Configuration Item (CI) components related to them. Each CI has a mapping to allow roles within change management to view relationships that a Configuration Item has with other Configuration Items in the Change Management database (CMDB). Knowing the CI mapping helps to understand the upstream/downstream relationships between Configuration Items and respective services.

Configuration Item

Click to view a demonstration on ITSM Process Interactions.

Associating Configuration Item Information to Incidents

A Configuration Item (CI) refers to the fundamental structural unit of a Change Management database (CMDB). A CI should be under Change Management control.

CI's are the lowest common denominator across all Service Management processes. They are identified in most process records and allow each process to identify when a change has impacted their service processes.

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Additional Resources

The following resources provide further learning opportunities and additional information:

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Change Management ::

Change Management Intersects

When working with change management, recognize that any Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) process can drive change; however, Change Management has close intersects with specific ITIL operational processes such as Incident Management, Service Request Management, and Problem Management.

ITIL Processes

ITIL Processes: Intersection Overview

Change Management Processes (Example)

Change Management Processes: Intersection Overview

Change Management Process Flow

The Change Management Process Flow consists of 4 primary phases with 10 steps. The steps are managed by various roles. The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is involved in the process flow at distinct and critical times. Each step and each role's involvement play important parts for successful change management achievement. {showhide title="See Flow Image ..." changetitle="Hide Flow Image ..."}

Place your cursor over each phase for further information (Create | Approve | Plan Change Implementation | Implement / Verify & Close).

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Change Management: Roles {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

Change Management has 6 roles performing various tasks and services. A role is a category assigned to a user, or a group of users, and it defines access privileges to functionality.

Role	Description	Responsibilities
Change Manager	The Change Manager is ultimately responsible for the change process and the changes implemented and acts as "D" for approvals. Oversees the change process for a given Service Component Ensures all changes are being recorded Coordinates the CAB	Authorizes and documents all changes in the IT Infrastructure to maintain a minimum amount of interruptive effects on the operations. Reviews the Impact Assessment and supporting documentation for change requests. Reviews and approves changes through path to production. Consults with CAB members as required by changes. Schedules changes based on requested deployment dates and the Deployment Calendar.
Change Requester	The Change Requester is the point of contact who submits an RFC based on business or service requirements. This person is authorized to request and validate a change, and is frequently a Problem, Capacity Manager, or other member of the IT Service team.	Proactively inputs requests for change (not constant fire drills) in the appropriate tool while using the correct change category, impact and urgency classifications, and the implementation date. Validates that the implemented solution meets the requirements of the change request.
Change Advisory Board	The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is a group usually made up of representatives from all relevant areas within the IT Service Provider, the Business, and Third Parties such as suppliers. Their scope includes, but is not limited to, business and technical SMEs.	Responsible for reviewing and advising on significant and major RFCs to ensure the impact, assessment, appropriateness, and communication of the change meets their respective area of domain (based on service options/CIs). In some cases, a member of the CAB can authorize emergency changes if the CAB is not available. However, the final responsibility resides with the Change Manager. A CAB member is responsible to attend 100% of the CAB meetings or to send a back-up delegate in their place. CAB members provide timely SME expertise when reviewing change requests at critical points in the path to production.
Change Builder	The Change Builder, Change Tester, and Change Implementor each act as technical roles that assist the Change Manager in RFC assessment and implementation. These roles - and their corresponding responsibilities - aid in preventing the destabilization of services during the change implementation.	As a Change Builder, I review the Impact Assessment & the supporting documentation and am responsible for creating & communicating the build plan.
Change Tester		As a Change Tester, I am responsible for working with the Change Builder to create & communicate the testing plan. I execute the test plan to ensure the change meets the customer expectations.
Change Implementor		As a Change Implementor, I oversee the build, test, and implementation of the change to the live environment and execute the stabilization plan.

Click to view a demonstration how to View Your Service Role in the Service-Now Tool.

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Service Structure {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

Each supported service is structured similar to the diagram shown below. However, due to certain unique characteristics of each service, the data values can vary regarding each respective service.

The Service, Service Component, and Support Skill are defined and configured by the service owners. In addition, the escalation path, service level agreement, and the operational level agreement are also defined and configured by the service according to the service needs. These customized components allow flexibility and contribute to the potential uniqueness for each service.

Support Group Identification and Assignment
A request for change (RFC) is initially identified for support group identification and assignment through its combined values of:

Service
Service Component
Support Skill
Process Role
Workflow Phase

Change Advisory Board (CAB) Engagement

Authorized policy addresses the needs and role of a CAB. The change authority/manager on the advise of the CAB may deny a scheduled or unscheduled change for reasons including inadequate back out plans, the timing of the change will negatively impact a key business process such as year end accounting, or if adequate resources cannot be readily available to support the change needs. Adequate resources may be a problem on weekends, holidays, or during special events.

Establishing a CAB team is a prework activity while preparing to assess RFCs. Prework activity tasks may involve:

The Change Manager is responsible for CAB identification, group name, and correct membership.
CABs can be assigned at the Service & Service Component Levels.
CABs can be assigned using either of two methods
1. For change types where CAB approvals are required by the workflow, those CABs will be pulled and automatically assigned to the Change Request based on the combination of Service & Service Component identified in the RFC.
2. CABs can also be selected and assigned on an ad hoc basis allowing the Change Manager to determine who to consult.
* NOTE: CAB members can be added or removed via an incident ticket.

Click to view a demonstration how to Create an Ad Hoc CAB request.

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Change Management Tasks {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

The following are key tasks performed in Change Management activities. Use the demos associated with each task to build your awareness and learning how each task is completed. You can use the demos as reference while working Change Management needs, or to provide a refresh about task steps if needed.

Click to view a demonstration how to Change the Notification Preference.

Click to view a demonstration how to Create a Request for Change (RFC).

Click to view a demonstration how to Validate & Close a Request for Change (RFC).

Click to view a demonstration how to Assign Resources to Tasks.

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Key Performance Indicators ::

Key Performance Indicators & Access

Change Management uses several key performance indicator (KPI) reports to monitor service success. Change management uses KPIs to monitor the health of the change process which aids in controlling the service environment. KPIs can also serve as indicators for potential continuous improvement efforts.

Four KPI reports are often used for Change Management monitoring. Additional service specific reports can be created as needed.

Number of changes by CI	References the number of Configurable Items (CI) being modified, adjusted, edited, deleted, or added.
% of Successful Changes	Indicates the percentage of changes that did not disrupt or destabilize the service, and if changes fulfill the requirement(s) and business need in the RFC.
% of Change Disruptions	Tracks the percentage of disruptions (scheduled & unscheduled) based on the number of incidents and the number of CI changes in a service.
Change Capture %	Represents the changes to CI's that did not have an approved RFC.

Tool Access
Access to the IT Service Management Reports tool is managed through EAM. Follow the below steps to submit an EAM access request.

Step	Action
1.	Use your Web browser and launch EAM (Enterprise Access Management).
2.	Select Add or Remove Access.
3.	Click the expand arrow for Enterprise Applications:.
4.	Scroll down and click the expand arrow for Service Management Applications:.
5.	Click the expand arrow for IT Service Management Reports (ITSMR):. - For Intel Blue Badge employees, select *Service Management BI User BB Only. - For Contingent Workers, select Service Management BI User - CW Access*.
6.	Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Next button.
7.	Complete your request details input.
8.	With your request details complete, click the &bnsp;Submit button.

Navigation Tips
When using the ITSMR reporting tool, several data field interface cues help you to successfully execute report needs. Note the following interface cues.

Navigation Tips

Green Bar	Indicates UNSAVED changes have occured in the current session.
Red Bar	Indicates a mandatory field requires data input. * NOTE: A light red bar indicates that a mandatory field has a value entered.
Orange Bar	Indicates a system generated (default) value in the field.
Magnifying Glass icon	Indicates a reference field that 'look up' can be used. Reference fields have an auto-fill feature that will populate as data is entered. Clicking the magnifying glass provides a complete list of entry options.

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|| Completion || ::

When you have completed the learning in this content, click the below Track Completion button.

This allows the IT Service Management team to know that you have completed this learning and are prepared for relevant next steps.

Click when you are finished.

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