It\u2019s no big secret that changes are one of the most common sources of incidents, and one of the trickiest parts of everyday life inside an IT organization. We could argue about many possible reasons why that is so, but there is one source of difficulty with changes that is often neglected, and belongs right at the start of the change lifecycle \u2013 it\u2019s how the change is triggered.<\/p>\n
The most common trigger for changes is usually informal communication. Someone needs a change and contacts, e.g., the Service Manager or Product Manager, and the story begins. I remember a situation where the HR department directly contacted the developers and dictated what needed to be done because there was a new legal requirement. Well, I like the idea that HR knew exactly what they needed and that there was a clear legal requirement, but I don\u2019t like the idea that the request for new functionality was done in an informal way. There are many reasons for not being happy with this approach.<\/p>\n
Both ITIL<\/a>\u00a0and ISO 20000<\/a>\u00a0define a Request for Change (RfC)<\/a> as a medium to start the change procedure. An RfC is a formal proposal for change that is requested. Formal means that it\u2019s in written form and recorded. Of course, in order to use an RfC there must be a Change Management process in place and defined responsibilities throughout the process (e.g., who is collecting raised RfCs, who approves them, etc.).<\/p>\n By having a written document that follows a change throughout its lifecycle, you will gain control and ensure that none of the information needed to implement the change gets forgotten. One prerequisite is that you have ensured that the change procedure<\/a> is strictly followed, i.e., that there are no changes implemented that didn\u2019t go through the official procedure. Of course, the logical question is: \u201cHow do we ensure that?\u201d Well, that\u2019s certainly not the easiest part. But, I think that management of the organization, a change process defined in detail, and an audit are your tools to achieve that.
\n