- Infrastructure managers and change managers need to re-evaluate their change management processes due to slow change turnaround time, too many unauthorized changes, too many incidents and outages because of poorly managed changes, or difficulty evaluating and prioritizing changes.
- IT system owners often resist change management because they see it as slow and bureaucratic.
- Infrastructure changes are often seen as different from application changes, and two (or more) processes may exist.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- ITIL provides a usable framework for change management, but full process rigor is not appropriate for every change request.
- You need to design a process that is flexible enough to meet the demand for change, and strict enough to protect the live environment from change-related incidents.
- A mature change management process will minimize review and approval activity. Counterintuitively, with experience in implementing changes, risk levels decline to a point where most changes are “pre-approved.”
Impact and Result
- Create a unified change management process that reduces risk. The process should be balanced in its approach toward deploying changes while also maintaining throughput of innovation and enhancements.
- Categorize changes based on an industry-standard risk model with objective measures of impact and likelihood.
- Establish and empower a change manager and change advisory board with the authority to manage, approve, and prioritize changes.
- Integrate a configuration management database with the change management process to identify dependencies.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.6/10
Overall Impact
$51,137
Average $ Saved
33
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Michigan State Court Administrative Office (SCAO)
Workshop
10/10
$64,999
26
The entire experience was wonderful. The overall value was higher because the workshop was intended to help us improve our recently established (~4... Read More
Sterilite Corporation
Workshop
10/10
$64,999
50
Hernando County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller
Workshop
9/10
$24,699
23
Benedict was a great facilitator, very knowledgable, and kept my team engaged, which is no easy task!
Joseph Ribkoff Inc.
Guided Implementation
10/10
$50,000
50
Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
60
This was a great consultation and we have started the implementation.
AgCountry Farm Credit Services
Workshop
10/10
$32,499
100
California Department of Real Estate
Guided Implementation
10/10
$259K
105
The best parts of my experience are the valuable advice, and thoughtful guidance form Frank that provided real world experiences that made our appr... Read More
Platinum Equity Advisors LLC
Workshop
8/10
$64,999
20
A great workshop in its design. Where the sessions fall short is in application. This is of no fault of ITRG, but rather to our lack of maturity to... Read More
Georgia Municipal Association
Workshop
10/10
N/A
5
I really enjoyed the workshop and the dialog it prompted from my team. I wish that it could have been facilitated in person, as the dynamics were a... Read More
Arkansas Department of Transportation
Guided Implementation
10/10
$2,599
20
Flexibility and knowledge.
Alliance Resource Partners
Workshop
10/10
N/A
5
Utah Valley University
Guided Implementation
9/10
$32,499
2
John's audio seemed to go in and out and become garbled at times. We were always able to follow his train of discussion, but it was difficult at ti... Read More
Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd
Guided Implementation
10/10
$11,360
10
The best was Mahmoud dedication to this and the fact that he is realistic in his assessments. Also, he is very friendly and professional at the sa... Read More
Space Telescope Science Institute
Guided Implementation
9/10
N/A
5
Good engagement, knowledgeable consultant - receptive to my views - on this basis, I will do more....
Kentucky Fried Chicken UK
Guided Implementation
10/10
$82,000
50
We are still talking to Ben on our journey to introduce change control but we are learning. His knowledge is exfellent & I truely believe once we ... Read More
4Wall Entertainment
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,999
20
New-Indy Containerboard, LLC
Guided Implementation
9/10
$12,599
10
Synergi Partners
Guided Implementation
10/10
$77,999
47
Saskatchewan Blue Cross
Workshop
9/10
$30,000
10
Best: we came out with a very practical framework for change management that was right-sized for our organization Worst: On our end from time to... Read More
4Wall Entertainment
Workshop
10/10
$31,499
10
Overall experience was great, a huge benefit to the entire IT team. Benedict Chang's mastery of the material and process was evident as we compress... Read More
Government of Saskatchewan-Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement- Information Technology Division
Guided Implementation
9/10
$16,000
20
Heniff Transportation Systems
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,399
10
Best was affirmation of what process I have been using aligns with best practice, nothing negative at this time.
Department of Justice Canada
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Ben was extremely knowledgeable, articulate, and succinct, able to move through much useful information very quickly without appearing rushed. I lo... Read More
Insmed Incorporated
Workshop
9/10
$107K
23
Sumit’s broad knowledge on the subject and sound advice to most senior people in the team.
Gainesville Regional Utilities
Workshop
10/10
$31,499
115
Great facilitation and a huge help with navigating us through some challenging conversations.
Oregon Youth Authority
Guided Implementation
10/10
$12,399
10
Ben was thorough in reviewing our current state based on our previous workshop. He was able to identify a few key areas we could adjust to being m... Read More
Municipality of Chatham-Kent
Workshop
9/10
N/A
20
The ability to customize the tools and processes to work for our organization. Ben was very knowledgeable and a good moderator of the discussion.
Derivco
Guided Implementation
9/10
$12,399
5
Best, great insights in a number of domains around Change Management, made us consider items we had not directly thought about. It was all posit... Read More
SF Fire Credit Union
Guided Implementation
10/10
$2,231
10
The MathWorks, Inc.
Workshop
8/10
N/A
10
Here is the participants feedback - Having the structured workshop with exercise's to complete was very helpful. Although the the exercise's cou... Read More
Change Management
Let your battle with change-related incidents begin!
This course makes up part of the Infrastructure & Operations Certificate.
- Course Modules: 5
- Estimated Completion Time: 2-2.5 hours
- Featured Analysts:
- Benedict Chang, Research Specialist, Infrastructure
- Allison Kinnaird, Research Director, Infrastructure
Workshop: Optimize IT Change Management
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Define Change Management
The Purpose
- Discuss the existing challenges and maturity of your change management practice.
- Build definitions of change categories and the scope of change management.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Understand the starting point and scope of change management.
- Understand the context of change request versus other requests such as service requests, projects, and operational tasks.
Activities
Outputs
Outline strengths and challenges
Conduct a maturity assessment
- Change Management Maturity Assessment Tool
Build a categorization scheme
Build a risk assessment matrix
- Change Management Risk Assessment Tool
Module 2: Establish Roles and Workflows
The Purpose
- Define roles and responsibilities for the change management team.
- Develop a standardized change management practice for approved changes, including process workflows.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Built the team to support your new change management practice.
- Develop a formalized and right-sized change management practice for each change category. This will ensure all changes follow the correct process and core activities to confirm changes are completed successfully.
Activities
Outputs
Define the change manager role
- Change Manager Job Description
Outline the membership and protocol for the Change Advisory Board (CAB)
- Change Management Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
Build workflows for normal, emergency, and pre-approved changes
- Change Management Process Library
Module 3: Define the RFC and Post-Implementation Activities
The Purpose
- Create a new change intake process, including a new request for change (RFC) form.
- Develop post-implementation review activities to be completed for every IT change.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Bookend your change management practice by standardizing change intake, implementation, and post-implementation activities.
Activities
Outputs
Define the RFC template
- Request for Change Form Template
Determine post-implementation activities
- Change Management Post-Implementation Checklist
Build your change calendar protocol
- Project Summary Template
Module 4: Measure, Manage, and Maintain
The Purpose
- Develop a plan and project roadmap for reaching your target for your change management program maturity.
- Develop a communications plan to ensure the successful adoption of the new program.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A plan and project roadmap for reaching target change management program maturity.
- A communications plan ready for implementation.
Activities
Outputs
Identify metrics and reports
- Change Management Metrics Tool
Build a communications plan
- Change Management Communications Plan
Build your implementation roadmap
- Change Management Roadmap Tool