Information Technology at Purdue
ITSMO
Change Management Process Overview
Version 2.1
Last modified: 9/03/2007
Who is the owner of this process?
This process is currently owned by the IT Service Management Office in ITaP.
What is the purpose of this process?
To eliminate the adverse impact of changes to the environment by negotiation around scheduling,
testing, prioritization, and communication of the change, to maintain Configuration Database Management
accuracy, and to assist with communication of the change (though not the only means of communication).
Who participates in this process?
All ITaP employees that are responsible for providing a service to a customer should be aware and
participate in this process.
When is this process engaged?
Some form of this process is engaged every time a modification is made to a system or service.
There are several categories of change within ITaP that help determine how involved the change process
will be for a specific change. Either an individual instance of change should be approved or the repeatable
process behind change execution should be approved.
Large-Scale Project Changes - Require Production Certification approval and then will be sent through
Change Management as a Standard Change right before go live.
Standard Change - Requires Request for Change and ITaP Change Approval Board approval if meets
any of the following criteria:
 Causes a service/system interruption to production
 Modifies any data in the Configuration Management Database that is part of a production system
 Changes the way that users interact with a system/service
Divisional, Emergency, and Exception Changes are types of Standard Changes.
Pre-approved Change - Requires approval of the repeatable process instead of each instance of change.
This helps eliminate requirements to wait for the normal lead time between change execution and
submission.
How does this process add benefit?
This process is based on the premise that every change should be logged somewhere that is
accessible to the people who might be impacted by the change or might be troubleshooting incidents caused
by that change. Documented change requests enable us to quickly identify “what changed” when either the
customer or our systems report “something is not right”.
Change Management
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Information Technology at Purdue
ITSMO
The ITaP Change Management Process also is an established communication channel that can help
those implementing changes “get the word out” and increase the chance that a change will have the most
positive impact possible.
Changes are scheduled by consulting the Business Critical Dates Calendar and meeting with
Academic IT and Distributed Computing Managers prior to making the change helps to ensure that we meet
our customers' needs of reliable IT services.
What happens if I don’t use this process?
Repeated non-compliance of the process resulting in adversely affected systems, customers, or
CMDB accuracy may be subject to progressive discipline.
How does this process relate to other processes?
This process is closely linked to Production Certification and Incident Management. Providing
information on executed changes is very important for troubleshooting incidents caused by change. This
also connects Knowledge Management to Change Management. Significant changes that have been
approved through Production Certification will go through Change Management as the last step before
going live.
Another important aspect of an effective Change Management process is that it allows distributed IT
organizations and business units a consideration in change scheduling approval, impacting Service Level
Management. The current change process enables the gathering of important business events and dates on
the Business Critical Dates Calendar. This calendar then provides a combined view into business events and
service availability across campus.
Who is the point of contact for this process?
Please contact the Information Technology Service Management Office for additional information or
email itapchange@purdue.edu.
Related Links
ITaP Change Management System/Calendars - http://www.itap.purdue.edu/change/
More information - https://www.itap.purdue.edu/service/areas/change.cfm
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