What is Change Management?
Change Management is the process responsible for ensuring that any change to a service is documented and managed, from start to finish.
Why do I need Change Management?
All University IT (UIT) technical services, other than consulting and administrative services, must follow established change management processes. Within UIT, these changes are managed through ServiceNow.
Implementing and adhering to Change Management has the following key benefits:
- Reduces the number of service disruptions.
- Ensures multiple changes are not in conflict, and resources are available to support the change.
- Ensures changes are tested and certified, and remediation plans are available.
- Ensures changes are communicated to relevant staff, stakeholders, and clients.
How do I establish and support Change Management for my services?
Change Management processes are managed through ServiceNow. Information specific to Change Management is stored in the service's Configuration Item (CI). This information includes:
- Change approvers who are members of the service support staff with the authority to approve or decline a change request, based on its risk level.
- There are four risk levels: Very High, High, Medium, and Low.
- A full description of all change roles, including that of change approver, can be found in the Change Management Process Overview document.
| I want to: | Here’s how: | When | Who is responsible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get training |
|
When assigned a change approver role | Change approvers and anyone involved in the change process |
| Submit a change request | Log into ServiceNow. In Application Navigator, navigate to Change -> CreateNew | Whenever a change is necessary | Designated change approvers |
Learn more about Change Management:
- Browse the ServiceNow Knowledgebase
- Visit change.stanford.edu
- Visit the ServiceNow Confluence project page
- Visit Configuration Management Database (CMDB) toolkit page
