Introduction to NonStop Operations Management

Change and Configuration Management
Introduction to NonStop Operations Management–125507
7-9
The Change Control Process
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Reviewing the process. Continual process improvement should be an integral part of
the change control process. The change control staff should:
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Take baseline measurements (using Measure, for example) of your system and
application environments before you make changes
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After the change has been implemented, measure the impact of the change on
these baseline measurements
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Keep track of how long it takes to implement changes
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Know the common changes in your environment
The Change Control Process
Changes are usually handled in four phases: definition and documentation, change
planning, implementation, and verification.
Phase 1—Definition and Documentation
In this phase, the change control staff formally defines the proposed change, makes
sure that all requirements have been met, and documents the expected results of the
change.
Phase 2—Change Planning
In this phase, the change control staff assesses the impact of the change, creates a
plan to implement the change, and develops a recovery plan in case the change does
not work.
Phase 3—Implementation
In this phase, the change control staff implements the change according to the
change plan created during the change-planning phase (phase 2).
Phase 4—Verification
In this phase, the change control staff makes sure that the system is running
correctly and reviews the change control process to make any necessary
improvements.
The Availability Guide for Change Management provides detailed guidelines for
implementing a change control process.
Tools offered by Tandem that can be used for change and configuration management are
listed later in this section. Your representative can direct you to the Tandem Alliance
Program companies that offer additional change-management and configuration-
management tools.