Introduction to NonStop Operations Management

Change and Configuration Management
Introduction to NonStop Operations Management–125507
7-11
Implementation of Recommendations
Implementation of Recommendations
Allied Bank had developed a few change procedures and had assigned one person to
coordinate operating system migrations. Although this approach was somewhat
effective, it did not provide for ongoing change management. A formal method needed
to be developed to manage all change, not just major changes. The following
recommendations were implemented at Allied Bank:
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Establish a change management group
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Define formal change procedures
•
Assign knowledgeable individuals with the responsibility for developing the plans
for the change request
•
Hold periodic change control meetings
Establish a Change Management Group
It is important to have a single focal point for all changes to the environment. This
minimizes the possibility of a change affecting seemingly unrelated parts of the system
and helps ensure effective communication among all groups. Therefore, a change
management group was established at Allied Bank. Their responsibilities are to:
•
Define the change procedures and ensure that all changes follow the new procedures
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Manage all changes
•
Document all changes
Define Formal Change Procedures
The change management group is responsible for defining change control procedures.
At Allied Bank, change control procedures addressed the following areas:
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Risk assessment
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Test procedures
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Installation planning
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Backout planning
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Notification
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Management approval
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Scheduling
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Installation verification
The change management group further defined their change control procedures by
illustrating the flow of change requests. Figure 7-1 shows the required steps and
departments a change request must go through at Allied Bank. Allied Bank uses this
change control process for application changes only. Another diagram was created for
system changes.