Service Requests and Change Management

I was having a discussion with a learner this morning about the difference between Service Requests and Standard Changes.

This learner's organization publishes a list of standard services that users can request via a self-help tool. The Service Request will be routed to the Service Desk. The Service Desk will review the request. If appropriate, the Service Request may be fulfilled by applying a Standard Change that has been approved by Change Management.

By definition, a Standard Change is a pre-approved, low risk change (such as a new hire) that can be fulfilled almost immediately. Standard Changes must be recorded, possibly as a Service Request. They do not require operational oversight by the CAB.

It is important to note that not all Service Requests are Standard Changes. Service Requests can include questions, queries, complaints and compliments. Similarly, not all Standard Changes are Service Requests. Standard Changes can include batch jobs, patches and other low risk changes that are not "requestable" by the user. Any Service Request or Standard Change that presents a higher risk may require reassessment and reclassification by Change Management.

Efficient Request Fulfillment requires good process integration between Change Management and Request Fulfillment. It is also important to provide the Service Desk staff with the training and empowerment to fulfill Service Requests and apply Standard Changes when appropriate. Finally, users must be made aware of the Request Menu and fulfillment procedures.

Comments

Thane Price said…

Is an access request considered to be a standard change? The CAB does not approve the change but the data owner must. Therefore the request is somewhat preapproved and somewhat not.

July 8, 2009 at 1:08 PM

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