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Showing posts with the label Request for Change

Change Impact Analysis

I've been spending time within the Service Transition book. Did you know that ITIL V3 has a prescription for performing an impact analysis of a proposed change in the form of 7 "R" questions? Who RAISED the change? What is the REASON for the change? What is the RETURN required from the change? What are the RISKS involved in the change? What RESOURCES are required to deliver the change? Who is RESPONSIBLE for the build, test and implementation of the change? What is the RELATIONSHIP between this change and other changes? Frankly, I would add or clarify a couple of questions: What is the COST of the change?" (broken away from the Resources question) What is the TIMELINE for implementing the change? Other than that, I believe that these are meaningful and well-rounded questions, They can serve as a good foundation for a Request for Change template and informed Change Advisory Board discussions.

The Question

One of the most important tools in the toolbox for implementing Service Management is “ The Question ”. Effective questioning can help make both a new and existing implementation more successful. Good questioning techniques take practice and knowledge like many other skills. It can take years to move questioning from a skill to a talent. But learning how to ask and answer questions is a valuable instrument. Questions go beyond just the closed (specific answer) and open (subjective or broad answer). Questions can fall into several other categories and each should be approached in different ways: INDUCTIVE : there are designed to aggregate information and will be used effectively in Incident Management; Problem Management and Change Management. How do a set of Incidents correlate? DEDUCTIVE : these are designed to break down or decompose information and will be used effectively in Problem Management and Service Level Management. What are the elements that make up an existing service? ABD