3rd Party/partner Change Management

[ombudzman]

We currently have an agreement with a 3rd party/partner. We have a interface built to feed data into our internal systems from this partner. At times changes are made by the partner that negatively impact that interface and consequently our clients. Does anyone have any input on how to manage the change from a 3rd party/partner? SLA? This 3rd party partner has 0 change management controls.

[mgnrfan]

We do have similar type of situation, right now we are operating that..
Chagne Request raised by our partner in our Change Management System, first it gets assessed by CAB and then after green signal from CAB it goes for Impact Analyst of partner as well our own. so that any impact at partner's side as well as our side can be measure waybefore change is implemented.

[Guerino1]

Good day Ombudzman,

Having external feeds, both as files and as direct streams to things like queues and databases, is very common in many companies. In cases where external providers have the ability to change things and break pieces of your business, it makes sense to set up "Change" clauses in the contracts you negotiate with them. In such clauses, you typically want to ensure that the providers go through a formal Change Management process with your organization. Some things to consider:

- Changes must be scheduled in advance and have a formal Release plan
- Changes must be specified and detailed
- Changes must be given the opportunity for adequate verification
- Changes must be signed off by the consumer (your organization)
- What happens on Change Rejection?
- What happens if they put a Change in and it breaks pieces of your organization? (Logistics of addressing the issue and punitive clauses for the provider)
- How do you and they handle Emergency and/or Expedite Changes?
- How are Changes deployed?
- Etc.

This should be a start. FYI, if your enterprise, in turn, is a provider to other downstream consumers, then expect these consumers to put the same contracts in place with your enterprise.

I hope you find it useful.

Regards,
_________________
[Edited by Admin to remove link]