Can Incident Management log an urgent change request?

[michaelan]

hi there,

from my understanding, Incident Management could log an urgent change request without notifying Change Management in advance. Am I correct? could anyone help to clarify? an actual example to explain would be nice, thanks so much.

[Diarmid]

michaelan,

It entirely depends on what your Change Management procedure(s) say about it.

I don't see what the urgency has to do with it unless your procedures make that distinction. Logging the request should simply lead to the process of validation, authorization, approval, planning, etc. and all that comes under the Change Manager's umbrella anyway.

Why would the Change Manager have to be forewarned before a change is logged by anyone given the authority to log changes?

From a Change Manager's perspective, there is nothing special about Incident Management. When an incident occurs and a diagnostician/technician/anyone else determines that a change is required to resolve the incident then that person initiates the change request through whatever channels are designed for it. It is not really Incident Management that is making the request.

Incident Management is busy ensuring that someone is dealing with the incident, not concerning itself with the details within that. The change request emanates from the diagnosis. Making the change request is an action.

The relationship between the two processes is practical in this aspect, rather than formal. In other words they impact on one another, but there is not an explicit rule pertaining.
_________________
"Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718

[michaelan]

Diarmid, thanks so much for your clarification.

From what you pointed out, I fully understand that anyone could raise change request, but Change Management staff should filter those "real" request then follow the normal change procedures. My confusion is that, in regard to the urgent/emergency change request, according to ITIL book (v2), the CAB should be chaired to authorize such change, but to chair the CAB is the responsibility of Change Manager who should have knowledge to justify if it is urgent or not. In reality, if an urgent change request need to be raised to solve a major incident, per what you said below, anyone could raise such "urgent" change request, right? as we know that from impact on service perspective, the change request normally has urgent, meduim, normal and low levels, does it mean that when someone tries to open a change request ticket, he/she could chose any level base upon his/her subjective estimation on impact? So...if the change request he/she raised is not urgent but the urgent level of request is selected, what Change Management would do? I want to have a clear understandings on urgent change request case, who should be the owner to register it? Can Service Desk colleague open an urgent change request ticket? if yes, for what case, it happens?

Could you please help me on that? Thanks in advance.

[Diarmid]

michaelan,

urgency has to be justified in terms of cost/risk involved. One simple way of determining an attribute of "urgent" (and thus invoking special 2urgent change" processes) is that the cost/risk is too great to leave until the next CAB cycle comes round. It is not subjective.

Therefore anyone applying the "urgent" attribute to a change request has to accompany the request with the justification. This is not hard in genuine cases ("We'll lose 5000 sales if this is not fixed by four o'clock")

The change manager should be able to verify urgency with business and/or IT management according to the nature if the issue and then proceed accordingly.

Ideally, tickets would be opened with a statement of time and cost issues involved rather than with priority assigned. the change management process can translate that into urgency and hence priority. But, of course, the requester also needs to make sure the request is seen right away if it is urgent so that things can happen fast if necessary.

If I say the CAB makes the decision, that would be correct, but you must not read into it that that causes a delay. The change manager should have the authority and capability to respond to need by roping in the appropriate people as required.

You must not let your tools drive your processes. Devise procedures that meet your requirements and then use the tools to support your processes.
_________________
"Method goes far to prevent trouble in business: for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business depending, both what to do and what to hope."
William Penn 1644-1718

[michaelan]

Diarmid, thanks for your kind explanations, I am now have a clear understanding on this. You're ITIL expert, thanks again...