Configuration, change and release management policies and

[Pages:10]Configuration, Change, and Release Management Policies and Procedures Guide

Table of Contents

Section 1 Introducing Configuration, Change, and Release Management................................................5

1.1

Overview of Configuration, Change, and Release Management .........................................5

1.2

Objectives............................................................................................................................6

1.3

Audience .............................................................................................................................6

1.4

Usage ..................................................................................................................................7

1.4.1 Establishing the Baseline .............................................................................................9

1.4.2 Defining Change Request Classes.............................................................................10

Section 2 Policies....................................................................................................................................13

2.1

Overview of the Configuration, Change, and Release Management Policy.......................13

2.2

Policy Statement................................................................................................................14

2.3

Process Owners ................................................................................................................14

2.4

Related Policies and Procedures.......................................................................................15

Section 3 Processes ...............................................................................................................................17

3.1

Overview of Configuration, Change, and Release Management Processes .....................17

3.2

Before You Begin ..............................................................................................................19

3.3

Configuration, Change, and Release Management Processes .........................................19

3.3.1 Identifying a Request..................................................................................................19

3.3.2 Assessing and Approving a Change Request ............................................................21

3.3.2.1 Assessing the Change Request ........................................................................22

3.3.2.1.1 Criteria for Change Request Assessment ...............................................24

3.3.2.1.2 Processing Assessments ........................................................................25

3.3.2.2 Approving a Change Request............................................................................26

3.3.3 Implementing a Change .............................................................................................28

3.3.3.1 Planning ............................................................................................................29

3.3.3.2 Scheduling.........................................................................................................30

3.3.3.3 Pre-Staging........................................................................................................30

3.3.4 Testing and Releasing a Change ...............................................................................31

3.3.4.1 Testing...............................................................................................................32

3.3.4.2 Release .............................................................................................................33

3.3.5 Status Accounting ......................................................................................................33

3.4

Completing the Cycle ........................................................................................................37

3.4.1 Closing out a Change Request...................................................................................37

3.4.2 Auditing the Configuration Database..........................................................................38

Section 4 Procedures .............................................................................................................................41

4.1

Overview of Configuration, Change, and Release Management Procedures....................41

4.2

Using Configuration, Change, and Release Management Procedures .............................43

4.2.1 Identifying a Request..................................................................................................43

4.2.1.1 Change Requests..............................................................................................43

4.2.1.2 Review and Disposition .....................................................................................45

4.2.2 Assessing and Approving a Change Request ............................................................46

4.2.2.1 Assessing a Change Request ...........................................................................46

4.2.2.1.1 End-User Change Requests ...................................................................47

Initial Actions.......................................................................................................47

Review Procedures .............................................................................................51

4.2.2.2.2 Vendor-Initiated Changes........................................................................56

4.2.2.2.3 IT Changes..............................................................................................57

4.2.2.2 Approving a Change Request ...........................................................................58

4.2.3 Implementing a Change .............................................................................................59

4.2.3.1 Planning ............................................................................................................59

4.2.3.1.1 Tools and Techniques for Risk and Constraint Quantification.................61

Expected Monetary Value ...................................................................................61

Decision Trees ....................................................................................................62

Expert Judgment.................................................................................................63

4.2.3.1.2 Outputs from Risk or Constraint Quantification .......................................63

4.2.3.1.3 Back-Out and Contingency Strategy .......................................................63

Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)................................................................64

4.2.3.2 Scheduling.........................................................................................................68

4.2.3.3 Implementation..................................................................................................70

4.2.4 Testing and Releasing a Change ...............................................................................70

4.2.4.1 Quality Assurance .............................................................................................70

4.2.4.2 Pre-Release Activities .......................................................................................71

4.2.4.3 Release .............................................................................................................72

4.2.5 Status Accounting ......................................................................................................72

4.3

Auditing the Change Process ............................................................................................75

4.4

Improving the Configuration, Change, and Release Management Process ......................77

Section 1 Introducing Configuration, Change, and Release Management

Section 1 Introducing Configuration, Change, and Release Management

This section provides a brief introduction to policy and procedures for configuration, change, and release management. By reading this introduction, you will gain a sense of how these policies and procedures apply to you.

1.1

Overview of Configuration, Change, and Release

Management

The combined configuration, change, and release management approach provides a set of policies, processes and procedures for information systems. The policy is designed to preserve the integrity and stability of the information systems and to manage their life cycles.

Configuration, change, and release management involves five processes to identify, assess/approve, implement, test/release, and account for all changes to an information system. A commitment to this process will produce fully documented and managed changes to the systems on which the business is built.

The key topics of this section include:

? Objectives - A discussion of the processes, owners, and objectives

? Audience - A description of persons subject to the policies

? Usage - A flow chart depicting the overall process

Figure 1.1 illustrates the configuration, change, and release management process in the environment.

5

Configuration, Change and Release Management Policies and Procedures Guide

Figure 1.1 Configuration, change, and release management process

Identification

Assessment & Approval

Implementation

Test & Release

Status Accounting

Audits

1.2

Objectives

Configuration, change, and release management are a set of related processes that will achieve the following objectives:

1. Maintain a detailed record of each system's configuration. This means tracking down to the patch and revision level of individual software and hardware modules, components and subsystems.

2. Control changes to systems. This includes a formal process for change requests, assessment, approval, implementation, test and release.

3. Ensure an audit trail. This includes change requests, approvals, test results, installation/deployment dates, and post installation quality assurance tests to support the system's operational baseline configuration documentation.

4. Facilitate life cycle management and operational consistency. This is verified by auditing installed systems against baseline configuration documentation.

1.3

Audience

The audience for this configuration, change, and release management process includes most personnel. These customers fall in to five categories, each using the configuration, change, release management process for differing purposes.

6

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download