Change Management exists to coordinate and inform customers and staff of all changes that impact any shared computing system or service under the direction of University Information Technology Services. The overriding goal is to provide a high level of availability and service to our customers. A definition of change is "to make different, alter, or modify." Change Management is the process of communicating, coordinating, scheduling, and monitoring change to UITS resources. The main goal of UITS change management is to ensure the appropriate communication of change events, but it also provides a process that protects UITS from changes that are potentially disruptive, in conflict or of unacceptable risk. Change Management has the responsibility to insure that appropriate documentation, testing, and notification (posting announcements or banners), training (customers and staff), and recovery procedures are in place for each change requested.
All shared hardware, systems software, application software, or procedural changes which could impact our environment, and possibly impact service, are to be presented in Change Management prior to implementation. The purpose of Change Management is not to question the rationale of a change, but to insure that all elements are in place, all parties notified and trained, and the schedule for implementation is coordinated with all other activities in the organization.