What are the most important IT services change management practices?

2 Define the scope and objectives of changes

Another important practice is to define the scope and objectives of your changes. Scope refers to what aspects of your IT services will be affected by the change, such as features, functions, processes, or components. Objectives refer to what you want to achieve with the change, such as improving functionality, efficiency, reliability, or security. By defining the scope and objectives of your changes, you can align them with your business goals, avoid scope creep, and measure the outcomes.

3 Follow a standardized change management process

To ensure consistency and quality in your IT services change management, you need to follow a standardized change management process. A change management process is a set of steps and procedures that guide you from initiating a change request to closing a change record. A typical change management process includes stages such as review, approval, testing, implementation, verification, and evaluation. By following a standardized change management process, you can reduce errors, avoid conflicts, and comply with best practices.

4 Document and communicate changes

One of the most critical practices in IT services change management is to document and communicate your changes. Documentation refers to creating and maintaining records of your changes, such as change requests, change plans, change logs, change reports, and change reviews. Communication refers to informing and engaging your stakeholders, such as customers, users, managers, and IT staff, about your changes, such as the reasons, benefits, risks, impacts, schedules, and statuses. By documenting and communicating your changes, you can increase transparency, accountability, and collaboration.

5 Manage change resistance and feedback

Another essential practice is to manage change resistance and feedback. Change resistance refers to the negative reactions or behaviors of your stakeholders towards your changes, such as reluctance, opposition, or sabotage. Feedback refers to the opinions or suggestions of your stakeholders about your changes, such as satisfaction, dissatisfaction, or improvement. By managing change resistance and feedback, you can address the concerns, expectations, and needs of your stakeholders, and improve your change management performance.

6 Learn from change management experiences

The final practice that we will discuss is to learn from your change management experiences. Learning refers to analyzing and reflecting on your change management processes, outcomes, and challenges, and identifying the lessons learned, best practices, and areas for improvement. Learning also involves sharing and applying your knowledge and insights to your future change management activities. By learning from your change management experiences, you can enhance your skills, capabilities, and maturity in IT services change management.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?