Reply to: Change Manager

[George Parr]

Don't even get me started - as already said we have quite an intense change management process in place here however the incident management is carp.

For example a db server keep running out of space causing downtime

the tech services team simply keep repeating the same process of deleting 4 days back up files thus freeing up enough space to last for about 10 days until the whole thing happens again.

some pointless melon farmer is going to be wearing those damn server blades when I get back to head office

and indeed and also

Have a word with the problem manager, he'll get it sorted.

[Naaarwich]

And neither do you, my good man...

You'd make a better Release Manager than a Change Manager* if you don't know the difference between a Change Manager and a Project Manager.

They have overlapping skills and one can do the job of the other if they are trained, but they are not simply interchangeable.

*Service Management Change Manager is what I'm talking about and I think that's what the agents are talking about as well. The OP is probably thinking of a Business Change Manager - but the above statement still applies...

You obviosly havent seen the job specs for the roles I was referring to and I can tell you that they were standard PM roles.

[original PM]

What's Incident Management like at those places? I'll bet that the Service Desk is swamped most of the time...

Don't even get me started - as already said we have quite an intense change management process in place here however the incident management is carp.

For example a db server keep running out of space causing downtime

the tech services team simply keep repeating the same process of deleting 4 days back up files thus freeing up enough space to last for about 10 days until the whole thing happens again.

some pointless melon farmer is going to be wearing those damn server blades when I get back to head office

and indeed and also

[cojak]

its a non-job. A Change manager has nothing to do .
He spends his time wandering from developers to dba to business users and prepares a list of day's changes. Atleast that's what I observed at many clients.

What's Incident Management like at those places? I'll bet that the Service Desk is swamped most of the time...

[Andy2]

its a non-job. A Change manager has nothing to do .
He spends his time wandering from developers to dba to business users and prepares a list of day's changes. Atleast that's what I observed at many clients.

[George Parr]

That I completely agree with - problem is (in my humble and naive opinion) it so often just becomes a paperwork exercise - a process which adds cost but no value.

Fair comment, I have seen companies that go through the motions as in the way you mention, just to say they are ITIL aligned and look good on paper.

[NotAllThere]

According to Scott Adams, during a down turn a lot of management consultants were made redundant. They hung around on street corners calling out "got any spare change". This rapidly reduced to "spare change?", and finally, and critically, just to "change".

This sparked a neuron in one ex-management consultant, and so the change management industry was born.

[original PM]

Get the peeps who understand the change and its impacts to be part of the authorisation process, that's how it should be set up

That I completely agree with - problem is (in my humble and naive opinion) it so often just becomes a paperwork exercise - a process which adds cost but no value.

[George Parr]

there is release management which means you have control of the system and it does not go live until relevant agreed testing and training has been done - and to be honest this for me is part of a PM's role - to ensure that the full project lifecycle has been completed.

and then there is ITSM change management.

Company I am currently at follow some form of ITSM change mangement process

I will get 5 or 6 e-mails a day asking for change approval - and I can see that half the people on each e-mail are not in a position to approve or stop the change (including me) because they do not have the relevant knowledge of that particular change.

ITSM change managers seem to think that if they have a list of people whio have agreed the change can go ahead then all will be okay -- this is not the same as having experts who actually understand the change being made and the possible impacts.

Ticking Boxes is not the same as Managing Change

Get the peeps who understand the change and its impacts to be part of the authorisation process, that's how it should be set up

[original PM]

there is release management which means you have control of the system and it does not go live until relevant agreed testing and training has been done - and to be honest this for me is part of a PM's role - to ensure that the full project lifecycle has been completed.

and then there is ITSM change management.

Company I am currently at follow some form of ITSM change mangement process

I will get 5 or 6 e-mails a day asking for change approval - and I can see that half the people on each e-mail are not in a position to approve or stop the change (including me) because they do not have the relevant knowledge of that particular change.

ITSM change managers seem to think that if they have a list of people whio have agreed the change can go ahead then all will be okay -- this is not the same as having experts who actually understand the change being made and the possible impacts.

Ticking Boxes is not the same as Managing Change

[George Parr]

ahh right

if it is to do with ITSM it is bound to be a load of overblown, beurocratic bull rocks then.

Seriously, it can be as lean or as bloated as the client wants it to be.

[George Parr]

ahh right

if it is to do with ITSM it is bound to be a load of overblown, beurocratic bull rocks then.

Yeah, best just deploy any old tulip. Why even bother testing, surely the customers will do that for free.

[original PM]

ahh right

if it is to do with ITSM it is bound to be a load of overblown, beurocratic bull rocks then.

[George Parr]

There can be a conflict of interest if a PM takes on an ITSM CM role. The former has an interest in deploying something to (usually tight) schedule while the CM is dutybound to make sure that all testing, backout plans etc. are in place before letting it anywhere near production systems.

[Clippy]

hmmmm very interesting

Is a change manager somebody bought in to review process and suggest what changes need to be made?

Or

Are they bought in to manage the impact of change within the business.

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