IT Change Enablement

The purpose of the change enablement process at Parkland College is to maximize the number of successful IT changes by evaluating risk, authorizing changes to proceed, and managing the change schedule.

Change Types

There are three different types of IT change events: Normal, Standard (Preauthorized), and Emergency. 

Normal (i.e., a new system or software implementation)
    • Most changes are considered 'Normal'
    • Reviewed and approved or denied by the Change Advisory Board (CAB) on a bi-weekly schedule
    • Must complete all preparatory tasks, testing, and stakeholder approvals prior to submitting your request for CAB review; incomplete submissions may be rejected
    • Normal changes with an urgency of 'High' or 'Critical' may be approved and implemented off-cycle, but will involve the CAB chair polling the CAB electronically and recording the decision
Standard (Preauthorized) (i.e., server or desktop maintenance for which a procedure exists)
    • Considered low risk and routine
    • Must have an associated CAB-approved 'Standard Change Template' populated for it within the Change Request Form 
    • Follows the same process as a 'Normal' change except for the approval which is delegated to the supervisor as opposed to the CAB
Emergency (i.e., server outage requiring immediate replacement or a patch for a major security vulnerability)
    • A change that is necessary to avoid major impact to business and/or resolve a severe incident 
    • Approval is required from the Emergency Change Advisory Board (CIO or a Campus Tech director)
    • Requires review by the CAB after-the-fact
    • Typically includes lessons learned and action items to avoid recurrence 

Change Advisory Board (CAB)

The Change Advisory Board (CAB) is a group of people who are tasked with evaluating changes to the IT environment. They review change requests for risks and unintended consequences and advise the change manager on their thoughts and recommendations. It includes representatives from all functional areas/technical disciplines, key decision makers, and business stakeholders. There are no set rules for who is on the CAB. The change manager ensures the right people with the right information, knowledge, and background are there to effectively review each change and advise appropriately. 

The CAB typically meets every other Monday from 11:00 am–12:00 pm and they form a consensus on whether to approve or reject new change items. 

What does the CAB do? 

  • Advises the change manager on approving/scheduling 'Normal Change Requests' and 'Standard Change Template Requests'
  • Reviews emergency changes after-the-fact
  • Asks questions to fully understand the proposed change
  • Evaluates proposed changes for risks and mitigation and determine the likelihood of unintended impacts
  • Ensures that business outcomes are documented and well understood
  • Evaluates if the proposed change will give the intended outcomes without adversely impacting the business
  • Ensures the proposed time is appropriate (doesn’t conflict with business needs, other change, or operational activities)
  • Ensures technical and architectural standards are met
  • Makes recommendations to reduce risk, increase success, and minimize business impact

Emergency Change Advisory Board (ECAB)

The Emergency Change Advisory Board (ECAB) is a is a specialized version of the CAB and is utilized in the event of an urgent or critical change that needs to be addressed immediately. An ECAB is composed of a smaller group of individuals who can make quick decisions and take action to address the emergency change. In Campus Technologies, the ECAB is the CIO, the directors, and the change manager. 

Change Communication

At this time, communication regarding change events is accomplished solely via email to the impacted constituents, however, Campus Technologies is researching ways to optimize the notifications.