Implementation Excellence A Target Approach for who should Manage Change
|
| The activity of managing change is known as Change Management. Managing change is typically very challenging and may occur at many levels within a workplace. A key when implementing a change management process is truly understanding what should be managed and by whom. For the sake of argument, I will refer to the group that manages the change as the Change Control Board (CCB). However, there are other names used to represent this group (e.g., Configuration Control Board, Governance Board, etc.). It is important to understand that while I use the phrase "manage or control the change", a CCB may not really control the change as much as acknowledge the change and apply impact analysis for the change in order to determine the best deployment guidance for the change.
What this article hopes to provide is an approach that offers insight into appropriately identifying the key members of a CCB. It will do this by identifying the items that need to be managed and the workplace level in which the items live. Ultimately, the question comes down to, "What are we managing and who is empowered to manage and/or approve the change?" Attributes of Change Management When discussing the scope of change management, consideration should be given to the following two attributes: the Baseline Stream that will be managed and the Target Level within the workplace. A common challenge to managing baseline streams is that the target levels of the baseline items are not appropriately considered. This results in the incorrect level of personnel on the CCB that may not be empowered to enact the change. With this in mind, let us analyze the areas of baseline stream and target level. Baseline StreamWhat is a Baseline Stream? This is a collection of similar items that have a continuous flow of change over time from which baselines are established. As you may know, a baseline is an identifiable and controlled collection of items specified at a point in time1. However, like many baselines, changes occur to the baseline stream so that new baselines need to be established over time. A consideration for scope is to determine which baseline stream is being considered. Examples of baseline streams are:
A second key attribute is to understand at what level within the workplace we are targeting the change. By identifying the level, it will allow us to better identify the personnel who can most effectively assess the impact of a change and are empowered to make a change. Below are three different levels (but not limited to):
Once you have identified the baseline stream in question and the target level within the organization, then a determination of who should be key CCB members can be considered. It should be noted that there are numerous important members of a CCB and the table below attempts only to identify key CCB members. Each CCB should have members that allow for a robust discussion of each change. What must be noted is that there may be more than one level of CCB for a baseline stream. For example, there may exist a level-1 CCB that focuses on the specific set of requirements for a project and a level-2 CCB that focuses on all requirements across all projects that are related to an application. This way the level-2 CCB assesses the impact of requirements that may affect several concurrent projects that are related to the application, while the level-2 CCB assess only the impact to that specific project.
The next time you are in a position to establish a CCB, consider using this approach and examples above. Identifying the items that need to be managed and the workplace level in which the items live may help you identify the best choice of key members for a CCB who can most effectively assess the impact of a change and are empowered to make a change. Also, if you are working on a CCB that is having a difficult time implementing or managing change, consider the composition of the group and determine if the appropriate personnel are on the CCB.
Change Management will always be challenging. It will never be easy at any of the levels mentioned above. However, including the appropriate level of personnel on the CCB may provide one-step forward into more effectively managing change. Mario Moreira is a contributing editor for Crossroads News, a Director/Architect of Technology for Fidelity Investments Systems Company, and has worked in the SCM field since 1986. He has experience with numerous SCM technologies and processes and has implemented SCM on over 75 applications/products that include establishing global SCM infrastructures. He has an MA in Mass Communication with an emphasis on communication technologies. Mario also brings years of Project Management, Software Quality Assurance, Requirement Management, facilitation, and team building skills and experience. You may reach Mr. Moreira by email at HMario.Moreira@cmcrossroads.com He will soon be releasing a new SCM book entitled, "Software Configuration Management Implementation Roadmap" (see Hhttp://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470862645.htmlH).
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email this
Hits: 9206 Trackback(0)Comments (1)
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
 |
... I am doing research into Workplace Design and your article provides a method that can be used in many organizations. |
