CHANGE MANAGEMENT HELPS OPTIMIZE BUSINESS OPERATIONS
There’s an old saying: “The only thing constant is change.” This is especially true in information technology, where change management plays a critical role in helping businesses adapt and thrive. Email has transitioned to instant messages. Smartphones now rival the power of mainframes from 30 years ago. Sneaker-net vanished, replaced by collaborative technologies that enable BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), rapidly spreading company data across the workforce. Manufacturing systems once programmed directly on machine tools are now managed through remote programming and delivery.
CHANGES IN MANUFACTURING
Teams plan, test, modify, retest, and implement changes in manufacturing processes. In regulated industries, teams generally perform documentation through a validation process. In IT, teams perform this through change control, which is essential for smoothly implementing new systems, upgrades, disaster recovery, and ongoing maintenance.
STRONG IT ORGANIZATIONS
Strong IT organizations establish Project Management Offices to create project plans, including charters, definitions, processes, and metrics. Once these are laid out and the project begins, teams must initiate and document change control. With a large staff—dedicated project managers, participants, and technologists—this process is manageable. But with only a CFO, an IT manager, and a desktop support person, it becomes challenging.
THREE PRINCIPLES OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT THAT HELP
- Document the “as is” state of your current system configuration before making changes. This provides a clear rollback path.
- Document the “future” state of your proposed system to clarify goals and maintain focus.
- Document the steps needed to move from your “as is” to your “future” state.
After completing these steps, clone or back up your systems on separate equipment. Virtualization makes this easy and cost-effective. Make changes in the virtual environment, test them, and document everything. Clone your live environment again for safety. You’ll then be ready to implement changes confidently, with a disaster recovery platform available if needed.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If your staff is small or unfamiliar with documenting and managing change, you may find the task daunting. Fortunately, help is available to guide your team through planning, documenting, and implementing changes to both hardware (infrastructure) and software (programs and applications). Contact Kotori Technologies to learn more about managing system changes.
