1 Introduction

1.1 Vision statement

The vision of [Service Provider] in the area of service management is as follows:

[Insert the vision statement defined as part of service strategy]

This process forms a key part of the realisation of that vision.

1.2 Purpose

Change is an essential part of the modern business environment and it is often the ability of an effective supporting IT organization to manage the implications of that change that sets it apart from others. Whether change is proactive to move us forwards or reactive to adapt to incidents, problems, or external events such as new legislation, it will inevitably carry with it an element of risk. Part of the purpose of the change management process is to manage and contain that risk in accordance with the risk appetite of the organization itself.

This document defines how the process of change management is implemented within [Organization Name].

The purpose of the change management process according to ITIL® is:

Source: ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011. Reproduced under license from AXELOS.

A change is defined as:

Source: ITIL Service Transition Book 2011. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2011. Reproduced under license from AXELOS.

“ … to control the lifecycle of all changes, enabling beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services.”

“ … the addition, modification or removal of anything that could have an effect on IT services.”

1.3 Objectives

The objectives of the change management process are to:

• Manage the assessment and implementation of changes to the IT environment in accordance with the business requirements and risk appetite of the organization • Ensure that the Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS), including the

Configuration Management Systems (CMS), remains up to date in the face of frequent and varying changes • Keep accurate records of changes made and the configuration items affected by them, for use in other processes such as incident and problem management • Provide benefit to the business by delivering desirable change whilst preventing undesirable change

1.4 Scope

The scope of this process is defined according to the following parameters:

• Organizational o [List organizations and parts of those organizations covered] • Geographical o [List locations from which requests for change will be accepted and managed] • Services o [Define the services covered by the process] • Technical o [If necessary, cover the technology that may give rise to changes managed via this process]

This process covers all changes processed by [Service Provider] in support of the customers and users of services defined in the service catalogue.

The following areas are specifically excluded from this process:

[Describe any areas that need to be clearly stated as outside the scope]