About Change Requests

A Change Request is a record that tracks the addition, removal, or modification of anything that could affect IT Services. These can include changes to architectures, processes, tools, metrics, documentation, and other Configuration Items.

CSM manages three types of Changes:

• A Standard Change is documented, low-risk, low-cost, occurs frequently, and is thoroughly understood by the Change Advisory Board (CAB). The change only needs to be approved by the CAB once before it is added to a list of Standard Changes. After that, Standard Changes do not need to go through the approval process.
• A Normal Change is undocumented and it is unknown how the Change might affect the system. Though the CAB must approve the Change before implementation, it is not considered a high priority, and can be addressed during the regular CAB meeting time.
• An Emergency Change is a break in the system and must be addressed immediately so that the system can resume operation. Since the change is critical, it requires immediate attention from either the CAB or Emergency Change Advisory Board (ECAB).

For example:

• A new employee requires a software installation (Normal Change). If this becomes a common scenario, a Change Request can be submitted to make it a pre-authorized Change (Standard Change).
• A technician reboots the email server because several employees are unable to access email (Emergency Change).