Change Management

Why change is necessary?

Change is inevitable. This is especially true of software and IT systems. Changes are necessary for a variety of reasons, including:

• Adding features

• Removing functionality

• Fixing bugs

• Installing patches

• Applying updates

• Mitigating vulnerabilities

Something that can’t be changed shouldn’t be on the production network. This is because there’s always a chance of finding a security vulnerability or other problem. When it’s found, it needs to be updated as quickly as possible, ideally before it’s exploited.

Frameworks to perform changes

When a change is performed, it should be done in a controlled manner that minimizes the chance that something else will break. Software patches that are intended to fix something often end up breaking them instead.

To minimize the risk of something going wrong, and to quickly recover if it does, a formal change management process should be followed. There are several frameworks available, such as:

• Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)

• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)