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Change Management – Create New Change & Dashboard Overview

Change Management – Create New Change & Dashboard Overview #

Whereas Project Management focuses on the tasks and activities needed to complete a job, Change Management focuses on the people and how they are affected by the organization’s changes.

ITIL defines a change as “the addition, modification, or removal of anything that could affect IT services. The scope could include changes to all architectures, processes, tools, metrics, and documentation, as well as changes to IT services and other configuration items.”

By using SeamlessDesk’s Change Management solution, you and your team can thoroughly plan out changes by scoping out the impact and associated risks of a change, as well as a detailed rollout schedule. Then, once the change has been created, work with your team to collaborate, complete tasks, gain approval from the Change Advisory Board, and ultimately, complete the change.

Create Your First Project #

To create your first change, click on “Changes” from the left-hand column, or go to Settings > Change Management > Manage Change. Once there, click the “+” icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

Once the “Create a new Change” is loaded, fill in each section and click “Save” once you are done. As you will need to fill in most of these fields to create the Change, let’s go through each one and cover their intended purpose and meaning.

Note: some of these fields are customizable. Please click here to view the Change Forms support article and learn more about Change Form custom fields.
  1. Requestor – this is the person requesting the change. Most of the time, this will be you. But there could be examples where you are creating the change on behalf of another team member or manager.
  2. Subject – This is the title of the Change.
  3. Type – Drop-down form options are customizable by going to Settings > Change Management > Change Forms – Select the Change Type from the drop-down menu.
  4. Status – Drop-down form options are customizable by going to Settings > Change Management > Change Forms – Select the Change Status from the drop-down menu.
  5. Priority – Drop-down form options are customizable by going to Settings > Change Management > Change Forms – Select the Change Priority from the drop-down menu.
  6. Impact – Drop-down form options are customizable by going to Settings > Change Management > Change Forms – Select the Change Impact from the drop-down menu.
  7. Risk – Drop-down form options are customizable by going to Settings > Change Management > Change Forms – Select the Change Risk from the drop-down menu.
  8. Group – You have the option of assigning a User Group to the Change. To create or modify a User Group, go to Settings > User Management > User Groups.
  9. Change Manager – This is the Agent or Admin who will be running point on the Change and driving the Change to completion.
  10. Description – In this field, including a detailed description of the Change. This field supports SeamlessDesk rich text editor, allow you to add media, links to other pages, custom text, etc.
  11. Planned Start Date – This is the date on which you plan on being the Change.
  12. Planned End Date – This is the date on which you plan on completing the Change.
  13. Department – The Department that the Change will be assigned to. To create or modify a Department, go to Settings > Service Desk > Ticket Departments.
  14. Category – Drop-down form options are customizable by going to Settings > Change Management > Change Forms – Select the Change Category from the drop-down menu.
  15. Associate Assets – This will allow you to include in the Change any assets that will be used in the Change process. For example, if you are swapping out a server, you may have the old and new server listed in your Assets. You can associate those items here so that your team knows which items will be swapped out during the Change.
  16. Planning – Reason for Change – A detailed description of why the Change needs to take place.
  17. Planning – Impact – A detailed description and analysis of the impact the Change will have on end-users’ workflows, daily processes, and way of life within the organization.
  18. Planning – Rollout Plan – A detailed, step-by-step process covering every aspect of the Change’s rollout. In the next section, we’ll cover tasks and their role in the Change process. In this section, you can list out the plan for the rollout, and in the tasks, you can assign the individual assignments and duties needs to complete the Change.
  19. Planning – Backout Plan – A detailed plan defining what criteria need to be met or what course of action needs to take place for the Change to be put on hold, modified, or canceled.

Once all of these sections have been filled out, you can save the Change by clicking “Save”  at the bottom of the page.

Changes Dashboard #

Now that you have created a new Change let’s cover the Dashboard and what is included there.

In the top right-hand corner of the screen, you can select your view. Chose from the following:

  • All Changes
  • All New Changes – Changed created within the past 30 calendar days.
  • My Active Changes – only shows Changes assigned to you.
  • My New Change – only shows Changes assigned to you that have been created within the past 30 calendar days.

In the top right-hand screen, you can click the “+” icon to create a new Change, select an option from the “Actions” drop-down menu, or learn more about Changes by clicking the “?” icon.

Changes #

There are 11 columns on the Changes Dashboard, and most of them have the option of sorting.

  • Number – The Change number within the account. This is an incremental number and will increase over time as you and your team create additional Changes.
  • Status – Display the custom Change Status and color.
  • Type – Display the customized Change Type.
  • Priority – Display the customized Change Priority.
  • Assigned To – Displays the assigned Change Manager or Agent.
  • Created On – The date on which the Change was created.
  • Last Update – The date on which the last activity was made to the Change.
  • End Date – The projected or official ending date of the Change.
  • Actions – Option to delete the Change (if you have permission to do so).

Now that you understand how to create a Change and what everything means, you are ready to start managing the individual Changes. To view that article, please click here.

If you need any assistance or if you have any questions, please contact SeamlessDesk support at Support@seamlessdesk.com.