5 principles of the network change management process

The first step in the network change management process should be to evaluate the scope of a proposed change. Determine which services might be affected and who uses those services. The term blast radius is frequently used to describe the scope of effect a change can make, including the possible negative outcomes.

Teams will want to measure the scope in terms of the two following factors:

1. the number of endpoints affected Once teams identify the scope, they should perform a risk assessment of the change. Is it something that’s been done numerous times in the past and is well understood? Is it fully automated, or is there a chance that human error will alter the change in an unexpected way? Is the involved technology well understood, or is there a chance that something unexpected will happen?

   The scope of a change figures into the risk. A change to infrastructure on which key business processes run will have a greater level of risk to the business than a change to a small branch site.

   Network teams can use a risk factor calculator that assigns values to key parameters. To create a risk calculator, average the values from the example parameters below, or search for a calculator on the web.

   • Will the effect be visible to customers? (No = 1, Yes = 10)
   • How many customers could be affected? (Range of 1 to 10)
   • How important are the services within the scope? (Range of 1 to 10)
   • Has this change been successfully implemented in the past? (Yes = 1, No = 10)
   • Is the change automated? (Range of 1 to 10, depending on the extent of automation)
   • Can the change be thoroughly tested prior to implementation? (Yes = 1, No = 10)
   • Is the vendor documentation clear and unambiguous? (Range of 1 to 10)
   • Is the peer review thorough, and did it surface any potential issues? (Range of 1 to 10)

   The greater the risk, the more careful teams will need to be during the remainder of the change management process.