Change management is defined by standardized and repeatable processes for requesting, analyzing, planning deploying, and evaluating changes to systems. These processes ensure that all stakeholders are adequately informed and contribute to the decision making process. And well-defined change management processes enable a business to take a proactive approach and push for changes that make the company more competitive and profitable.

1. TechExcel White Paper
ServiceWise Change Management
Change is inevitable. Change is constant.
Introduction Understanding ServiceWise
The inevitability of change is proverbial. Mergers and Change Management
acquisitions, IT investments, business initiatives, globalization,
advances in technology, the demands of customers, and system TechExcel ServiceWise is a powerful and versatile change
maintenance all require change management. management solution that enables businesses to define a
framework for managing, tracking, and enforcing their business
And yet many business are ill-prepared to cope with the processes and to ensure that all stakeholders are “in the loop”
challenges presented them by change. Managed changed throughout the change life cycle.
requires the cooperation and coordination of systems, people,
and information throughout the change life cycle. Using ServiceWise, businesses may define processes for
reviewing, authorizing, planning, and deploying changes in
Change management is defined by standardized and repeatable workflow. A business may define a unique set of workflow rules
processes for requesting, analyzing, planning deploying, and for managing change requests based on urgency, risk, business
evaluating changes to systems. These processes ensure that all area, or any other criteria. Moreover, ServiceWise facilitates the
stakeholders are adequately informed and contribute to the automation and enforcement these processes so that businesses
decision making process. And well-defined change management may reduce the complexity of changes and shorten timelines.
processes enable a business to take a proactive approach and
push for changes that make the company more competitive and Knowledge and Communication
profitable. Management
Successful change requires the engagement and participation
of informed stakeholders. For this reason, ServiceWise places
knowledge management and communication at the center of all
change management processes.
ServiceWise features a centralized knowledge base that enables
organizations to effectively manage the information and
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2. TechExcel White Paper
processes that drive change, facilitates the evaluation and approval of Moreover, information may be linked to each subproject in the hierarchy
change requests, and ensures that latest information is always available. ensuring that all relevant documentation is always at hand. Businesses
need not worry about siloed information or outdated documents. Every
In ServiceWise, knowledge may be managed and distributed at the knowledge item stored in the knowledge base may be dynamically linked to
business-level, project-level, and the change request-level so that project any subproject, change request, or event.
stakeholders always have access to the most up-todate information, but also
the complete history of the issue at any level of detail. And any knowledge Topsight enables management and key decision makers to identify
item may be dynamically linked to any other knowledge item enabling the potential risks and anticipate the consequences of change, translate that
users to easily access related information. Because all knowledge items are knowledge into effective policies and processes, and ensure the adoption of
stored in a secure, centralized datastore, change requests are always linked consistent of policies and processes.
to the most up-to-date document.
Change management is critical to regulatory compliance. Using
Moreover, effective knowledge management enables businesses to mitigate ServiceWise process management, organizations may define processes
end-user frustration and increase the visibility and transparency of change that ensure that all IT duties are properly segregated and documented.
management processes. The Employee Web Portal provides businesses All processes may be tracked in an audit trail that brings full visibility and
with a centralized hub for distributing for communicating with employees. traceability to the IT environment.
Through the Employee Web Portal employees may read appropriate news
or announcements, submit change requests, access FAQs, upgrades, and Workflow and Automation
patch info, product documentation; search the knowledge base, and Well-defined workflow and automation rules enable organizations to
download documents or software. efficiently manage change requests, incidents, and problems, facilitate the
transitions between users and teams, eliminate bottlenecks, reduce the
At every stage of the change life cycle, the management and dissemination complexity of changes, and shorten project timelines.
of information is key. Successful change management requires visibly
to change management processes and access to project-level and change The ServiceWise workflow engine enables organizations to define and
request-level knowledge. Project managers and executive management enforce standardized and repeatable processes for managing any kind of
cannot afford to wait for periodic reports to assess the status of projects. issue in workflow. In ServiceWise, all workflow, e-mail notification, change
ServiceWise features predefined, presentation-quality reports that may be request routing, and escalation rules are fully customizable. This enables
dynamically generated to provide the latest data instantly. In ServiceWise, businesses to effectively identify, track, and route the data that is important
the latest information is always available immediately. to them. Using ServiceWise, a business may effectively manage a wide
range of related issues including problems, incidents, and change requests
Visibility according to the needs of their organization.
One major obstacle to effective change management is a lack of topsight
that makes change unduly complex and appear overwhelming—internal Change managers may define custom processes that are as rigid or flexible
processes may lack transparency and decision makers may not have as are needed to meet the needs of their business. Unique workflow rules
visibility to key information. may be defined for managing issues based on their type, status, priority,
risk, or any other criteria enabling the business to prioritize and route
ServiceWise enables businesses to organize change management projects information so they are placed in the hands of the right person or team at
so that the relationships between all affected areas are manifest. In the right time.
ServiceWise, project management structures define and represent
IT initiatives and projects in a hierarchical structure that shows the In ServiceWise, issues may be categorized based on any issue property.
relationships between IT projects and initiatives. This structure, called the Change request properties may define how change requests, incidents, or
subproject hierarchy, provides stakeholders with topsight—insight into the problems are prioritized, who may own or edit change request, or even
big picture— that enables them to identify the interdependencies that must the authorization process itself. Custom-defined routing rules enable
be managed across the enterprise. organizations to automate subprocesses—such approval and deployment—
and eliminate bottlenecks. Similarly, e-mail notification and e-mail
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3. TechExcel White Paper
escalation rules enable organizations to ensure that all change requests are Organizations may define rules based on categories, user-defined fields, or a
processed in a timely manner. combination of fields that enforce processes that support their needs.
And ServiceWise is fully customizable and adaptable. Change managers The organization must identify the possible consequences of the change
may easily relax or strengthen workflow rules to meet changing needs. on including work processes, technological requirements, and employee
ServiceWise workflow, routing, escalation, and e-mail notification rules are behavior and motivation. Throughout the process of analyzing and
as easy to change as they are to set up. evaluating changes, ServiceWise enables all decision makers to remain
informed and actively participate in discussions.
Managing the Change Life Cycle All change requests are stored with full history of updates to the record
in ServiceWise throughout the project life cycle. Additionally, each record may have
documents, schematics, knowledge-topics, e-mail threads and more
ServiceWise enables businesses to better manage the activities that define associated for a detailed view of each change request.
the change life cycle. From the initial identification and submission of
change requests, to their analysis, evaluation, and approval, the planning, Even employees may stay involved by tracking the status of their change
management, and deployment of change, and the review of changes. request throughout change management process through the Employee
At each stage, ServiceWise and TechExcel tools enables all stakeholders Web Portal. Employees may view the status of their change requests and
and project members— internal customers, project manager, the change related change requests, view knowledge items, and communicate with the
committees, and the change builder—to manage and track all areas and IT personnel responsible for their request by e-mail or web conversations.
facilitate the exchange of information between groups.
Identification of Potential Changes Evaluation and Approval of Change Requests
At the inception of the initiative the viewpoints of all stakeholders are aired
The first objective of change management is to establish well-defined and and weighed. A multiple disciplinary team—users with many different
repeatable processes for identifying and submitting change requests for backgrounds and expertise review and offer their perspective on the
review. proposed change.
Requests for changes may originate from many different sources including: In ServiceWise the change request approval process is frequently managed
bug reports submitted by users, enhancement requests submitted by users, using events. Events represent the “to do” items that project members must
change requests resulting from other changes, and business initiatives from perform on a daily basis.
senior management.
As with change requests, organizations may define rules for automating
Although most changes begin with bug reports submitted by customers, the approval of change requests including the automatic routing of events,
management frequently initiates the change to meet business needs— e-mail notification, and event escalation. Custom-defined workflow rules
globalization, acquisitions and mergers, advances in technology. enable the business to define their own process for reviewing the technical
or economical feasibility of implementing a proposed change and their own
Information management begins with management’s ability track trends approval process.
in the services offered to its customers. Management must be capable of
identifying needed changes and initiating the programs that enable IT to Events are very useful for managing work tasks across multiple teams that
support company initiatives. relate to a single change request. Change managers may create and assign
review tasks, meeting tasks, and approval tasks throughout the life cycle
Analysis of Change Requests of a change request. Events may be required at defined intervals, or can be
ServiceWise workflow and routing enable organizations to ensure that all used to schedule additional work tasks on-the-fly.
change requests are routed to the appropriate manager, workflow state,
or team group. All workflow and routing rules are fully customizable. Project Planning
TechExcel ProjectPlan is a powerful and intuitive project management and
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planning tool that enables businesses to define a framework for planning • Events for approval and task scheduling
and managing IT initiatives, projects, and services. Create review tasks, testing tasks, approval tasks throughout the
lifetime of any change request. Events may be required at defined
Using ProjectPlan, decision makers may identify and track the key metrics intervals, or can be used to schedule additional work tasks on-the-
that measure the success of the project and adjust project timelines, fly. Events are very useful for managing work tasks across multiple
resource allocations, and critical paths to meet project goals. teams that relate to a single change request.
TechExcel ProjectPlan accesses and displays —in real time—project data
that is managed, and tracked in TechExcel ServiceWise —a leading tool for • Notification: alerts and reminders
managing and tracking business services and change management. Using Define notification rules to ensure efficient communication
ServiceWise, an IT organization may define and implement standardized throughout the process. Numerous notification rules may be
methods and procedures that support their business initiatives. configured based on categories, fields, time, data changes or a
All ServiceWise projects may be integrated with ProjectPlan so that project combination of the previous factors. A complete record of all e-mail
managers and decision makers may always access the most recent data, communication is stored.
schedules, and documentation ensuring that they have a true understanding
of the status of IT initiatives.
• TechExcel FormWise
Create paperless surveys and approval process forms. Web-based
TechExcel ServiceWise Suite forms are easily defined and may be included as part of the change
approval process. Satisfaction surveys may also be used to gauge the
Features end-user acceptance of a change.
• Change request tracking • Knowledge management
All change requests are stored with full history of changes to the Detailed documents of any type may be stored along with a change
record throughout the project life cycle. Additionally, each record record. In addition, documents may be created from standard
may have documents, schematics, knowledge-topics, E-mail threads document templates to create a uniform style for test cases, design,
and more associated for a detailed view of each change record. back-up procedures, or any other necessary documentation required
in the change process.
• Powerful workflow engine
Define, visualize, and create suitable change processes using the • Reporting and analysis
powerful, easy to use, TechExcel ServiceWise workflow editor. Complete, out-of-the-box, reporting engine for detail, list, trend
Define transitions, business logic and field-level data privileges using and distribution reports. Each report is easily customizable on a
a simple graphical tool. per-user basis using a simple report configuration page.
• Definable Fields and Field-Level Security • Integrated solution
All fields and pages are customizable using a simple GUI tool to TechExcel Servicewise provides an integrated framework for
ensure organizations tracking and analyzing relevant information. change management, change request management, service level
TechExcel provides an out-of-the-box solution template that can be management, IT service, and asset management.
completely modified or extended. Permissions may be defined for
each field to control user access throughout the entire process.
• Change request routing
Automatically route change requests to the appropriate manager,
workflow state or group. Routing rules may be configured on
categories, user-defined fields, or a combination of fields.
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5. TechExcel White Paper
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