User roles in the change request lifecycle

BMC Change Management is a role-based application. What applications you can access, and how much information you can view or modify depends upon your role. As the Process Flow Status bar steps you through the stages of a change request, different roles perform different tasks. The change manager creates the change request at the Initiate stage, the task implementer works on the tasks that are assigned to the change at the Implement stage, and so on.

Using the Process Flow Status bar in the stages of a change request

Click the following figure to expand it.

A user with the Change Manager functional role can view functionality in the application that other users cannot.

Change requests track the progress of a change through its entire lifecycle, from the Initiation stage to the Closed stage. To manage a change request from start to finish, the main user roles listed in the following table are required. Although the responsibilities of these users can vary from organization to organization (and in some organizations, one person can fulfill several roles), they generally include the following roles and functions. In a small company, the same person can function as change manager, approver, and task implementer.

IT Support user roles

Change management role

Calbro user

Function

More information

Change coordinator

Note: This role is a combination of change supervisor and assignee roles of the previous release.

Allen Allbrook

Member of a support group responsible to provide one or more services. The change coordinator is responsible to create, plan, implement, track, and close changes related to services that the support group is responsible for.

Assesses requests for change that originated from Incident Management, Problem Management, Release Management, or Continuity Management
Registers changes as needed to handle requests for change
Determines the risk & impact for requested changes
Prepares implementation plans by creating tasks
Monitors the progress of changes

For more information, see:

Change manager

Mary Mann

Operations manager who has a complete overview of the infrastructure and must know details of what is to be changed.

Reviews the risk & impact analysis to ensure that this has been performed thoroughly
Ensures that appropriate actions have been planned to minimize both the risk of failure and the impact on users during change implementations
Ensures that the timing of planned implementations does not conflict with other planned changes or events
Obtains approval for changes

Change Manager role

Task implementer

Note: This role is sometimes called the task assignee.

Ian Plyment

Support staff member or group who performs the tasks associated with a change request. For example, a change request for upgrading a mission-critical server might include backing up data in the server, uninstalling the old hard drive, and installing the new hard drive.

Member of Front Office Support or Back Office Support
Uses the Change Management Console to perform the tasks associated with a change request

Working with BMC Change Management as a task implementer

For more information about permissions and roles, see User permissions. For information about other roles important in BMC Change Management, see Additional Change Management user roles.

The following figure illustrates the different Change Management support staff roles. It also shows where each role fits into the stages of the change request lifecycle.

BMC Change Management support and management roles

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Note

The following stages might not apply to all change requests. For example, you see the Review & Authorize stage only if the application administrator mapped an approver to the Business Approval phase.

Best practices for managing change requests

Request stage	Request status	Role and task	For more information
1a Initiate	Draft	Change manager creates the change request.	Initiate stage - Creating change requests
1b Initiate	Request For Authorization	Change approver approves the change request.	Approval processes provided out-of-the-box for Change Management Handling approvals for emergency change requests
2a Review & Authorize	Not applicable	Change coordinator performs risk assessment and impact analysis of the change request.	Review and Authorize stage - Risk and impact analysis
2b Review & Authorize	Request For Change	Change approver approves the business case for the change.	Approval processes provided out-of-the-box for Change Management
3a Plan & Schedule	Planning In Progress	Change coordinator plans and schedules the details associated with the change. Reviews change calendar. Relates CIs to the change request.	Plan and Schedule stage - Planning the change request
3b Plan & Schedule	Not applicable	Change manager reviews the change plan and sends it for approval.	Approval processes provided out-of-the-box for Change Management
3c Plan & Schedule	Scheduled For Approval	Change approver approves the execution of the change before it can be scheduled.	Approval processes provided out-of-the-box for Change Management
4a Implement	Implementation in Progress	Change coordinator starts work on the change request. Relates CIs, incidents, and services to the change request. Creates tasks.	Implement stage - Implementing the change
4b Implement	Implementation in Progress	Task implementer executes tasks.	Implement stage - Working on task assignments
4c Implement	Completed	Change approver approves that the request can now be closed.	Approval processes provided out-of-the-box for Change Management
5 Closed	Closed	Change coordinator closes the change request.	Closed stage - Completing change requests

Note

Except in the Closed status, the Change Manager and Change Coordinator can change the status of the request back to Pending or cancel the change request.

User roles in the change request lifecycle

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