Working with relationships

Other change requests

When you work with a change request, you can define related requests that address similar issues. For example, a set of related requests can result from many change requests sent to the service desk by one requester. A set of related requests can also result from a single request that encompasses several other requests.
You can create a series of dependent change requests, where one must be completed before another request can be started, for example, a change request to upgrade Microsoft Outlook on the email server that has a Dependent relationship to a change request to upgrade the operating system. For more information, see Creating related change requests and Relating change requests.

Configuration items

When you work with a change request, you can view a related configuration item (CI). For example, you might be working with a desktop system that consists of a laptop, mouse, keyboard, and docking station. The CI has information about the specific type of these CIs. For more information, see Working with related configuration items.

Unavailability of configuration items

When you work on a change request that requires a configuration item that would be unavailable when in use for the change request, you can view a related CI Unavailability. For more information, see Creating CI unavailability.

LDAP objects

When you work with a change request, you can view related LDAP objects. For example, you might want to relate a change request to an LDAP server where all the permission rights are stored to enable seamless authentication with Policy Manager. For more information, see Performing additional functions with relationships.

Release

When you work with a change request, you can view or create release requests. Releases can be related to a change request (in the Relationships tab, or contain the change request in the Release manifest. For example, you might want to create a release request and include the change in the Release manifest. For more information, see Working with release manifests.

Software library items

When you work with a change request, you can view related storage locations, for example, different versions of Microsoft Office along with their license contracts. For more information, see Performing additional functions with relationships.

Asset configuration

When you work with a change request, you might need to work with a related asset configuration. For example, if you are working on a change request involving a monitor, relate the change to the monitor. You might also want to temporarily assign another monitor to the requester because work is being done on the original monitor. In this case, you can relate the change request to both monitor asset records. To perform this procedure, BMC Asset Management must be installed and integrated.

Incidents and problems

When you work with a change request, you might need to relate incidents and problems. If a change request for a server upgrade results in connection problems for the people affected by the change, for example, you can relate their incident to the server upgrade change request as you open the cases. This relationship can provide helpful information to the support staff working on resolving the incident. To perform this procedure, BMC Incident Management must be installed and integrated. For more information, see Viewing change dependencies. For problem and known error investigation, BMC Problem Management must be installed.

Projects

A change request can be a part of a larger project. This relationship provides information about the project to which the change is related. To view this option, BMC IT Business Management Suite must be installed and integrated.
Currently, you cannot relate a change request to a Project from the Change form.