Change Management architecture

BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management provides a set of interfaces that you can use to integrate other applications with the Change Management application. Additionally, you can view metrics or statistics of the change management process state using the Change Management Dashboard view.

For additional information about the BMC Helix ITSM solution architecture, seeArchitecture .

BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management interface

BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management provides a set of interfaces that other applications can use to integrate with the Change Management application. These interfaces include a set of Action Request System forms that provide the ability to define, query, and modify both change requests and release requests. The interfaces also include the web services interface that are built on these forms to provide a mechanism for interacting with the Change Management application using web services. The interfaces, including web services, are available for both, the Change Management and Release Management modules.

For more information, see Developing.

BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management Dashboard

The Change Management Dashboard helps executive users to understand the trends relating to change configuration management, and to take appropriate action to balance the flow. A dashboard view presents a set of metrics or statistics that give a snapshot of the state of the change management process. This dashboard enables the organization to make sure that change-related activities are meeting identified goals. The CIO is the primary user of this dashboard view.

You have a choice of which statistics to view. You can select criteria that focuses the view on the desired perspective, and you can indicate how far back to view the data. Example statistics are the history of planned and unplanned changes over one or several time ranges, the number of authorized changes over the last week or month, the success rate of changes made for the last 30 days, and a summary of costs of changes over the last 50 changes made.

Important

You must be a member of the CM Dashboard User permission group to view the Change Management Dashboard. To use the Change Management Dashboard, as an administrator, ensure that the component is enabled by setting the license for the Change ManagementDashboard Application to 1 on the Add and Remove Licenses screen in the AR System Administration Console.

The Change Management Dashboard uses Flashboards to provide executives (such as the CIO), the CAB, or the change manager, important data points and key metrics in a graphic and numeric format. The Change Management Dashboard helps executives and managers who are monitoring changes make sure their organizations are meeting their identified goals. It provides a mechanism for organizational improvement (for example, to identify areas that need improvement).

The Change Management Dashboard presents a set of statistics that provides a snapshot of the state of the change management process. You can choose which statistics to view, select criteria for focusing the view on the needed perspective, and specify how far back to show this data. Example statistics are the history of planned and unplanned changes over one of several time ranges, the number of authorized changes over (for example, the last week or month), and the success rate of changes made for the last 30 days.

The Change Management Dashboard helps you understand the trends relating to change configuration management (CCM) and take appropriate action to balance the flow. The Dashboard enables you to view four different graphical Flashboards with different change request metrics at once. You can filter the data presented by the Flashboards by date to refine the information shown.

You can configure the Change Management Dashboard as needed. For maximum flexibility, you can select various flashboards to appear on the Dashboard screen, along with a time period that applies to all the flashboards shown.

BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management and BMC Helix CMDB

From BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management, users can search for CIs and relate CIs to release requests, change requests, and tasks. BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management integrates with BMC Helix CMDB by using relationship tables.

BMC Helix CMDB provides the Atrium Impact Simulation feature, which users can access from BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management. Atrium Impact Simulation provides change impact analysis and "what if" simulation. For more information about Atrium Impact Simulation, see Creating-a-change-request-at-the-Initiate-stage.

Assignments

For more information, see Assignment architecture .

Costing

BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management uses the Cost module to track costs associated with change requests and release requests. The integration uses the common cost creation dialog box that is provided by the Cost module.

For more information about costing, see Working with costs.