Creating templates for Change Management

You can simplify the process of creating change requests by configuring change templates for change managers and change coordinators.

To configure classification settings

Specify values in a change template's Classification tab to add information to the corresponding Classification tab in the Change form.

The Classification tab describes the change and displays which products or services are affected by the change. The Change Type, Class, Impact, and Urgency values are required before a change can be submitted.

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select Change Management > Template > Template, and then click Open.
3. On the Change Template form, in the Template Name field, enter a name for the template.
4. In the Status field, select an appropriate status level for this template.
5. In the Template Category Tier 1, select a tier 1 category for the template.
6. Click the Classification tab.
7. In the Change Type field, select an area for the change request (for example, Release).
8. In the Class field, select the timing impact of the change request.
   Class specifies the relative urgency of the change, so that the approvers can assess its magnitude:
   • Emergency resolves an incident or a problem deemed critical to the business continuity where a workaround is not sufficient.
   • Expedited indicates enterprise-wide impact with an associated risk.
   • Latent indicates a change that has already been performed (for example, if a task implementer is assigned to replace the hard drive on a PC and then decides to upgrade the memory while the box is open) and requires approval after the fact. Latent timing automatically sets the request status to Completed after you save the change request.
   • Normal indicates changes that must follow the complete change management process. The default value is Normal.
   • No Impact indicates a change that has no impact on the infrastructure and requires no approval.
9. In the Impact field, select an impact level for the change request (for example, 1-Extensive/Widespread).
10. In the Urgency field, select a level of urgency for the change request (for example, 1-Critical).
11. In the Priority field, select a priority according to the urgency of the change request (for example, Medium).
12. In the Risk Level field, select a value. 
    Risk Level 5 is the highest risk and Risk Level 1 is the lowest.
13. In the Lead Time field, enter the number of hours to add to the submit time for the change request. 
    The lead time is used to calculate the earliest start date and time for the change request.
14. In the Summary field, enter a brief description of the change request. 
    This information is entered into the Summary field on the Change form.

15. In the Service field, select the required service.
    You can also enter the name of the service manually. After you enter the first three characters, a list of matching services are displayed, from which you can select the required service.

    Important

    After you select a business service CI, the product categorization from the business service CI is copied to the Product Categorization Selection fields of the change template (under the Categorization tab). You can overwrite this data. In addition, after you save the change template, an association is created between the business service CI and the change template. You can change or delete the business service CI, and you can manually remove the association from the Relationships table.

16. In the Change Environment field, select the setting for the change request (for example, Production).
17. In the Change Reason field, select the reason for the change (for example, Upgrade).
18. In the Notes field, enter a detailed description of the change request.
19. In the Company field, select the name of the company for this change request.
20. In the Region field, select the area of the company.
21. In the Site field, select the city and the location of the company for this change request.
22. Click Save.

To configure categorization settings

The values that you configure in a change template's Categorization tab are used to add information to the operational and product categorization sections of the Classification tab in the Infrastructure Change Request form. The operational categorization is based on a three-tier hierarchy defined in the Operational Catalog Setup form. The Operational Categorization Selection settings add information to the operational categorization fields in the Classification tab of the Change Request form. The product categorization is based on a five-tier hierarchy defined in your Product Catalog Setup form. The Product Categorization Selection settings add information to the product categorization fields in the Classification tab of the Change Request form. 

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select Change Management > Template > Template, and then click Open. 
3. On the Change Template form, click the Categorization tab.
4. Select the appropriate operational categorizations for Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3.
   Configure the three-tier hierarchy defined in your operational catalog.
5. Select the appropriate product categorizations for Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Product Name, and Model/Version. Configure the five-tier hierarchy defined in your product catalog. If you do not see the appropriate product, continue to make selections in product categorization until you see the appropriate product.
6. Click Save.

To configure assignment settings

The values that you configure in the Assignment tab for a change template are used to add information to the following information in the Assignment tab of the Infrastructure Change Request form. 

• The Infrastructure Change Coordinator settings are used to fill in the infrastructure change assignee fields in the Current Assignment tab of the Infrastructure Change Request form. Configure the support company, organization, group and coordinator that the change request will be assigned to. 
• The Infrastructure Change Implementer settings are used to fill in the infrastructure change implementer fields in the Implementer Assignment tab of the Infrastructure Change Request form. Configure the support company, organization, group, and implementer that the change request will be implemented by.
• The Infrastructure Change Manager settings are used to fill in the infrastructure change manager fields in the Assignment tab of the Infrastructure Change Request form. Configure the support company, organization, group, and manager that the change request will be managed by.

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select Change Management > Template > Template, then click Open.
3. On the Change Template form, click the Assignment tab. Specify the Infrastructure Change Coordinator settings as follows:
   1. In the Support Company field, select the company that the change request is assigned to.
   2. In the Support Organization field, select an organization.
   3. In the Support Group Name field, select a group.
   4. In the Change Coordinator field, select a change coordinator to assign the change to.
4. Specify the Infrastructure Change Implementer settings as follows:
   1. In the Support Company field, select the company that the change request is implemented by.
   2. In the Support Organization field, select an organization.
   3. In the Support Group Name field, select a group.

   4. In the Change Implementer field, select a change coordinator to assign the change to.

      Important

      Change Implementer fields are applicable only for change requests that do not include any tasks. Change Implementer values will be cleared if a task is added to the change request.

5. Specify Infrastructure Change Manager settings as follows:
   1. In the Support Company field, select the company that the change request is implemented by.
   2. In the Support Organization field, select an organization.
   3. In the Support Group Name field, select a group.
   4. In the Change Manager field, select a change manager for the change request.
6. Click Save.

To configure relationships settings

The values that you configure in a change template's Relationships tab are used to provide information for the Relationships tab in the Infrastructure Change Request form. To specify a relationship type, you first must save the change template. When you finish defining the change template, open the Change Template form in search mode and locate your change template. You then can configure the relationships settings.

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select Change Management > Template > Template and then click Open. 
3. On the Change Template form, perform a search for the change template for which to create a relationship.
4. Click the Relationships tab.
5. In the Request Type field, select Configuration Item.
6. Click Search.
7. In the CI Relationships Search window, enter information in the search criteria tabs, then click Search.
   The matching results are displayed in the CIs table.
8. Select the appropriate CI.
9. In the Relationship Type field, select the type of relationship to associate with the change template (for example, Related to).
10. Click Relate.
    After you finish creating the configuration item, a message confirms that the new configuration item that you have created has been related to the change template.
11. Repeat steps 8 through 10 for all the CIs to relate to the change template.
12. Close the CI Relationship Search window.
13. Click Save.

To configure financials settings

The values that you configure in a change template's Financials tab are used to provide information for the Financials tab in the Infrastructure Change Request form.

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select Change Management > Template > Template, then click Open. 
3. On the Change Template form, click the Financials tab.
4. In the Estimated Total Time field, enter the estimated time in hours to complete the change request.
5. In the Budget Calculation Unit Type field, specify how to measure the cost.
6. Click Save.

To configure groups that can use the template

The template authoring group specifies the group that can modify this template. If you have the Support Group Admin functional role or the Change Config or Change Master permission, you can assign the template authoring group to any group.

Create a template that does not need to be associated up to the Support Group level. You can define the template by:

• Selecting Global in the Company field.
• Selecting only the Company or Company and Organization, and not selecting a Support Group.

Based on the level of access that you provide to the template, all the lower levels are given access to the template. For example, if you provide only Company level access, all Support Group Organizations and Support Groups defined for that company get access to the template. Any new organization or support group added to the selected Company or organization automatically gets access to the template.

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select ApplicationName > Template > Template, then click Open. 
3. On the application Template Selection form, click the Authoring Group tab.
   The first time you add an authoring group, select the authoring company, organization, and group on the Authoring Group tab and click Save.
4. Click Update.
5. On the Template Support Group Association dialog box, add or delete any support groups that you have permissions for.
   If you remove the group's association with the template, it no longer has privileges to use that template.
   
   1. Select the company, support organization, and support group, and then click Add, to add groups that can use this template.
   2. Select a support group from the list and click Delete.
   3. After adding or modifying the required support groups, click Close and then click Save.
      The information is updated in the Groups that use this template table. If you provide only the company level access or only the support organization level access to a template, a user needs to be a member of at least one of the support groups of that company or support organization for accessing the template.
6. Add or delete any support groups that you have permissions for.
   If you remove the group's association with the template, it no longer has privileges to use that template.
7. Close the dialog box.

If you selected multiple criteria for the same access level, like multiple company names, or multiple organizations for the same company when creating a template, multiple records will be listed on the template selection dialog box for each value defined. For example, if you created a template for two Support Group Organizations of the same company, two records will be listed on the template selection dialog, one entry for the each Support Group organization selected for the company.

Updates to template access levels

You can modify the access level of an existing template to a level higher than the existing access level. You will be prompted to confirm the change in access level. Changing the access level of the template marks any existing access defined for lower access level as inactive and creates a single access record for it. You must make the higher level access inactive to specify lower level access. For example, you must remove Company and Support Organization level access to add Support Group level access. In case of Global company access, you must make the access inactive to add lower level access.

To update the support groups

You can give other support groups the permission to use this change template. These groups cannot modify or delete the template. To update support groups, you first must save the change template. When you finish defining the change template, open the Change Template form in search mode and locate your change template. You then can configure the relationships settings.

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select Change Management > Template > Template, then click Open. 
3. On the Change Template form, in the Authoring For Groups tab, click Update. 
4. On the Add Support Group dialog box, add or delete any support groups that you have permissions for.
5. Close the dialog box.
   The information is updated in the Groups that use this template table.

To configure task templates settings

The Task Templates tab specifies which tasks and task groups you can include with this template. This functionality is especially useful for standard changes. For example, typical tasks used with change and configuration management.

1. From the Application Administration Console, click the Custom Configuration tab.
2. From the Application Settings list, select Change Management > Template > Template, and then click Open.
3. Click the Task Templates tab.
   
   
   The tab displays tasks and task groups related to the template, along with any child tasks of the selected task group. From the tab, you can:
   • Select a task, and then click View to display the tasks already added to the template.
   • Select a task, and then click Remove to remove tasks from the template.
   • Select child tasks, and then click View to display these tasks.
   • Select a task or task group template, and then click View Flow to see a read-only view of the task flow.
4. Select a request type (for example, Task Template).
5. To add a task or task group to your template, click Relate.
6. On the Select Template dialog box, use the Type and Category fields to filter the list of tasks displayed.
7. Select a task or task group, and then click Relate.
   The task or task group is added to the template. 
8. Click View to display the template.
   If Task Phase Management and task validation is enabled, the Phase field is displayed.

9. From the Phase field, select a phase.

   Important

   If Task Phase Management is enabled when you create the change template, it is applicable for the change template even if it is disabled at a later stage. For more information about enabling Task Phase Management and task validation, see Task-Phase-Management.

   The Phase menu displays the active phases available for the specified company (which are defined in the Phase Management Configuration form). Use the Phase field to associate a phase with a change template for a task or task group.
   
   

10. Repeat steps 5 through 9 for all phases and all tasks to include in the template.
    If phases were enabled, after you select a phase and relate your tasks, the Related Templates table displays only tasks included with that phase.
11. Close the dialog box.
12. Click Save.

To configure change template selection rules

Change template selection rules define the criteria to search a relevant template. With template selection rules defined, a correct template with best match against input criteria is applied to a change record.

The following table provides links to relevant topics: