3.5.1 Change Definition
The following change management protocols apply to the department of OIT as well as the campus’ departments. The OIT highly recommends that all departments adopt these industry best practices related to IT change management in their respective areas. A change is defined as a modification to the hardware, software, and documentation managed by the Office of Information Technology that has a reasonable possibility of impacting normal operations of those resources. Items that are considered changes include, but are not limited to:
a) Installation or upgrades of server, networking, or security hardware or software, including patches and interim fixes for the applications,
b) Modification of hardware or software that affects the operation of desktop computers connected to the TAMIU network,
c) Modification of server, network, or security settings that affect access to I.T. resources, and
d) Modification or enhancements to the physical environment that supports I.T. resources.
Specific tasks that should not be considered changes include:
a) Updates to Operating Systems,
b) Creation of new file shares, or modification to permissions of existing shares,
c) Installation, activation, or removal of network cable drops, or
d) Creation, modification, or deletion of accounts and mailboxes.
3.5.2 Procedures
All changes must be documented, and submitted for approval prior to implementation. The following defines the procedure for documentation and approval.
The changes have to be approved by the CIO, ISO or the change management team.
3.5.4 Documentation
The technician implementing the change must fill out the Change Management Request Form to obtain approval. The following information must be provided on this form:
3.5.5 Processing
3.5.5.1 After the technician completes the Change Approval Form, he/she will submit the form to their supervisor or manager for review. The manager will ensure accuracy and form completeness. Change forms must be submitted to the supervisor or manager a minimum of one full business day prior to the review date.
3.5.5.2 All changes must be forwarded to the Associate Vice President of Technology Services/CIO or Information Security Officer.
3.5.5.3 Announcement messages must be distributed prior to the change. The supervisor or manager should prepare this announcement. The Director/Supervisor for that area will be responsible for posting the announcement.
3.5.6 Emergency Changes
3.5.6. 1 Occasionally, it may be necessary to implement emergency changes, and will be documented. Any changes that are planned within a period of 12 hours or less will be documented as Emergency changes. This requires to fill out the change management form.
3.5.7 Systems’ Incident Report
3.5.7.1 For any Incidents on the systems is required to fill out the Systems’ incident report form (i.e. power outages)
3.5.8 Documents
a) Change Management Form
b) System Incident report form
