How Do You Explain Change Management To Your Parents?

By Judith Alvarado
As most IT Professionals, when you ask your parents what you do for a living, they would reply; "Something to do with computers?" I don't how many times I have tried to explain that I am a Change Coordinator and that I work in the area of Change Management. Have you ever seen a deer in headlights? I don't know about you but for some strange reason I feel they need to know and UNDERSTAND.

So I stepped back and really thought about how anyone regardless of IT background and knowledge could understand Change Management (including other aspects of Service Level Management). The moment of inspiration came when my 4 year old daughter and I went shopping one day. All of the sudden I realized that Change Management is like a "Happy Meal" experience. Hey don't laugh. Anyone that has a young child, knows a young child or has been young within the last 25 years will know this scenario instantly. Here's how it goes;

It is Saturday morning. You are out running your usual errands, when out of nowhere your young child screams, "McDonalds! McDonalds! Mommy I am hungry. I want to go to McDonalds." Your child has just initiated a Change Request. She wants to change her current state to another, that of satiated hunger.

In your mind you race through your CMDB (Configuration Management Database). The comprehensive information about all of the components provide you with sufficient information to do the Impact Assessment of this Change Request:

• This is a young child
• The child ate breakfast 3 hours ago
• The child loves McDonalds

Because you previously implemented Service Level Management, you stored your Service Level Agreement along with your underpinning OLAs and Contracts in your CMDB and now know that according to your SLA with the child that you are obligated to feed the child on a regular basis.

You must now assess whether 3 hours is within the hunger change window and which Change Category this request falls into. Even though 3 hours is on the quick turn-around side of the Significant Category, you surmise that feeding the child now will maintain your friendly agreement.