Organizations must be able to quickly adapt to change to remain competitive. This includes managing changes to their IT infrastructure and applications. However, not all changes can be planned in advance, and some require immediate action to prevent service disruptions. In such cases, an Emergency Change Advisory Board (eCAB) can help organizations make informed decisions quickly and efficiently. In this article, we will explore what an eCAB is, how it works, and best practices for implementing an eCAB process.
Want to know more about what change advisory board (CAB) is? You can read it here.
What is an eCAB?
Emergency Change Advisory Boards (eCAB) are a specific type of CAB meeting that is called to review and approve changes that need to be implemented immediately, usually due to an urgent or critical situation. These types of changes are typically outside the normal change management process and are usually being implemented to restore or prevent service disruptions.
A change advisory board is a committee group of stakeholders, usually engineers, managers, operations, and vendor representatives, that together work to review all software, application, or cloud infrastructure change requests that are interacting with your company system, in a documented and structured manner; and usually on a set schedule.
The eCAB contains the same or a reduced group of informed stakeholders as the change advisory board with the intention that a smaller core group can quickly respond with advisory recommendations for a vendor’s emergency-level request for change. An eCAB may also meet virtually to expedite the review and approval process.
About the eCAB process
For service management projects developed by EIT Consulting, the emergency CAB process usually follows the steps outlined below. Routing of emergency requests is ultimately at the discretion of the Change Manager to obtain the quickest approval (or denial) results back for the vendor.
Starting the request for change process
Starting the request for change (RFC) process which results in eCAB review and not normal CAB review, the vendor submits the request with a flag of “emergency.”
Routing the emergency RFC for quick approval
The Change Manager receives the vendor request and routes the emergency RFC to the company operations management for quick approval to move forward with the RFC (or not). This initial routing and approval are typically completed within 24 hours.
Conducting the emergency CAB review
The Change Manager next facilitates the emergency change advisory board meeting. They determine which stakeholders need input on the RFC, and they determine whether a synchronous meeting must be called or if the recommendations can be carried out by asynchronous methods, such as by email.
The Emergency CAB review is conducted with an initial response within 48 hours of the RFC submission. The eCAB provides recommendations and advisory support to emergency-level requests for change in a timely manner.
Approval or disapproval of emergency RFCs
Approval or disapproval and related recommendations and any questions are routed from the eCAB to the Change Manager, and then by the Change Manager to the vendor, again, always with haste.
For non-approved emergency requests for change, the vendor is requested to modify their request and restart the process. The vendor is not approved to move forward with implementation.
For approved emergency RFCs, the vendor proceeds with implementation via the submitted RFC plan. Any service outages reported will still need an RCA (root cause analysis) report generated by the vendor and forwarded to the CAB.
Best practices for a successful eCAB
Establishing a clear criteria for triggering the CAB: Have a clear process established for identifying when an eCAB needs to be triggered. Establish clear criteria for determining when an eCAB is needed and communicate this process to all stakeholders.
Ensuring preparedness of eCAB members: Confirm that all eCAB members are aware of the process and are able to respond quickly in the event of an emergency.
Creating a pre-determined list of eCAB members and contact details: Have a pre-determined list of eCAB members and their contact details for communication on a short notice.
Setting a clear agenda for eCAB meetings: Each eCAB meeting needs a clear agenda that includes a review of the proposed emergency change, the risks and possible impact of the change, and a discussion of the proposed solution,
Documenting eCAB decisions and actions: All eCAB decisions and actions taken during the meeting should be clearly and accurately documented. Documentation should be communicated to all relevant stakeholders.
Establishing a plan for testing and validating the change: A plan should be established for testing and validating the change, independent of the vendor, and for monitoring the change post-implementation.
Regularly reviewing the eCAB process for improvement: The eCAB should regularly debrief to review the process and identify areas for improvement.
An eCAB should be used sparingly, as these emergency reviews can be disruptive to normal operations. Emergency reviews that are not handled effectively can create additional risk.
Conclusion
In conclusion, implementing an emergency change advisory board (eCAB) process can be a critical element in ensuring the success of emergency-level requests for change in IT service management (ITSM) operations. By establishing a clear process for identifying when an eCAB needs to be triggered, confirming all members are aware of the process and can respond quickly, and having a clear agenda and documentation of all decisions for all eCAB meetings, organizations can effectively handle emergency-level requests for change and minimize disruptions to normal operations.
Additionally, by regularly debriefing and reviewing the process, organizations can identify areas for improvement and continue to refine their eCAB workflow.
Overall, the Emergency Change Advisory Board is an essential element of the service change process. Emergency-level requests are inevitable in normal ITSM (information technology service management) business operations. Vendors will always need to modify or upgrade their code, and by having an established eCAB process you can stay ahead of the curve in handling emergency-level requests for change.