Background

In the first quarter of 2014, EMP set out to improve and document selected Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) processes and procedures.  As a result of rapid growth the company needed to create transparency and clarity with respect to roles and responsibilities as well as process steps and activities.

Approach

Digiterra Consulting recommended its IT Service Management process improvement approach. This required an initial assessment of the core Change Management process, after which a prioritised list of action items would be addressed to close any gaps.

Initial Assessment

IT Change Management is the core controlling process for any organisation that needs to ensure changes are recorded, properly assessed and planned as well as thoroughly tested before risking business critical operations. The assessment compared existing EMP capability and maturity aspects against international IT Infrastructure management best practice guidelines (ITIL V3) and produced results for all governance, people, process, technology and quality assurance aspects of Change Management at EMP.

Assessment Results

EMP achieved an overall Maturity and Capability rating of 1.9 which meant the process lacked clarity, was informal, depended on individual performance and that there were limited level effectiveness and satisfaction with its performance.

Action Items

The ITSM Assessment highlighted various areas for improvement including, amongst others:

• Management commitment
• Process ownership
• Roles and responsibilities
• Policy and scope definition
• Process documentation
• Technology fit
• Training
• Meaningful reports
• Process metrics
• Ongoing Improvement strategy

An action plan to address these items was drawn up and an EMP improvement team assigned to address these, together with an ITSM Consultant from Digiterra.

Improvement Project

The idea was to spend up to 8 hours per week over a 6 month period and then to taper this down to 4 hours per week, to further refine the process and to monitor activities e.g. CAB, while in use.