he significance of software change management branches from the fact that these changes within the software are in effect changes to the business procedures itself as the software that helps in implementation remains inextricably associated with the business process.
1. Importance of Software Change Management
Software changes are a common aspect in today’s organization and can have extreme consequences if it is not
managed well. The rapid changes that are taking place in the modern day business environments, mergers and
acquisitions, coupled with the requirement of processing, automating and emerging new technologies, such as web
2.0 and other technological developments indicate that the modifications to the company’s software is a daily and
continuous aspect.
Hence, the significance of software change management branches from the fact that these changes within the
software are in effect changes to the business procedures itself as the software that helps in implementation
remains inextricably associated with the business process.
What happens in case of failed changes?
The absence of appropriate controls for software modifications can result in the loss of confidential and important
data, lead to overwriting of essential components, the overlapping of multiple versions of the same code,
incompatibility of certain modules as well as several other complexities and confusions. Similarly, sometimes it
might become very difficult to retrieve the lost information resulting in the restoration to the older versions, which
implies that the changes fail.
Without efficient controls put in place, failures of this kind will come in easily even when an individual is entrusted
with the job carries it out perfectly. For instance, the discovery of deficiencies that emerge from any failure to
map the test maps to apt needs, or even by the applications of an incorrect patch might occur only post
implementing the application, resulting in the delay of the resolution. When the impacted process stays too crucial
to shut down, the rectification becomes complex and as time passes, complicated problems might crop in that can
result in failure of the change.
Keeping all these aspects in mind, service providers specializing in agile methodology have come up with software
change management solutions that have the following features:
The solution is user friendly
Has a single repository of application lifecycle entities
Links same kind of change items to the change packages
Enables for two-way needs traceability relationship
Has a process-driven methodology
Thus it is a fact that changes in the software require are inevitable all through the application lifecycle
management system. Unaddressed and unidentified change results in making the application releases risky and
sometimes hassles prone. In order to efficiently cater to the challenges, a robust change management solution with
reactive and proactive impact analysis is required throughout the software lifecycle. An automated change
management process can be executed and enforced for further minimizing the chances of things that go out of
hand.
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