Effective Technology Change Management != Micromanagement
I think there is a large trend on technology organizations today to improve change management procedures such that few things break due to human intervention. This is most definitely true at my organization (large financial institution), but I am rather disturbed at the way it's being done. In the past, it was up to the subject matter experts (SME) to decide what was routine and should just get done. In my organization, senior management has really taken that discretion away from the SME's. Now every little thing needs to get reviewed by people who don't necessarily understand what they are reviewing anyway!! For very large or risky changes to a technology environment, I agree that a rigid change management process should be in place to manage risk. However, when this rigid process is applied too broadly, an organization becomes inefficient, and it's ability to respond to its client population can grind to a screeching halt. Here's my recommendation on how to achieve good change management, while at the same time empowering your people to make decisions:
- Have a scalable ticketing system to track changes and create and audit trail.
- Define subject matter experts for various technology platforms that are trusted and respected.
- Leave the decision with the SME when a change might need to be vetted by a broader change management committee.
- As a manager, DO NOT micromanage your subject matter experts.
Obviously, if you have incompetent SME's this whole model breaks. But if you have capable and trustworth SME's, this also will contribute to the career growth of both managers and SME's. More to follow on this thread...