Change management in Software Engineering

1. Change Management
SOFTWARE CONSTRUCTION
HIBA M. GHANNAM
10-17-2016

2. Who Am I ?

3. You need to keep up if you want to
survive !

4. Agenda
o Change Management
o Sources of Software Change
o Objective of Change Management in SE
o SW Change Management Procedures
o Change Management Roles
o Change Management Process
o Tools
o Tips to Make it seamless

5. Change Management
Change management is the discipline that guides how we :
o Prepare
o Equip
oSupport individuals to successfully adopt change
oIn order to drive organizational success and outcomes.

6. How ?
oBy assuring that all proposed changes are evaluated
oBy prioritizing changes
oBy requiring that all changes are thoroughly tested
oA back-out plan
oBy ensuring that the configuration management system is updated to reflect the effect of any
changes.

7. Working with changing requirements is like
trying to shoot a moving target!

8. Facts
oNo matter where you are in the system life cycle, the system will change
oThe desire to change it will persist throughout the life cycle
oThe services should be stable, reliable, and predictable.
oThe services should be able to change rapidly to meet evolving business requirements.
requirements
definition
specification &
design &
coding &
testing
acceptance
testing
Change

9. Source of Change in SE
Change
Management
New customer needs
New market conditions
Business reorganization
Budgetary or
scheduling
constraints The performance or
reliability
New equipment
Errors must be repaired

10. Objective of Change Management in SE
oTo maximize speed-to-competence at minimized
cost – this is the basic conundrum faced by
executives.
oTo effectively control risk – in people as well as
process.
o To recognize resistance to formal change
management and to use activities within change
management specifically targeted to overcome
that resistance. This is a recursive approach which
is almost unique across the portfolio of everyday
management processes.

11. SW Change Management Procedures
Request for change review
Change planning
Change approval
Change implementation
Change closure
1
2
3
4
5

12. Change Management Roles
Recognizes and identifies the need for changeChange Initiator
Risk and impact, implementation plan, progressChange Coordinator
Prioritizing, evaluating, outcomeChange Manager
Schedule a meeting with ,how to proceed
Change Advisory
Board
Approve or RejectApprover
Specialists
Change
Implementation Team

13. Change Management Process
Creating a Request
for Change
Reviewing and
Assessing a Request
for Change
Planning the
Change
Testing the Change
Creating a Change
Proposal
Implementing
Changes
Reviewing Change
Performance
Closing the Process

14. 1 Creating a Request for Change
Incidents that necessitate the change
Description of how the change would be implemented
The impact that the change would have on all associated systems
A risk assessment
Contact information for everyone involved in the change
An outline of who will need to approve the request
A backup plan to follow in case the change is not successful

15. Impact Analysis
It provides accurate understanding of the implications of a proposed change.
Which helps the team make informed business decisions about which proposals to approve.
Three aspects:
1- Understand the possible implications of making the change.
2- Identify all the files, models, and documents.
3- Identify the tasks and estimation of efforts.

16. Impact Analysis
Checklist of possible implications of a proposed change.
Checklist of possible software elements affected by a proposed change.

17. Impact Analysis
Estimating effort for a requirement change

18. Impact Analysis
Identify the sequence in which the tasks must be performed.
Determine whether the change is on the project’s critical path
Estimate the impact on project’s schedule and cost.
Evaluate the change’s priority by estimating the relative benefit, penalty, cost, and technical
risk compared to other discretionary requirements.
Report the impact analysis results
In most cases, this procedure shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours

19. 2 Reviewing
Evaluate the request based on its priority , impact analysis
If requests relate to problems that have already been addressed.
Determine who would be responsible for fulfilling the request.
Implementers’ ability to dedicate time to making the change.

20. 3 Planning
 Resources that are needed to complete the change.
A timeline for implementation.

21. 4 Testing
Test will demonstrate the procedure to be followed in case the change request is approved.
Testing the change gives you the opportunity to work out any problems in the procedures that
you have developed .

22. 5 Creating a Change Proposal
Outlines the type of change.
The priority associated with a change request
The outcomes that could occur if the change is not made

23. 6 Implementing Changes
Implementing a change is not a simple process.
Once the change has been made, tests must be done.
If the change is not successful , backup plan.

24. 7 Reviewing Change Performance
Understand whether your change procedures are working as expected.
Determine the accuracy of estimates that were made before a request was fulfilled.
Reviewing change performance gives you the opportunity to fine-tune your change management
process for better results in the future

25. 8 Closing the Process
You must be sure that the entire process has been documented in a database that all
stakeholders can access .

26. Tools
Bug Tracking Tools (Bugzilla)
Requirements Management Tools (JIRA)
Tasks Management (JIRA)
Time and Resources Management (MS Project)
Code Management (Team Foundation , Source Safe)

29. Tips: Stay calm and stress-free when
software changes are heading your way
TESTING. Testing. One. Two. One. Two.
Know your users
Don’t rush it
Push it. Push it REAL good
DON’T GO BACK

30. References
• http://www.strategy-business.com/article/rr00006?gko=643d0
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/software-change-5-tips-make-seamless-
lindsay-riggs
• http://www.bmc.com/guides/itil-change-management.html
• http://www.drdobbs.com/software-change-management/184415707
• http://change.walkme.com/top-4-change-management-software/
• book Software Requirements, 2nd Edition (Microsoft Press, 2003), describes
how the impact analysis activities might work.
(http://www.jamasoftware.com/blog/change-impact-analysis-2/)

31. Thank You ! 
Software Construction
Hiba M. Ghannam
10-17-2016
Hiba.mg@gmail.com
We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power
to imagine better.