Change and Release Analyst

Summary

A change and release analyst plans and rolls out software and designs and carries out procedures for the distribution and installation of changes to systems and services.

At this role level, you will:

undertake analysis after release and set the plan for upcoming changes
liaise with DevOps and service designers

Background

Background Components

Description	Background
Demonstrates a meticulous method of working and attention to detail. Has practical knowledge of at least one phase and general awareness of all phases of the systems development lifecycle and a good understanding of the service lifecycle. Is effective and persuasive in the presentation of concepts and local procedures, both orally and in writing.	Prior Knowledge and Skills

Work Activity Components

Title	Details
Change documentation	Documents changes and circulates change documentation, such as change schedules, to a defined distribution of stakeholders.
Process and procedures	Assesses and analyses changes based on requests for change, in accordance with change control procedures.
Plans and schedules	Assists with the production of schedules of requests for change (RFCs) for managing changes to the live environment.
Change development and implementation	May assist with the development and implementation of changes that have been authorised, where appropriate.
Status and progress reporting	Interrogates the client/user database to produce reports for bodies that review changes, such as change advisory boards (CABs), and for clients and management.
Queries and information	Responds to queries from clients/users and contacts clients/users (for whom change control service is provided) to provide information on the status of changes.
Database update	Logs received requests for change (RFCs) on the change management database, ensuring accuracy and consistency of data.
Awareness	Assists with provision of awareness material to clients/users and other stakeholders to explain the importance of a structured change control process.
Supports and chairs meetings	Attends and supports meetings that review changes such as change advisory boards
Risk evaluation	Contributes to the evaluation of risk to service availability, performance, and security from proposed changes and change implementations, providing support to ensure and maintain service
Review and audit	Contributes to the review or audit of change management processes and recommends actions based on findings.
Implementation and controls	Ensures implementation of information, and records management policies and standard practice, ensuring that information is protected, available and accessible, and can be retrieved as required. Complies with all relevant information and data security policies and procedures.
Release and deployment	Assesses and analyses release components for input to release scheduling. May include combining changes to form a release in accordance with the release policy and agreed release design. May investigate problems during deployment and participate in roll-back when needed.
Processes, tools and methods	Maintains and administers release processes, procedures, tools and methods for software delivery, release, deployment and configuration.
Early-life support	May carry out Early Life Support activities such as providing support advice to initial users.

Knowledge/Skills

Knowledge/Skills Components

Title	Depth	Details	Type
Analytical Thinking		Acquiring a proper understanding of a problem or situation by breaking it down systematically into its component parts and identifying the relationships between these parts. Selecting the appropriate method/tool to resolve the problem and reflecting critically on the result, so that what is learnt is identified and assimilated.	Behavioural Skills
Conceptual Thinking		Acquiring understanding and insights regarding the underlying issues in complex problems or situations through the development of abstract representations, the identification of patterns and the analysis of hypotheses.	Behavioural Skills
Information Acquisition		Identifying gaps in the available information required to understand a problem or situation and devising a means of resolving them.	Behavioural Skills
Flexibility		Taking account of new information or changed circumstances and/or business requirements and modifying response to a problem or situation accordingly.	Behavioural Skills
Attention to Detail		Applying specific quality standards to all tasks undertaken to ensure that deliverables are accurate and complete.	Behavioural Skills
Cross-Functional and Inter-Disciplinary Awareness		Understanding the needs, objectives and constraints of those in other disciplines and functions.	Behavioural Skills
Teamwork		Working collaboratively with others to achieve a common goal.	Behavioural
Application Systems	Familiar with	Technical or functional understanding of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) applications and/or other bespoke software deployed within the organisation in order to provide system configuration, audit, technical, and/or functional support.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Application Development Tools	Familiar with	Software tools which automate or assist part of the development process.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Corporate, Industry and Professional Standards	Familiar with	Applying standards, practices, codes, and assessment and certification programmes relevant to the IT industry, and the specific organisation or business domain.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Operational/Service Architecture	Familiar with	Knowledge of the IT/IS infrastructure and the IT applications and service processes used within own organisation, including those associated with sustainability and efficiency.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Business Environment	Familiar with	The business environment relating to own sphere of work (own organisation and/or closely associated organisations, such as customers, suppliers, partners and competitors), in particular those aspects of the business that the specialism is to support (i.e. localised organisational awareness from a technical perspective).	Technical Knowledge and Skills
IT Environment	Familiar with	The IT environment relating to own sphere of work (own organisation and/or closely associated organisations, such as customers, suppliers, partners), in particular own organisation’s technical platforms and those that interface to them through the specialism, including those in closely related organisations.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Big Data	Aware of	The discipline associated with data sets so large and/or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. The data files may include structured, unstructured and/or semi-structured data, such as unstructured text, audio, video, etc. Challenges include analysis, capture, curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, manipulation, analysis, visualization and information privacy.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Cloud/Virtualisation	Familiar with	The principles and application of cloud/ virtualisation (including ownership, responsibilities and security implications). Use of tools and systems to manage virtualised environments.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Development Approach	Proficient in	Understanding and application of different development approaches e.g. iterative/ incremental methodologies (Agile, XP, TDD, SCRUM) or traditional sequential methodologies (Waterfall or V-Model). Irrespective of development methodology a DevOps approach may also be taken where development and operational staff work collaboratively.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Release Management	Proficient in	The management of the processes, systems and functions to package, build, test and deploy changes and updates which are bounded as releases into the pre-production or production environment; concession management on acceptance of level of non- conforming release items.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
DevOps	Familiar with	The collaborative approach consisting of agile practices, processes, and procedures designed to facilitate rapid IT service and product delivery. DevOps emphasizes people (and culture) and seeks to improve collaboration between development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams with the aim of shortening the systems development life cycle to provide continuous release of high-quality software.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Agile	Familiar with	A collection of methods, practises, tools and techniques, underpinned by the Agile Manifesto, that enable teams to deliver high value products and services in small, workable, increments. An Agile culture typically encompasses concepts such as Servant-Leaders; ceremonies, Stand-Ups, Sprints and Retrospectives; and the deployment of tools and techniques such as Backlogs and A/B Testing.	Technical Knowledge and Skills
Document Management Techniques	Familiar with	Methods and techniques for the organisation, storage and version control of information in both paper and electronic formats.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Legislation	Aware of	Relevant national and international legislation.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Operations Management	Familiar with	Methods, techniques and tools for planning, organising, resourcing, directing, co- ordinating and monitoring ongoing (non-project) activities.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Quality Management	Familiar with	The system or method for the management of quality within the employing organisation’s Information Technology practices, including quality planning, assurance	Other Knowledge and Skills
Risk Management	Familiar with	Methods and techniques for the assessment and management of business risk including safety-related risk.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Techniques for Effective Meetings	Aware of	Methods and techniques for running effective meetings and for understanding and influencing the roles played by participants.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Project Planning and Control Techniques	Aware of	Methods and techniques associated with planning and monitoring progress of projects.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Information Assurance	Familiar with	Information assurance methods, tools and techniques (including the Caldicott Principles) used to protect the integrity, availability, authenticity, non-repudiation and confidentiality of user data and manage the risks related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information.	Other Knowledge and Skills

Training Activities

Training Components

Title	Details
Stakeholder Relationship Management	Negotiation, presentation and engagement skills to adapt and address the needs of different stakeholders to develop and maintain strong stakeholder relationships.
Systems Development	Systems development, including development life cycles and methods, organisation interfaces, typical corporate application architectures, project and programme management, risk management and change control.
Infrastructure Hardware and System Software	Hardware, communication networks and system software that provides the organisation’s IT infrastructure; features of the infrastructure that need to be taken account of in hardware/software installation, with due attention to sustainability impacts e.g. back-up and recovery, virtualisation techniques to optimise efficient energy use of system hardware components, load sharing in communication networks; availability and use of Cloud services.
Data Protection and GDPR	Data protection legislation, regulatory framework and compliance, including GDPR (General Data Protection Act).
Service Management	Principles, methods and techniques for managing IT services, including the preparation, understanding and use of Service Level Agreements, Operational Level Agreements and underpinning contracts.
Security Awareness	Tools and techniques to help users and employees understand the role they play in helping to combat information security breaches and for IT and security professionals to prevent and mitigate risk.
Health and Safety	Understanding statutory health and safety requirements relating to the working environment and/or the tools and techniques to promote, communicate, implement and maintain a health and safety culture.

PDAs

PDA Components

Title	Details
Deputising	Standing in for supervisor or manager on a temporary basis during periods of absence.
Job Shadowing and Special Assignments	Undertaking temporary periods or secondments in other roles, inside or outside IT, particularly those that offer a new perspective on own function or exposure to other environments and cultures.
Research Assignments	Exploring a topic which is not part of own normal responsibilities and presenting findings to colleagues and/or management
Gaining Knowledge of Activities of Employing Organisation	Developing an understanding of the potentially diverse range of activities (service, governance, administrative, regulatory, commercial, charitable, industrial, etc.) undertaken by the employing organisation.
Gaining Knowledge of IT Concepts and Techniques	Undertaking study, learning and, where possible, practice in IT concepts and techniques external to own function.
Participation in Professional Body Affairs	Taking an active part in professional body affairs at branch, specialist group, committee or board level.
Negotiating and Influencing	Undertaking learning and practice of negotiating with and influencing others.

Qualifications

Qualification Components

Title	Awarding Body
ITIL 4 Specialist Create, Deliver and Support (Managing Professional Module)	AXELOS
ITIL 4 Specialist High-velocity IT (Managing Professional Module)	AXELOS
ITIL 3 Capability Module Release, Control and Validation (Intermediate)	AXELOS
ITIL 3 Lifecycle Module Service Transition (Intermediate)	AXELOS
Registered IT Technician (RITTech)	BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT
FEDIP Practitioner	FEDIP

Organisation Skills

Framework » Organisation Category » Subcategory	Skill Name and Description	Level
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Asset and configuration management You can conduct life cycle management for assets including hardware, software, intellectual property, licences and warranties. You can manage usage, disposal, compliance, inventory, sustainability, cost optimisation and protection of the asset portfolio. You can help to improve investment decisions and capitalise on opportunities. You can comply with international standards for asset management. You can document information relating to assets including identification, classification and specification of all items, and information related to storage, access and versions. You can apply status accounting and auditing in line with relevant criteria.	2 – Working You can maintain secure configuration and accurate information, controlling IT assets in one or more significant areas. You can verify the location and state of assets.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Availability and capacity management You can define, analyse, plan, forecast, measure, maintain and improve all aspects of the availability of services, including power. You can control and manage service availability to meet business needs cost-effectively, including managing the capability, functionality and sustainability of service components (such as hardware, software, network resources, and software or	1 – Awareness You can show an awareness of availability and capacity management processes.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Change management You can manage service changes, configuration items, organisational change, supplier change and associated documentation. You can request changes in response to incidents or problems that provide effective control and reduction of risk to security performance and availability. You can ensure compliance of the business services impacted by the change. You can understand policy, principles and approach. You can apply understanding and knowledge in project or programme activities. You can develop experience in the use of change management tools and processes.	2 – Working You can analyse and assess impact and develop and document change requests. You can implement changes based on requests for change.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Continual service improvement You can identify and explore opportunities for service and business improvement. You can produce analysis and identify, prioritise and implement improvements and efficiencies, ensuring that the organisation derives maximum value from services. You can recognise the potential for automation of processes, determine costs and benefits of new approaches, and manage change or assist implementation where needed.	1 – Awareness You can show an awareness of developing process efficiency and common ways in which processes are optimised. You can support specific activities to improve development processes. You can spot or identify obvious deficiencies.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Incident management You can co-ordinate the response to incident reports, ensuring relevant prioritisation and detail to allow effective investigation. You can identify the correct procedures or channels for resolution and monitor resolution activity and progress updates for customers. You can understand the relevant change management tools and processes.	1 – Awareness You can identify and register incidents, gathering the required information and allocating it to the appropriate channel.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Ownership and initiative You can take ownership of problems and proactively resolve technical problems, ensuring that technical solutions continue to meet business requirements. You can take full accountability for the actions taken and decisions made.	1 – Awareness You can show an awareness of problem resolution processes. You can pass problems on to your team.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Problem management You can understand and identify problems, analysing and helping to identify the appropriate solution. You can classify and prioritise problems, document their causes and implement remedies.	1 – Awareness You can investigate problems in systems, processes and services, with an understanding of the level of a problem (for example, strategic, tactical or operational). You can contribute to the implementation of remedies and preventative measures.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Service focus You can maintain focus on the whole life of service delivery (designing, developing, delivering and operating). You can ensure that a set of IT products, suppliers and vendors come together to deliver an IT service.	1 – Awareness You can show an awareness of different products and services.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Service management framework knowledge You can show an in-depth understanding of service management framework principles and processes. You can apply the technical knowledge in project or programme activities.	1 – Awareness You have a Level 3 service management framework qualification.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Technical understanding You can demonstrate knowledge of the specific technologies necessary to fulfil the responsibilities and tasks of the role. You can apply the required breadth and depth of technical knowledge. You can actively keep informed of industry developments to make cost- effective use of new and emerging tools and technologies.	1 – Awareness You can show an awareness of the relevant subject matter and a high-level understanding of what it involves.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – User focus You can understand users and identify who they are and what their needs are, based on evidence. You can translate user stories and propose design approaches or services to meet these needs. You can engage in meaningful interactions and relationships with users. You can show that you put users first and can manage competing	1 – Awareness You can show an awareness or understanding of user experience analysis and its principles. You can explain the purpose of user stories and the focus on user needs.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Community collaboration You can contribute to the work of the community, building successful teams through understanding team styles and influencing and motivating team members. You can give and receive constructive feedback, enabling the feedback loop. You can moderate conflict resolution within teams. You can ensure that the team is transparent and that the work is understood externally. You can help teams maintain a focus on delivery while being aware of the importance of professional development.	2 – Working You can contribute to the work of others. You can motivate and empower teams. You can create the right environment for teams to work in and can identify the best team makeup depending on the situation. You can recognise and deal with issues.
DDaT » IT Operations Job Family	IT Ops – Continuity management You can provide service continuity planning and support. You can identify information and systems that support critical business processes, and assess the risks to their availability, integrity and confidentiality. You can co-ordinate planning, designing, testing and maintenance procedures and contingency plans, to address exposures and maintain agreed levels of continuity.	1 – Awareness You can show an awareness of the IT standard continuity management processes and procedures.

Framework » Organisation
Category » Subcategory

Skill Name and Description

Level