Change and Release Manager

Summary

A change and release manager ensures that technical changes to IT services are adequately assessed for impact, prioritised, scheduled, authorised and implemented. They ensure this is done in line with processes and using appropriate tools. They chair the Change Advisory Board (CAB).

At this role level, you will:

provide an escalation point
make decisions for all technical changes
co-ordinate releases and interdependencies

Background

Background Components

Description	Background
Has practical knowledge of release and deployment systems, including the monitoring of strengths and weaknesses. Demonstrates good working knowledge of own organisation’s policy framework, management structures and reporting procedures for the release management environment (within a change control context) and evidence of practical involvement in all stages of the information systems lifecycle, from feasibility through to support and in all stages of the service lifecycle.	Prior Knowledge and Skills

Description

Background

Has practical knowledge of release and deployment systems, including the monitoring of strengths and weaknesses. Demonstrates good working knowledge of own organisation’s policy framework, management structures and reporting procedures for the release management environment (within a change control context) and evidence of practical involvement in all stages of the information systems lifecycle, from feasibility through to support and in all stages of the service lifecycle.

Prior Knowledge and Skills

Work Activity Components

Title	Details
Process and procedures	Acts as process owner for the change management process. Leads the assessment and analysis of change based on requests for change.
Plans and schedules	Develops implementation plans for complex requests for change, in terms of the overall assessment, approval and schedule for implementation, rather than the technical implementation.
Change development and implementation	Leads the development and implementation of changes, in terms of ensuring their progress through the change management process (rather than the technical development and
Status and progress reporting	Provides documentation including management information and statistics on the progress of changes for stakeholders, including performance against service level agreements.
Awareness	Promotes awareness of the importance of a structured change control process, working with other service management functions to ensure effective operation of the change control process and the consistency of procedures.
Supports and chairs meetings	Ensures that changes are properly impact-assessed and authorised. Chairs meetings that review and progress the control of changes, such as change advisory boards (CABs).
Risk evaluation	Evaluates risks to the integrity of service environment inherent in proposed changes and change implementations (including availability, performance, security and compliance of the business services impacted).
Change management system	Contributes to the evaluation or establishment of the change control system, ensuring conformance to documentation standards. Maintains the change control system in accordance with agreed procedures.
Review and audit	Reviews the effectiveness of change implementation, suggests improvement to organisational procedures governing change control. Participates in audits of the change control process and takes responsibility for resulting actions based on findings and recommendations.
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.
Compliance	Ensures that release process elements are in full compliance with security policy and relevant national or international standards, for example ISO9001, ISO 20001, ISO 22301, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley
Release and deployment	Leads the assessment, analysis, planning and design of release packages, including assessment of risk. Liaises with business and IT partners on release scheduling and communication of progress. Ensures that releases processes and procedures are applied and that releases can be rolled back as needed.
Processes, tools and methods	Identifies, evaluates and manages the adoption of appropriate release and deployment techniques, processes and tools, including automation tools, application management tools for software dependency, versioning and library/configuration control. Ensures that release and deployment processes and procedures are applied.
Post-release review	Conducts post-release reviews to inform improvement to processes and procedures and keeps stakeholders informed.

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
Planning and Organisation		Determining a course of action by breaking it down into smaller steps and by planning and resourcing each of these, making allowance for potential problems and escalating if necessary.	Behavioural Skills
Decision Making		Making decisions at the appropriate time, taking into account the needs of the situation, priorities, constraints, known risks, and the availability of necessary information and resources.	Behavioural Skills
Attention to Detail		Applying specific quality standards to all tasks undertaken to ensure that deliverables are accurate and complete.	Behavioural Skills
Organisational Awareness		Understanding the hierarchy and culture of own, customer, supplier and partner organisations and being able to identify the decision makers and influencers.	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
Follow-up and Monitoring		Checking progress against targets, taking action to resolve exceptions/ issues and reporting and escalating where necessary.	Behavioural Skills
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	Proficient in	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	Proficient in	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
Own Organisation’s IT Products and Services	Proficient in	The IT products and/or services supplied to internal and external customers by own organisation.	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	Familiar with	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	Proficient in	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	Proficient in	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	Proficient in	Methods and techniques for the organisation, storage and version control of information in both paper and electronic formats.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Legislation	Familiar with	Relevant national and international legislation.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Operations Management	Proficient in	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	Proficient in	Methods and techniques for the assessment and management of business risk including safety-related risk.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Techniques for Effective Meetings	Familiar with	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	Familiar with	Methods and techniques associated with planning and monitoring progress of projects.	Other Knowledge and Skills
Custom Knowledge/Skills Components
Information Assurance	Proficient in	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
Service Delivery	The service delivery processes: the systems, products, services, hardware and software environment.
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.
Project Assignments	Participating in a project team, working group or task force established to deliver a solution to a specific problem or issue – especially valuable if the group is inter-disciplinary.
Mentoring	Acting as a mentor, advising those for whom there is no direct responsibility, on matters to do with their job role, career and professional development.
Research Assignments	Exploring a topic which is not part of own normal responsibilities and presenting findings to colleagues and/or management
Gaining Knowledge of Broader IT Issues	Increasing and maintaining currency of knowledge of broader IT issues through reading, attending and participating in seminars or conferences, special studies, temporary assignments etc.
Gaining Strategic Knowledge of Employing Organisation	Developing a comprehensive understanding of the business environment in which the employing organisation operates and its position, policies and direction in relation to industry, country and global issues.
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.
Team Leadership	Undertaking learning and practice of the skills required to lead teams, including motivation, direction, coaching, delegation, appraisal, counselling and developing others.

Qualifications

Qualification Components

Title	Awarding Body
ITIL 4 Specialist Drive Stakeholder Value (Managing Professional	AXELOS
ITIL 4 Strategist Direct, Plan and Improve (Managing Professional / Strategic Leader Module)	AXELOS
ITIL 3 Capability Module Release, Control and Validation (Intermediate)	AXELOS
ITIL 3 Lifecycle Module Service Transition (Intermediate)	AXELOS
Chartered IT Professional (CITP)	BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT
FEDIP Senior 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.	4 – Expert You can manage configuration management for the organisation, ensuring value for the business and adherence to company policies. You can ensure that changes to assets are recorded and controlled appropriately. You can advocate organisational commitment to asset control.
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	2 – Working You can manage service components to ensure they meet business needs and performance targets.
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.	4 – Expert You can demonstrate broad industry experience in change management and can implement a successful change management process from zero to full maturity. You can champion change management, actively improving and optimising current processes.
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.	2 – Working You can identify process optimisation opportunities with guidance, and contribute to the implementation of proposed solutions.
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.	2 – Working You can diagnose and prioritise incidents, investigate their causes and find resolutions.
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.	2 – Working You can own an issue until a new owner has been found or the problem has been mitigated or resolved.
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.	2 – Working You can initiate and monitor actions to investigate patterns and trends to resolve problems. You can effectively consult specialists where required. You can determine the appropriate remedy and assist with its implementation. You can determine 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.	2 – Working You can take inputs and establish coherent frameworks that work.
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.	2 – Working You can understand the core technical concepts related to the role and apply them with guidance.
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	2 – Working You can identify and engage with users or stakeholders to collate user needs evidence. You can understand and define research that fits user needs. You can use quantitative and qualitative data about users to turn user focus into outcomes.
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.	3 – Practitioner You can work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others. You can adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting. You can use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them. You can identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team and help to stimulate the right responses.
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