Change Control
Change control within quality management systems (QMS) and information technology (IT) systems is a formal process used to ensure that changes to a product or system are introduced in a controlled and coordinated manner. It reduces the possibility that unnecessary changes will be introduced to a system without forethought, introducing faults into the system or undoing changes made by other users of software. The goals of a change control procedure usually include minimal disruption to services, reduction in back-out activities, and cost-effective utilization of resources involved in implementing change.
Change control is currently used in a wide variety of products and systems. For IT systems it is a major aspect of the broader discipline of change management. Typical examples from the computer and network environments are patches to software products, installation of new operating systems, upgrades to network routing tables, or changes to the electrical power systems supporting such infrastructure.
Certain portions of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library cover change control.
Change Control Board (CCB)
In software development, a Change Control Board (CCB) or Software Change Control Board (SCCB) is a committee that makes decisions regarding whether or not proposed changes to a software project should be implemented. In short any changes to the Baseline Requirements agreed with the client, should be taken up by project team on approval from this committee. If any change is agreed by the committee, it is communicated to the project team and client and the requirement is Baselined with the change. The change control board is constituted of project stakeholders or their representatives. The authority of the change control board may vary from project to project, but decisions reached by the change control board are often accepted as final and binding. The decision of acceptance of the changes also depends upon the stage or phase of the project. The main objective of CCB or SCCB is to ensure acceptance of the project (deliverable) by the client.
A typical change control board consists of the development manager, the test lead and a product manager. In few of the cases the client representation is also done in CCB to ensure the acceptance of the deliverable.