1. Purpose and Scope
The purpose of this Change Management Policy is to establish a structured approach for managing changes to Speak Ai Inc.'s ("Speak Ai") information systems, infrastructure, and processes. This policy aims to ensure that changes are made in a controlled and coordinated manner, minimizing the risk of disruption to services and maintaining the integrity and security of Speak Ai's environment. This policy applies to all employees, contractors, and third parties involved in making changes to Speak Ai's systems.
2. Policy Statement
Speak Ai is committed to maintaining a stable and secure operational environment. This policy outlines the procedures and responsibilities for requesting, approving, implementing, and reviewing changes to ensure that all modifications are carried out systematically and with minimal risk.
3. Change Management Process
Change Classification: Changes will be classified based on their potential impact and urgency. Categories may include:
Standard Changes: Pre-approved, low-risk changes that follow established procedures.
Normal Changes: Changes that require assessment and approval due to their potential impact.
Emergency Changes: Changes that need to be implemented urgently to address critical issues.
4. Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Technology Officer (CTO):
Oversight: The CTO is responsible for the overall oversight of the change management process. This includes ensuring that the process aligns with Speak Ai’s strategic objectives and risk management framework.
Approval Authority: The CTO has the authority to approve or reject significant change requests, particularly those that have a broad impact on the organization’s operations or security posture.
Policy Enforcement: The CTO ensures that the Change Management Policy is enforced and adhered to across the organization.
Communication: The CTO communicates the importance of the change management process to all stakeholders and ensures that changes are communicated effectively within the organization.
IT Manager/Team:
Change Coordination: The IT Manager/Team is responsible for coordinating the change management process. This includes receiving change requests, assessing their impact, and ensuring that they are processed in a timely and efficient manner.
Assessment and Documentation: The IT Manager/Team will conduct a thorough assessment of each change request, documenting the potential impact, risks, resource requirements, and rollback plans.
Implementation Planning: The IT Manager/Team is responsible for developing detailed implementation plans for approved changes. This includes defining the steps, resources, and timeline required to implement the change successfully.
Testing: The IT Manager/Team ensures that all changes are tested in a controlled environment before deployment to production. This includes validating that the change works as intended and does not introduce new issues.
Monitoring: The IT Manager/Team will monitor the implementation of changes, ensuring that they are executed according to the plan and that any issues are addressed promptly.
Post-Implementation Review: The IT Manager/Team conducts post-implementation reviews to evaluate the success of the change and identify any lessons learned. This includes documenting the outcomes and any deviations from the plan.
Emergency Changes: The IT Manager/Team is authorized to handle emergency changes. They must ensure that these changes are documented and communicated as soon as possible and reviewed retrospectively by the CTO.
Change Requester: The individual or team proposing the change is responsible for completing the CR form and providing all necessary information for assessment.
5. Change Approval
Assessment: Each change request will be assessed for its potential impact, risks, resource requirements, and alignment with business objectives. This assessment will be documented and reviewed by the CTO and IT Team.
Approval: The team will review the assessment and either approve, reject, or request additional information for the change request. Approved changes will be prioritized and scheduled for implementation.
6. Change Implementation
Implementation Plan: An implementation plan will be developed for each approved change. This plan will include detailed steps for executing the change, assigned responsibilities, and a timeline for completion.
Testing: Changes will be tested in a controlled environment before deployment to ensure that they function as intended and do not introduce new issues.
Prevention of Developer Access to Production Environments: Developers do not have access to production environments or any environments containing production data. Access to these environments is restricted to our operations team, who are responsible for deploying changes into production under strict procedural controls.
Security Review of Changes: A security review is mandatory for all changes before they are deployed into production. This review assesses the potential impact of the change on the security posture of our systems and ensures that all security requirements are met. The code is reviewed by branch management, and with automated vulnerability scan that alerts any possible issues.
Communication: Relevant stakeholders will be informed about the change schedule, potential impacts, and any required actions before, during, and after the implementation.
7. Post-Implementation Review
Verification: After the change is implemented, it will be verified to ensure that it has achieved its intended objectives without causing adverse effects.
Documentation: The results of the change implementation, including any issues encountered and how they were resolved, will be documented in the change log.
Review: The team will conduct a post-implementation review to evaluate the change process, identify lessons learned, and make recommendations for future improvements.
8. Emergency Changes
Procedure: Emergency changes must be documented and communicated as soon as possible. The Change Manager or a designated authority will approve emergency changes.
Review: All emergency changes will be reviewed retrospectively by the team to ensure that they were necessary and appropriately managed.
9. Compliance and Monitoring
Policy Compliance: Compliance with this policy is mandatory for all employees, contractors, and third parties involved in the change process. Non-compliance may result in disciplinary actions.
Monitoring: Regular audits will be conducted to ensure adherence to the change management process and identify areas for improvement.
10. Training and Awareness
Employee Training: All employees involved in the change management process will receive regular training on the policy, procedures, and best practices.
Ongoing Education: Continuous education programs will be conducted to keep staff informed about the latest change management techniques and tools.
11. Policy Review
This policy will be reviewed annually or as needed to ensure its effectiveness and alignment with industry best practices and emerging technologies. Changes to the policy will be communicated to all stakeholders.
12. Contact Information
For any inquiries or issues related to this Change Management Policy, please contact the Change Manager at [email protected].