Optimizing Application Performance with Change Management Improvements

Abstract

Yes, the chapter title sounds intriguing—incomprehensible, but intriguing just the same. Application performance and change management seem to fit together like oil and water. For IT folks, the first thing that comes to mind when hearing change management is the ITIL ITSM process designed to minimize risks when changes are made to the production application environment. (Actually, what comes to mind before rational thought kicks in cannot be included here.) The change management process involves designing the change, testing the change, determining what impacts could occur, determining how the change can be backed out if it fails, testing the back-out, and then explaining the change and getting approval from the CAB to execute the change. A week has likely passed at this point, only to arrive at the place where the change is scheduled to occur. Change management must be accelerated to fit the DevOps methodology while keeping risk minimized. The DevOps approach requires extensive testing and the mandate to stop defects from progressing; the process is similar to workers on the manufacturing floor having the power to stop the line when problems occur that could impact safety or quality.