Keeping track of changes to equipment, software, procedures and anything else related to the information technology environment within an organization can be quite a feat. The better an organization can document these changes and keep track of changes to how things are done, the smoother these transitions will be, and it will be less likely for the changes to produce upheaval within the organization.

This policy will cover changes to processes, equipment, applications, and the process/personnel needed to make changes.

Use this policy as-is or customize it to meet your needs.

From the policy:

TESTING CHANGES

Wherever possible, a potential change should be tested in advance on non-critical systems to ensure that the work will be successful. This step is also key to identifying the exact steps involved with the change, as well as any potential pitfalls.

A test system or process for each configuration in use should be maintained within the IT department, either in a virtual capacity or on physical hardware, to facilitate testing changes to hardware and applications.