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Summary
This article explains how to submit an IT Change Request and what happens throughout the change process, from initial submission to final confirmation. It covers the roles of requesters, approvers, responsible staff, and the Change Advisory Board (CAB), including the different paths for Normal, Emergency, and Standard change types.
Who This Article Is For
This article is for any authorized County employee involved in submitting, reviewing, approving, or implementing IT Change Requests, including ITS staff and technical personnel from other departments.
How to Submit a Change Request
Any authorized County employee can submit a change request using the forms in the IT Service Portal. To go directly to the Change Request form, visit Request a New Change. You’ll be asked to select the correct change type: Normal, Emergency, or Standard.
Normal changes are used for planned, non-emergency modifications that don’t qualify as standard changes. They may require additional approvals, including CAB review. Emergency changes are reserved for urgent situations and are only appropriate when all of the following conditions are true:
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The change is required to resolve a Priority 1 incident.
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The change is being made at the direction of Information Security Operations.
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The change cannot be completed within the Normal change review window.
Standard changes are low-risk, pre-approved changes. Users simply choose the appropriate change from a predefined list and answer a few short questions. No approvals are required, and the request goes straight to task assignment.
What Happens After Submission
After a change request is initially requested, it is assigned to the person or group responsible for its completion. That person is responsible for filling in any missing information and ensuring the request is accurate. They must complete a task in TeamDynamix (TDX) to officially submit the change and launch the approval process.
Important: The change will not be submitted for approval until this is task is completed!
Approval Process Overview
All Normal and Emergency changes require an approval from an ITS manager. ITS Security approval may be needed if a change meets certain criteria as specified on the change form. An optional peer approver may be added if the requestor would like someone to vet the change before the management approval occurs.
Approvers will receive email notifications, but they can also visit the page in the Service Portal to view all pending approvals. If any approver rejects the change, the ticket is automatically canceled.
CAB Review and Approval
Once approvals are complete, the Change Manager reviews the request. If everything is in order, they complete a task in TDX to submit the change to CAB. This task is generated automatically when previous approvals are finished.
The CAB meets every Tuesday to review all submitted Normal changes and vote on whether to approve them. A follow-up meeting is held on Wednesdays to present upcoming approved changes and other relevant topics to a wider audience.
Task Assignment and Implementation
If a Normal or Emergency change is approved by CAB, or if a Standard change is submitted, implementation tasks are assigned to the responsible person or group. After completing the assigned change, the team member who completed the work marks the task as complete in TDX.
Completion Confirmation and Closure
After all tasks are marked complete, the responsible person receives an email asking them to confirm the outcome of the change. They can select one of the following options:
Once their response is submitted, the original requestor -- if different from the person responsible for the ticket -- receives a similar email with the same confirmation options. If both individuals confirm the change was successful, the ticket automatically closes. If either party reports a failure, a task is created for the Change Manager to review the outcome and take any necessary follow-up actions.
Notifications
Throughout the change lifecycle, automated notifications are sent to the requestor, the responsible person, and any users listed as contacts on the change ticket. These notifications provide updates on approval status, task assignments, and final outcomes.
Need Help?
If you have questions about the change process or need clarification on any part of this process, please contact the Change Manager, Patty Cox, at Patricia.Cox@gwinnettcounty.com.