To ensure the quality of the IT environment for the future the majority of IT managers followed a strategy to introduce an IT change and release management application in the past few years. The present thesis researches if the implementations of the given success factors are leading to a successful implementation of a workflow-based IT change and release management application and will moreover find further success factors. This is done with help of five hypothesises. The five hypothesises are based on the HR change management issues, on the ITIL® reference model and on general process issues.
The HR change management offers with the eight step model of Kotter critical success factor for changes in the business. Publications of Kotter are used to illustrate that the described success factors lead to successful HR change implementation. The ITIL® reference model defines critical success factors for a successful IT change and release management implementation and are used for a research for the effectiveness of this model. The ITIL® reference model and process issues publications of the official ITIL® source and literature of Laudon & Laudon are used for the present thesis. In addition other researchers in this field are important mentioned as well.
Subsequent to that, the findings were integrated into the questionnaire and the interviews and used as well get an initial assessment. The mixture of the qualitative and quantitative approaches uses the strengths of both methods. The given answers strongly depend on the respondent’s point of view.
It becomes clear that a successful implementation of an IT change and release management application comes not only from the implementation of the HR change management issues but also from the implementation of the IT issues. The combination of HR and IT issues with their specialised success factors is the best way to gain a successful IT change and release management implementation. But the research discovered further improvements and optimisations which mainly deal with redesigned processes.
The process redesigns based on modification on the ITIL® reference model to optimise the IT change process. The optimisations include a skip of the formal RfC request form to shorten the whole process-chain during the application of an IT change. Furthermore an implementation of a key technical employee should be deploy to authorise the IT change instead of an authorisation of the central positioned change manager.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. The organisation
1.2. Course of the project
1.3. Aims
1.4. Demarcation
1.5. Procedure
2. Literature Review
2.1. Purpose of an IT change and release management
2.2. Critical success factors of organisational change management
2.3. Critical success factors of an IT system implementation
2.4. IT process modelling with the support of a reference models
2.5. Definition of success factors in IT projects
2.6. Hypotheses
3. Empirical Research Methodology
3.1. Research approaches
3.2. Population and Sampling
3.3. Data Analysis
3.4. Reliability
3.5. Limitations
3.6. Research timetable
4. Presentation and analysis of data
4.1. Demographical statistic
4.2. Results of questionnaire
4.3. Results of the interview
5. Conclusions and recommendations
5.1. Conclusion of the need of the IT change and release management
5.2. Conclusion of the demographical statistic
5.3. Conclusions of the hypothesises
5.4. Managerial recommendations for the organisation
5.5. Managerial recommendations for other companies
5.6. Theoretical implications
6. Reflection
Research Objective and Core Topics
The main objective of this master thesis is to analyze the success factors for implementing an IT change and release management application within the operational AB unit of the organization. The research investigates whether human resource change management issues and IT-specific success factors lead to a successful implementation and identifies potential process optimizations.
- Analysis of critical success factors in organizational change management (Kotter's model).
- Evaluation of ITIL-based reference models for IT process optimization.
- Comparison of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in IT project research.
- Assessment of the impact of transparency and standardized process design on user resistance.
- Development of managerial recommendations for effective IT change management integration.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1. Purpose of an IT change and release management
The project of implementing an IT change and release management application has the purpose to simplify and to structure the processes of all the IT changes inside of the IT landscape. To execute a modification on an IT system the IT administrator has to request it in the IT change and release management application. The IT administrator has to specify the modification on applications and server systems according to a given job plan which is a part of the IT service quality management to standardise operational sequences. Furthermore IT changes are documented and are able to cover difficulties in the run-up of the real modification during the workflow processes of the application and therefore resolved during planning instead of resolving the problem on the system themselves.
An IT administrator is able to see the impact to various other issues during planning an IT change. For an impact analyses the IT administrator has to attach a configuration item (CI) to the IT change. A CI contains information about the logical and structural part of an IT component. A CI can be a whole server system, a network card as well as a special application. The definition what a CI is is a job task of the configuration management team which is part of the IT change and release management and therefore an element of the ITSM department unit. With the indication of a CI in an IT change an impact analysis is possible to other IT systems inclusive their dependencies between IT components, frozen zones, blackout periods, maintenance windows as well as to other IT changes which can happens in the same time independent or dependent on the own requested IT change.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the organization and the IT infrastructure, defines the project goals, and outlines the thesis structure.
2. Literature Review: The chapter explores theoretical frameworks for organizational change management, success factors for IT implementations, and the application of reference models like ITIL.
3. Empirical Research Methodology: This section explains the chosen positivist research approach, including the combination of quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews.
4. Presentation and analysis of data: The chapter presents the statistical results from employee questionnaires and interview insights concerning IT change management.
5. Conclusions and recommendations: This chapter synthesizes findings to validate the hypotheses and provides managerial recommendations for future IT implementation improvements.
6. Reflection: The author reflects on the personal learning process, the challenges of academic work alongside professional duties, and the development of educational skills.
Keywords
IT Change Management, ITIL, Release Management, Success Factors, Organizational Change, CCMDB, MIS, Business Process Reengineering, IT Service Management, Empirical Research, Questionnaire, Qualitative Interviews, IT Infrastructure, Process Optimization, Human Resource Change Management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this master thesis?
The thesis focuses on analyzing the success factors for implementing an IT change and release management application, specifically examining the balance between HR change management and technical process implementation.
What are the central thematic fields?
The core themes include organizational change management (Kotter’s model), IT service management standards (ITIL, COBIT), and the impact of IT system implementation on business efficiency.
What is the central research question?
The research investigates whether implementing specific success factors—derived from HR change models and the ITIL reference model—leads to a successful, workflow-based IT change and release management implementation.
Which scientific methodologies were utilized?
The study employs a mixed-method approach, utilizing quantitative online questionnaires for broad data collection and semi-structured qualitative interviews for in-depth insights into management and technical perspectives.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body covers a comprehensive literature review, the empirical research methodology, the detailed presentation of the gathered data, and the subsequent analysis of these findings against established hypotheses.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include IT Change Management, ITIL, CCMDB, Success Factors, Organizational Change, and Management Information Systems (MIS).
Why is the role of the "Change Manager" challenged in the thesis?
The research suggests that relying solely on a centralized change manager can lead to bottlenecks; it proposes integrating technically knowledgeable employees into the authorization process to improve efficiency.
What role does the ITIL reference model play in this research?
The ITIL model serves as a standardized reference point; the research evaluates its applicability to the specific operational needs of the organization and suggests modifications for better process flow.
- Quote paper
- Jane Jurkscheit (Author), 2012, An analysis of the success factors in implementing an ITIL-based IT Change and Release Management Application, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/201983
