What metrics should you use to evaluate IT change management processes?

1 Change Volume

One of the simplest metrics to track is the number of changes that your IT organization handles over a given period of time. This can help you understand the demand and workload of your change management team, as well as the complexity and scope of the changes that you implement. You can also compare the change volume across different categories, such as emergency, normal, or standard changes, to identify the sources and types of changes that require more attention and resources.

2 Change Success Rate

Another important metric to measure is the percentage of changes that are completed successfully, without causing any incidents, errors, or disruptions to the IT services or systems. This can help you assess the quality and effectiveness of your change management processes, as well as the skills and competencies of your change management team. You can also analyze the factors that contribute to the success or failure of your changes, such as the level of testing, approval, communication, and documentation.

3 Change Lead Time

Change lead time is the metric that measures the duration between the initiation and completion of a change request. This can help you evaluate the efficiency and agility of your change management processes, as well as the alignment and collaboration between different IT teams and stakeholders. You can also benchmark your change lead time against industry standards or best practices, and identify the bottlenecks or delays that affect your change delivery time.

4 Change Backlog

Change backlog is the metric that measures the number of change requests that are pending or in progress at any given time. This can help you monitor the capacity and utilization of your change management resources, as well as the prioritization and scheduling of your changes. You can also use this metric to forecast the demand and supply of your change management services, and plan accordingly for resource allocation, risk mitigation, and customer expectation management.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?