What slows down our change approvals

Report

Written by Lontra from 9 conversations, 3 shared documents and 3 Deep Study conversations.

The answer

A change waits mostly between the steps, not in them: for Monday's cut-off, for the next agenda after a return, and for a security review that is asked for only after the board's first look.

Nobody described the board or security taking long to decide once they looked. The waits sit around them: a weekly cycle, a third of requests returned for the same missing item, and a status that does not change until the end.

What people said

A request that misses Monday noon waits for the following week's board 6 of 9 people Strong signal

Papers close on Monday at noon for a Thursday meeting, so a request raised on a Tuesday waits nine days to be seen and one raised on Monday morning waits three. One requester now plans three weeks for a change that the operations lead says can take twenty minutes in the window.

“I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board.”Application developer, 5 years in role

Show all 4 quotes and their conversations

“I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board.”

Application developer, 5 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Application developer, 5 years in role · Raises two or three changes a month

Lontra
Think of the last change you raised. What happened between submitting it and it going live?

Application developer
A one-line configuration change on the document upload service. Twenty minutes of actual work. I submitted it in early June and it went live on 9 July.

Lontra
Where did the time go?

Application developer
I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board. The week after, it was sent back: rollback plan missing. I'd put 'revert the setting' and apparently that isn't a rollback plan. Then I resubmitted and it needed security.

Lontra
The history you shared shows the security review was requested on 23 June, thirteen days after you submitted. Did you know it would be needed?

Application developer
No. The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data. I found out when security emailed me.

Lontra
How do you fill in the form?

Application developer
I copy my last one and change the bits. It's thirty-eight fields. The board reads four of them, I'm told.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Application developer
I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.

Lontra
How many changes do you raise?

Application developer
Two or three a month.

Lontra
What would you change first?

Application developer
Show me the status. And ask the security question on the form, so I find out on day one, not day thirteen.
“A week. Two if I miss Monday.”

Infrastructure engineer, 10 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Infrastructure engineer, 10 years in role · Network and servers, raises changes weekly

Lontra
How often do you raise changes?

Infrastructure engineer
Weekly. Network and servers.

Lontra
How long do they take to get approved?

Infrastructure engineer
Depends. A week. Two if I miss Monday.

Lontra
What do you do when it can't wait?

Infrastructure engineer
Emergency. Same day, usually.

Lontra
How do you know where a request is?

Infrastructure engineer
I don't. Email the admin.

Lontra
Is there anything else you'd want the board to know?

Infrastructure engineer
No. It's the process.
“I plan for three weeks now. I used to plan for one.”

Project manager, business side, 2 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Project manager, business side, 2 years in role · Raises changes for her project's releases, not a technical person

Lontra
What changes do you raise, and what was the first one like?

Project manager
Releases for my project. I'm not technical. The first time I filled the form in it came back the following week for the rollback plan. I'd no idea what a rollback plan was. I rang a developer to write it for me.

Lontra
How long do you plan between deciding a release date and having approval?

Project manager
I plan for three weeks now. I used to plan for one.

Lontra
What changed?

Project manager
I learned. Papers close Monday at noon. Anything after that is next week. And I know I'll probably be sent back once, so I submit two weeks ahead, not one.

Lontra
Does security come into it?

Project manager
Only if the board asks. For my last release they asked on the Thursday and then security took five days. I'd have gone to security first if I'd known. Nobody told me.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Project manager
I look at the agenda the admin sends on Tuesday night. If I'm not on it, I'm waiting.

Lontra
What would you change?

Project manager
Tell me up front what a request needs. A checklist.
“Submit on a Tuesday, nine days. Submit on a Monday morning, three.”

Change administrator, 4 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change administrator, 4 years in role · Runs the process and the weekly agenda

Lontra
What does a normal week look like for you?

Change administrator
Papers close Monday at noon. Monday afternoon I build the pack, Tuesday night it goes out with the agenda, Thursday is the board, Friday I send the outcomes. In between I'm answering emails. About twenty-five a week. Where's my change?

Lontra
What are they asking?

Change administrator
Mostly has it been seen, am I on Thursday's agenda, why was it sent back.

Lontra
How long does a request take from submission to approval?

Change administrator
Submit on a Tuesday, nine days. Submit on a Monday morning, three. That's if it's approved first time.

Lontra
The log you shared shows 87 requests heard over six boards, and 30 of them returned for information. What happens to those 30?

Change administrator
They go on the next agenda once they're resubmitted, if the missing piece is in by Monday noon. Mostly it isn't, first time, so it's another week or two. It's usually the rollback plan. Sometimes the test evidence.

Lontra
And when security is involved?

Change administrator
Security only comes in after the board has asked, so for those changes it's two cycles.

Lontra
How does the emergency route work?

Change administrator
Two board members sign it off by email, same day. It's meant for outages. I log them, and it's more than it should be if it's only for outages.

Lontra
If you could change one thing, what would it be?

Change administrator
Let people see where their request is. A status field. I'd stop answering half of those emails. And it's not one thing. It's the Monday cut-off, the send-backs and the second look all stacking up.

Security looks at a change only after the board asks, which adds a second wait 5 of 9 people Strong signal

Neither the form nor the requester's route says when a change needs a security review. The board asks for one at its meeting, the review joins a queue, and the change comes back on a later agenda.

“The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data.”Application developer, 5 years in role

Show all 4 quotes and their conversations

“The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data.”

Application developer, 5 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Application developer, 5 years in role · Raises two or three changes a month

Lontra
Think of the last change you raised. What happened between submitting it and it going live?

Application developer
A one-line configuration change on the document upload service. Twenty minutes of actual work. I submitted it in early June and it went live on 9 July.

Lontra
Where did the time go?

Application developer
I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board. The week after, it was sent back: rollback plan missing. I'd put 'revert the setting' and apparently that isn't a rollback plan. Then I resubmitted and it needed security.

Lontra
The history you shared shows the security review was requested on 23 June, thirteen days after you submitted. Did you know it would be needed?

Application developer
No. The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data. I found out when security emailed me.

Lontra
How do you fill in the form?

Application developer
I copy my last one and change the bits. It's thirty-eight fields. The board reads four of them, I'm told.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Application developer
I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.

Lontra
How many changes do you raise?

Application developer
Two or three a month.

Lontra
What would you change first?

Application developer
Show me the status. And ask the security question on the form, so I find out on day one, not day thirteen.
“I'd have gone to security first if I'd known. Nobody told me.”

Project manager, business side, 2 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Project manager, business side, 2 years in role · Raises changes for her project's releases, not a technical person

Lontra
What changes do you raise, and what was the first one like?

Project manager
Releases for my project. I'm not technical. The first time I filled the form in it came back the following week for the rollback plan. I'd no idea what a rollback plan was. I rang a developer to write it for me.

Lontra
How long do you plan between deciding a release date and having approval?

Project manager
I plan for three weeks now. I used to plan for one.

Lontra
What changed?

Project manager
I learned. Papers close Monday at noon. Anything after that is next week. And I know I'll probably be sent back once, so I submit two weeks ahead, not one.

Lontra
Does security come into it?

Project manager
Only if the board asks. For my last release they asked on the Thursday and then security took five days. I'd have gone to security first if I'd known. Nobody told me.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Project manager
I look at the agenda the admin sends on Tuesday night. If I'm not on it, I'm waiting.

Lontra
What would you change?

Project manager
Tell me up front what a request needs. A checklist.
“We ask at the meeting, so it adds a week at least.”

Change board member, senior IT manager

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change board member, senior IT manager · Seven years on the board, chairs the weekly meeting

Lontra
What does the board do in its weekly meeting?

Change board member
We go through the agenda, forty minutes or so. Fifteen, sixteen requests. We look at the summary, the risk rating, the rollback plan and the window. If those four are there we approve.

Lontra
How many get approved at the first meeting?

Change board member
Nearly everything. We rarely turn anything down.

Lontra
You said nearly everything is approved at the first meeting, and also that a request needs those four things. What happens when one of them is missing?

Change board member
It's returned for information. That's different from turning down.

Lontra
How many are returned?

Change board member
Perhaps a third. So approved, yes, in the end, but not that week.

Lontra
What is usually missing?

Change board member
Rollback plan, nine times in ten.

Lontra
When are the papers due?

Change board member
Monday at noon. The admin needs Monday afternoon to build the pack and we need Tuesday and Wednesday to read it. Fair, I think.

Lontra
Would you take later papers?

Change board member
No. If you can't read them, you can't approve them.

Lontra
What about security?

Change board member
We ask for a review when a change touches personal data or payments. We ask at the meeting, so it adds a week at least.

Lontra
Would you meet more than once a week?

Change board member
We've talked about it. We need five for a quorum and getting five people in a room twice a week is hard.
“It's usually after the board's first look.”

Security analyst, 6 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Security analyst, 6 years in role · Reviews changes that touch personal data or payments

Lontra
When does a change reach you?

Security analyst
When the board asks for a review, or the requester remembers to ask. It's usually after the board's first look.

Lontra
How long does a review take?

Security analyst
The review itself, a day or two. But it joins a queue. There are two of us.

Lontra
What would you want to be different?

Security analyst
To see it before the board does. If we reviewed it when it's submitted, the board would get our view on the same agenda.

Lontra
What happens when you have more questions for the requester?

Security analyst
It goes back and the clock restarts.

Lontra
Do you think the review is the slow part?

Security analyst
No. The waiting for it to start is. And I wouldn't want to make it shorter than it is. The point is to look properly, otherwise there's no point.

About one request in three is returned for information, usually the rollback plan 5 of 9 people Strong signal

The board approves nearly everything in the end, but 30 of the 87 requests it heard in six weeks were returned. A returned request goes to the next agenda once the missing piece is in, so a missing rollback plan costs at least another week.

“Perhaps a third. So approved, yes, in the end, but not that week.”Change board member, senior IT manager

Show all 4 quotes and their conversations

“Perhaps a third. So approved, yes, in the end, but not that week.”

Change board member, senior IT manager

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change board member, senior IT manager · Seven years on the board, chairs the weekly meeting

Lontra
What does the board do in its weekly meeting?

Change board member
We go through the agenda, forty minutes or so. Fifteen, sixteen requests. We look at the summary, the risk rating, the rollback plan and the window. If those four are there we approve.

Lontra
How many get approved at the first meeting?

Change board member
Nearly everything. We rarely turn anything down.

Lontra
You said nearly everything is approved at the first meeting, and also that a request needs those four things. What happens when one of them is missing?

Change board member
It's returned for information. That's different from turning down.

Lontra
How many are returned?

Change board member
Perhaps a third. So approved, yes, in the end, but not that week.

Lontra
What is usually missing?

Change board member
Rollback plan, nine times in ten.

Lontra
When are the papers due?

Change board member
Monday at noon. The admin needs Monday afternoon to build the pack and we need Tuesday and Wednesday to read it. Fair, I think.

Lontra
Would you take later papers?

Change board member
No. If you can't read them, you can't approve them.

Lontra
What about security?

Change board member
We ask for a review when a change touches personal data or payments. We ask at the meeting, so it adds a week at least.

Lontra
Would you meet more than once a week?

Change board member
We've talked about it. We need five for a quorum and getting five people in a room twice a week is hard.
“I'd no idea what a rollback plan was.”

Project manager, business side, 2 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Project manager, business side, 2 years in role · Raises changes for her project's releases, not a technical person

Lontra
What changes do you raise, and what was the first one like?

Project manager
Releases for my project. I'm not technical. The first time I filled the form in it came back the following week for the rollback plan. I'd no idea what a rollback plan was. I rang a developer to write it for me.

Lontra
How long do you plan between deciding a release date and having approval?

Project manager
I plan for three weeks now. I used to plan for one.

Lontra
What changed?

Project manager
I learned. Papers close Monday at noon. Anything after that is next week. And I know I'll probably be sent back once, so I submit two weeks ahead, not one.

Lontra
Does security come into it?

Project manager
Only if the board asks. For my last release they asked on the Thursday and then security took five days. I'd have gone to security first if I'd known. Nobody told me.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Project manager
I look at the agenda the admin sends on Tuesday night. If I'm not on it, I'm waiting.

Lontra
What would you change?

Project manager
Tell me up front what a request needs. A checklist.
“It's nearly always the rollback plan, or a window that clashes with the Friday peak.”

Change board member, business operations

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change board member, business operations · Two years on the board, reads for operational impact

Lontra
What do you look at when you sit on the board?

Change board member
I'm there for the operational impact. Will this stop a depot working? I read the summary and the window.

Lontra
How often are requests returned?

Change board member
A few every meeting. It's nearly always the rollback plan, or a window that clashes with the Friday peak.

Lontra
What do you see of how long a request has already waited before it reaches you?

Change board member
Nothing. I see it on the agenda. I don't know if it was submitted on Tuesday or three weeks ago.

Lontra
Does the wait come up at the meeting?

Change board member
Not really. Our job is to decide on the paper in front of us. That bit we do quickly.

Lontra
What would help you?

Change board member
The date it was submitted, on the agenda. That would change how I read it.
“I'd put 'revert the setting' and apparently that isn't a rollback plan.”

Application developer, 5 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Application developer, 5 years in role · Raises two or three changes a month

Lontra
Think of the last change you raised. What happened between submitting it and it going live?

Application developer
A one-line configuration change on the document upload service. Twenty minutes of actual work. I submitted it in early June and it went live on 9 July.

Lontra
Where did the time go?

Application developer
I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board. The week after, it was sent back: rollback plan missing. I'd put 'revert the setting' and apparently that isn't a rollback plan. Then I resubmitted and it needed security.

Lontra
The history you shared shows the security review was requested on 23 June, thirteen days after you submitted. Did you know it would be needed?

Application developer
No. The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data. I found out when security emailed me.

Lontra
How do you fill in the form?

Application developer
I copy my last one and change the bits. It's thirty-eight fields. The board reads four of them, I'm told.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Application developer
I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.

Lontra
How many changes do you raise?

Application developer
Two or three a month.

Lontra
What would you change first?

Application developer
Show me the status. And ask the security question on the form, so I find out on day one, not day thirteen.

Requesters cannot see where their request is, so they ask 5 of 9 people Strong signal

The status reads Submitted until it reads Approved. Requesters email the administrator, ring the service desk or ring the person who carries out the change. The administrator answers about 25 such emails a week.

“I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.”Application developer, 5 years in role

Show all 4 quotes and their conversations

“I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.”

Application developer, 5 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Application developer, 5 years in role · Raises two or three changes a month

Lontra
Think of the last change you raised. What happened between submitting it and it going live?

Application developer
A one-line configuration change on the document upload service. Twenty minutes of actual work. I submitted it in early June and it went live on 9 July.

Lontra
Where did the time go?

Application developer
I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board. The week after, it was sent back: rollback plan missing. I'd put 'revert the setting' and apparently that isn't a rollback plan. Then I resubmitted and it needed security.

Lontra
The history you shared shows the security review was requested on 23 June, thirteen days after you submitted. Did you know it would be needed?

Application developer
No. The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data. I found out when security emailed me.

Lontra
How do you fill in the form?

Application developer
I copy my last one and change the bits. It's thirty-eight fields. The board reads four of them, I'm told.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Application developer
I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.

Lontra
How many changes do you raise?

Application developer
Two or three a month.

Lontra
What would you change first?

Application developer
Show me the status. And ask the security question on the form, so I find out on day one, not day thirteen.
“If I'm not on it, I'm waiting.”

Project manager, business side, 2 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Project manager, business side, 2 years in role · Raises changes for her project's releases, not a technical person

Lontra
What changes do you raise, and what was the first one like?

Project manager
Releases for my project. I'm not technical. The first time I filled the form in it came back the following week for the rollback plan. I'd no idea what a rollback plan was. I rang a developer to write it for me.

Lontra
How long do you plan between deciding a release date and having approval?

Project manager
I plan for three weeks now. I used to plan for one.

Lontra
What changed?

Project manager
I learned. Papers close Monday at noon. Anything after that is next week. And I know I'll probably be sent back once, so I submit two weeks ahead, not one.

Lontra
Does security come into it?

Project manager
Only if the board asks. For my last release they asked on the Thursday and then security took five days. I'd have gone to security first if I'd known. Nobody told me.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Project manager
I look at the agenda the admin sends on Tuesday night. If I'm not on it, I'm waiting.

Lontra
What would you change?

Project manager
Tell me up front what a request needs. A checklist.
“I get rung most weeks by a requester asking if their change has been approved”

Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role · Carries out approved changes in the overnight window

Lontra
Where do you come in?

Operations lead
I carry out the changes. Overnight window, Wednesday and Saturday nights. I get the approved list on Thursday afternoon.

Lontra
How do requesters know when theirs will go in?

Operations lead
They don't, until the list. I get rung most weeks by a requester asking if their change has been approved, and I only know once the list comes out.

Lontra
What is your view of the wait?

Operations lead
The wait for the board is the whole problem, in my view. Nine days for something that's twenty minutes in the window.

Lontra
What happens when something can't wait nine days?

Operations lead
People raise it as emergency, because the next board is nine days away. I've seen a change that was planned in March go through emergency in April because it missed papers twice.

Lontra
What's on the list you get?

Operations lead
Twenty or so a week. Most of what I see is small stuff that's the same every time. It shouldn't need a board.

Lontra
What would you change?

Operations lead
Pre-approve the routine ones. A list of changes that are fine to do without asking.
“About twenty-five a week. Where's my change?”

Change administrator, 4 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change administrator, 4 years in role · Runs the process and the weekly agenda

Lontra
What does a normal week look like for you?

Change administrator
Papers close Monday at noon. Monday afternoon I build the pack, Tuesday night it goes out with the agenda, Thursday is the board, Friday I send the outcomes. In between I'm answering emails. About twenty-five a week. Where's my change?

Lontra
What are they asking?

Change administrator
Mostly has it been seen, am I on Thursday's agenda, why was it sent back.

Lontra
How long does a request take from submission to approval?

Change administrator
Submit on a Tuesday, nine days. Submit on a Monday morning, three. That's if it's approved first time.

Lontra
The log you shared shows 87 requests heard over six boards, and 30 of them returned for information. What happens to those 30?

Change administrator
They go on the next agenda once they're resubmitted, if the missing piece is in by Monday noon. Mostly it isn't, first time, so it's another week or two. It's usually the rollback plan. Sometimes the test evidence.

Lontra
And when security is involved?

Change administrator
Security only comes in after the board has asked, so for those changes it's two cycles.

Lontra
How does the emergency route work?

Change administrator
Two board members sign it off by email, same day. It's meant for outages. I log them, and it's more than it should be if it's only for outages.

Lontra
If you could change one thing, what would it be?

Change administrator
Let people see where their request is. A status field. I'd stop answering half of those emails. And it's not one thing. It's the Monday cut-off, the send-backs and the second look all stacking up.

The emergency route is the quickest way through, and is used when the weekly cycle is the reason it is urgent 3 of 9 people Emerging

The emergency route needs two board members and takes a day. People described using it for changes that were not outages but could not wait nine days. Nobody has looked at how many.

“Emergency. Same day, usually.”Infrastructure engineer, 10 years in role

Show all 3 quotes and their conversations

“Emergency. Same day, usually.”

Infrastructure engineer, 10 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Infrastructure engineer, 10 years in role · Network and servers, raises changes weekly

Lontra
How often do you raise changes?

Infrastructure engineer
Weekly. Network and servers.

Lontra
How long do they take to get approved?

Infrastructure engineer
Depends. A week. Two if I miss Monday.

Lontra
What do you do when it can't wait?

Infrastructure engineer
Emergency. Same day, usually.

Lontra
How do you know where a request is?

Infrastructure engineer
I don't. Email the admin.

Lontra
Is there anything else you'd want the board to know?

Infrastructure engineer
No. It's the process.
“People raise it as emergency, because the next board is nine days away.”

Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role · Carries out approved changes in the overnight window

Lontra
Where do you come in?

Operations lead
I carry out the changes. Overnight window, Wednesday and Saturday nights. I get the approved list on Thursday afternoon.

Lontra
How do requesters know when theirs will go in?

Operations lead
They don't, until the list. I get rung most weeks by a requester asking if their change has been approved, and I only know once the list comes out.

Lontra
What is your view of the wait?

Operations lead
The wait for the board is the whole problem, in my view. Nine days for something that's twenty minutes in the window.

Lontra
What happens when something can't wait nine days?

Operations lead
People raise it as emergency, because the next board is nine days away. I've seen a change that was planned in March go through emergency in April because it missed papers twice.

Lontra
What's on the list you get?

Operations lead
Twenty or so a week. Most of what I see is small stuff that's the same every time. It shouldn't need a board.

Lontra
What would you change?

Operations lead
Pre-approve the routine ones. A list of changes that are fine to do without asking.
“It's meant for outages. I log them, and it's more than it should be if it's only for outages.”

Change administrator, 4 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change administrator, 4 years in role · Runs the process and the weekly agenda

Lontra
What does a normal week look like for you?

Change administrator
Papers close Monday at noon. Monday afternoon I build the pack, Tuesday night it goes out with the agenda, Thursday is the board, Friday I send the outcomes. In between I'm answering emails. About twenty-five a week. Where's my change?

Lontra
What are they asking?

Change administrator
Mostly has it been seen, am I on Thursday's agenda, why was it sent back.

Lontra
How long does a request take from submission to approval?

Change administrator
Submit on a Tuesday, nine days. Submit on a Monday morning, three. That's if it's approved first time.

Lontra
The log you shared shows 87 requests heard over six boards, and 30 of them returned for information. What happens to those 30?

Change administrator
They go on the next agenda once they're resubmitted, if the missing piece is in by Monday noon. Mostly it isn't, first time, so it's another week or two. It's usually the rollback plan. Sometimes the test evidence.

Lontra
And when security is involved?

Change administrator
Security only comes in after the board has asked, so for those changes it's two cycles.

Lontra
How does the emergency route work?

Change administrator
Two board members sign it off by email, same day. It's meant for outages. I log them, and it's more than it should be if it's only for outages.

Lontra
If you could change one thing, what would it be?

Change administrator
Let people see where their request is. A status field. I'd stop answering half of those emails. And it's not one thing. It's the Monday cut-off, the send-backs and the second look all stacking up.

Where accounts differ

Whether the weekly board is what slows a change down

Requesters and the person who carries out changes say the wait for the board is the problem. Board members say they decide quickly on the paper in front of them, and that missing information is what holds requests up. Security and compliance say their step is not the part to shorten, only the wait for it to start. The administrator sees all three at once.

Requesters and operations 4 people

“The wait for the board is the whole problem, in my view.”

Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role · Carries out approved changes in the overnight window

Lontra
Where do you come in?

Operations lead
I carry out the changes. Overnight window, Wednesday and Saturday nights. I get the approved list on Thursday afternoon.

Lontra
How do requesters know when theirs will go in?

Operations lead
They don't, until the list. I get rung most weeks by a requester asking if their change has been approved, and I only know once the list comes out.

Lontra
What is your view of the wait?

Operations lead
The wait for the board is the whole problem, in my view. Nine days for something that's twenty minutes in the window.

Lontra
What happens when something can't wait nine days?

Operations lead
People raise it as emergency, because the next board is nine days away. I've seen a change that was planned in March go through emergency in April because it missed papers twice.

Lontra
What's on the list you get?

Operations lead
Twenty or so a week. Most of what I see is small stuff that's the same every time. It shouldn't need a board.

Lontra
What would you change?

Operations lead
Pre-approve the routine ones. A list of changes that are fine to do without asking.
“Anything after that is next week.”

Project manager, business side, 2 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Project manager, business side, 2 years in role · Raises changes for her project's releases, not a technical person

Lontra
What changes do you raise, and what was the first one like?

Project manager
Releases for my project. I'm not technical. The first time I filled the form in it came back the following week for the rollback plan. I'd no idea what a rollback plan was. I rang a developer to write it for me.

Lontra
How long do you plan between deciding a release date and having approval?

Project manager
I plan for three weeks now. I used to plan for one.

Lontra
What changed?

Project manager
I learned. Papers close Monday at noon. Anything after that is next week. And I know I'll probably be sent back once, so I submit two weeks ahead, not one.

Lontra
Does security come into it?

Project manager
Only if the board asks. For my last release they asked on the Thursday and then security took five days. I'd have gone to security first if I'd known. Nobody told me.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Project manager
I look at the agenda the admin sends on Tuesday night. If I'm not on it, I'm waiting.

Lontra
What would you change?

Project manager
Tell me up front what a request needs. A checklist.
“I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board.”

Application developer, 5 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Application developer, 5 years in role · Raises two or three changes a month

Lontra
Think of the last change you raised. What happened between submitting it and it going live?

Application developer
A one-line configuration change on the document upload service. Twenty minutes of actual work. I submitted it in early June and it went live on 9 July.

Lontra
Where did the time go?

Application developer
I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board. The week after, it was sent back: rollback plan missing. I'd put 'revert the setting' and apparently that isn't a rollback plan. Then I resubmitted and it needed security.

Lontra
The history you shared shows the security review was requested on 23 June, thirteen days after you submitted. Did you know it would be needed?

Application developer
No. The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data. I found out when security emailed me.

Lontra
How do you fill in the form?

Application developer
I copy my last one and change the bits. It's thirty-eight fields. The board reads four of them, I'm told.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Application developer
I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.

Lontra
How many changes do you raise?

Application developer
Two or three a month.

Lontra
What would you change first?

Application developer
Show me the status. And ask the security question on the form, so I find out on day one, not day thirteen.

Board members 2 people

“If you can't read them, you can't approve them.”

Change board member, senior IT manager

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change board member, senior IT manager · Seven years on the board, chairs the weekly meeting

Lontra
What does the board do in its weekly meeting?

Change board member
We go through the agenda, forty minutes or so. Fifteen, sixteen requests. We look at the summary, the risk rating, the rollback plan and the window. If those four are there we approve.

Lontra
How many get approved at the first meeting?

Change board member
Nearly everything. We rarely turn anything down.

Lontra
You said nearly everything is approved at the first meeting, and also that a request needs those four things. What happens when one of them is missing?

Change board member
It's returned for information. That's different from turning down.

Lontra
How many are returned?

Change board member
Perhaps a third. So approved, yes, in the end, but not that week.

Lontra
What is usually missing?

Change board member
Rollback plan, nine times in ten.

Lontra
When are the papers due?

Change board member
Monday at noon. The admin needs Monday afternoon to build the pack and we need Tuesday and Wednesday to read it. Fair, I think.

Lontra
Would you take later papers?

Change board member
No. If you can't read them, you can't approve them.

Lontra
What about security?

Change board member
We ask for a review when a change touches personal data or payments. We ask at the meeting, so it adds a week at least.

Lontra
Would you meet more than once a week?

Change board member
We've talked about it. We need five for a quorum and getting five people in a room twice a week is hard.
“Our job is to decide on the paper in front of us. That bit we do quickly.”

Change board member, business operations

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change board member, business operations · Two years on the board, reads for operational impact

Lontra
What do you look at when you sit on the board?

Change board member
I'm there for the operational impact. Will this stop a depot working? I read the summary and the window.

Lontra
How often are requests returned?

Change board member
A few every meeting. It's nearly always the rollback plan, or a window that clashes with the Friday peak.

Lontra
What do you see of how long a request has already waited before it reaches you?

Change board member
Nothing. I see it on the agenda. I don't know if it was submitted on Tuesday or three weeks ago.

Lontra
Does the wait come up at the meeting?

Change board member
Not really. Our job is to decide on the paper in front of us. That bit we do quickly.

Lontra
What would help you?

Change board member
The date it was submitted, on the agenda. That would change how I read it.

Security and compliance 2 people

“I wouldn't want to make it shorter than it is. The point is to look properly, otherwise there's no point.”

Security analyst, 6 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Security analyst, 6 years in role · Reviews changes that touch personal data or payments

Lontra
When does a change reach you?

Security analyst
When the board asks for a review, or the requester remembers to ask. It's usually after the board's first look.

Lontra
How long does a review take?

Security analyst
The review itself, a day or two. But it joins a queue. There are two of us.

Lontra
What would you want to be different?

Security analyst
To see it before the board does. If we reviewed it when it's submitted, the board would get our view on the same agenda.

Lontra
What happens when you have more questions for the requester?

Security analyst
It goes back and the clock restarts.

Lontra
Do you think the review is the slow part?

Security analyst
No. The waiting for it to start is. And I wouldn't want to make it shorter than it is. The point is to look properly, otherwise there's no point.
“We need to see it before it's approved, not after, for those ones.”

Compliance officer, 4 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Compliance officer, 4 years in role · Checks changes against audit requirements

Lontra
What does compliance need from a change?

Compliance officer
Evidence. That it was approved, who tested it, the date.

Lontra
When do you see it?

Compliance officer
After, mostly. It's an audit trail thing.

Lontra
Is there a point where you need to be involved before it's approved?

Compliance officer
For some. The regulated systems.

Lontra
How long does that take?

Compliance officer
Not long. Our bit is quick.

Lontra
Is there anything you'd change?

Compliance officer
We need to see it before it's approved, not after, for those ones. Otherwise it's fine.

Change administrator 1 person

“It's the Monday cut-off, the send-backs and the second look all stacking up.”

Change administrator, 4 years in role

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change administrator, 4 years in role · Runs the process and the weekly agenda

Lontra
What does a normal week look like for you?

Change administrator
Papers close Monday at noon. Monday afternoon I build the pack, Tuesday night it goes out with the agenda, Thursday is the board, Friday I send the outcomes. In between I'm answering emails. About twenty-five a week. Where's my change?

Lontra
What are they asking?

Change administrator
Mostly has it been seen, am I on Thursday's agenda, why was it sent back.

Lontra
How long does a request take from submission to approval?

Change administrator
Submit on a Tuesday, nine days. Submit on a Monday morning, three. That's if it's approved first time.

Lontra
The log you shared shows 87 requests heard over six boards, and 30 of them returned for information. What happens to those 30?

Change administrator
They go on the next agenda once they're resubmitted, if the missing piece is in by Monday noon. Mostly it isn't, first time, so it's another week or two. It's usually the rollback plan. Sometimes the test evidence.

Lontra
And when security is involved?

Change administrator
Security only comes in after the board has asked, so for those changes it's two cycles.

Lontra
How does the emergency route work?

Change administrator
Two board members sign it off by email, same day. It's meant for outages. I log them, and it's more than it should be if it's only for outages.

Lontra
If you could change one thing, what would it be?

Change administrator
Let people see where their request is. A status field. I'd stop answering half of those emails. And it's not one thing. It's the Monday cut-off, the send-backs and the second look all stacking up.

Documents

Change board outcomes, six weeks Shared by a participant

For each Thursday board: requests heard, approved, returned for information and rejected. 87 were heard; 55 approved, 30 returned, 2 rejected.

Shared by: Change administrator, 4 years in role

Open the document

The line Lontra asked about is marked.

Board date	Requests heard	Approved	Returned for information	Rejected
05 Jun	14	9	5	0
12 Jun	16	10	5	1
19 Jun	12	8	4	0
26 Jun	15	9	6	0
03 Jul	17	11	5	1
10 Jul	13	8	5	0
Total	87	55	30	2

What Lontra asked about it

Excerpt from the conversation with: Change administrator, 4 years in role · Runs the process and the weekly agenda

Lontra

What does a normal week look like for you?

Change administrator

Papers close Monday at noon. Monday afternoon I build the pack, Tuesday night it goes out with the agenda, Thursday is the board, Friday I send the outcomes. In between I'm answering emails. About twenty-five a week. Where's my change?

Lontra

What are they asking?

Change administrator

Mostly has it been seen, am I on Thursday's agenda, why was it sent back.

Lontra

How long does a request take from submission to approval?

Change administrator

Submit on a Tuesday, nine days. Submit on a Monday morning, three. That's if it's approved first time.

Lontra

The log you shared shows 87 requests heard over six boards, and 30 of them returned for information. What happens to those 30?

Change administrator

They go on the next agenda once they're resubmitted, if the missing piece is in by Monday noon. Mostly it isn't, first time, so it's another week or two. It's usually the rollback plan. Sometimes the test evidence.

Lontra

And when security is involved?

Change administrator

Security only comes in after the board has asked, so for those changes it's two cycles.

Lontra

How does the emergency route work?

Change administrator

Two board members sign it off by email, same day. It's meant for outages. I log them, and it's more than it should be if it's only for outages.

Lontra

If you could change one thing, what would it be?

Change administrator

Let people see where their request is. A status field. I'd stop answering half of those emails. And it's not one thing. It's the Monday cut-off, the send-backs and the second look all stacking up.

Change record CHG-0412, history (extract) Shared by a participant

One small change from submission to implementation: 29 days, a missed cut-off, a return for the rollback plan and a security review requested thirteen days in.

Shared by: Application developer, 5 years in role

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The line Lontra asked about is marked.

CHG-0412, HISTORY

Tue 10 Jun 15:12 Submitted by requester

Mon 16 Jun 12:00 Papers closed for the board of Thu 19 Jun

Thu 19 Jun Returned for information: rollback plan missing

Fri 20 Jun 09:30 Resubmitted by requester

Mon 23 Jun 14:05 Security review requested (board condition)

Mon 30 Jun 12:00 Papers closed for the board of Thu 3 Jul

Thu 3 Jul Approved

Wed 9 Jul 02:00 Implemented

What Lontra asked about it

Excerpt from the conversation with: Application developer, 5 years in role · Raises two or three changes a month

Lontra

Think of the last change you raised. What happened between submitting it and it going live?

Application developer

A one-line configuration change on the document upload service. Twenty minutes of actual work. I submitted it in early June and it went live on 9 July.

Lontra

Where did the time go?

Application developer

I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board. The week after, it was sent back: rollback plan missing. I'd put 'revert the setting' and apparently that isn't a rollback plan. Then I resubmitted and it needed security.

Lontra

The history you shared shows the security review was requested on 23 June, thirteen days after you submitted. Did you know it would be needed?

Application developer

No. The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data. I found out when security emailed me.

Lontra

How do you fill in the form?

Application developer

I copy my last one and change the bits. It's thirty-eight fields. The board reads four of them, I'm told.

Lontra

How do you know where your request is?

Application developer

I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.

Lontra

How many changes do you raise?

Application developer

Two or three a month.

Lontra

What would you change first?

Application developer

Show me the status. And ask the security question on the form, so I find out on day one, not day thirteen.

Security review queue, one week Shared by a participant

Five reviews: when each arrived, when it was started and finished, and the working days it queued. The short reviews wait as long as the long ones.

Shared by: Security analyst, 6 years in role · Shared during Deep Study

Open the document

The line Lontra asked about is marked.

Ref	Received	Started	Completed	Working days queued
CHG-0412	23 Jun	25 Jun	27 Jun	2
CHG-0415	23 Jun	24 Jun	24 Jun	1
CHG-0418	24 Jun	30 Jun	02 Jul	4
CHG-0421	23 Jun	01 Jul	02 Jul	6
CHG-0424	26 Jun	01 Jul	01 Jul	3

What Lontra asked about it

Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Security analyst, 6 years in role · Reviews changes that touch personal data or payments

Lontra

In the queue you shared, CHG-0421 waited six working days before anyone started it, and then took one day. What decides the order?

Security analyst

First in, first out, except emergencies jump the queue. There are two of us and one is on a project half the week. A two-hour review can sit six days behind a three-day one.

Lontra

Could the short ones go first?

Security analyst

We could triage. We haven't because someone would have to read each one when it arrives, and that's a job nobody has.

Lontra

Is it worse for some requests?

Security analyst

Anything with personal data goes to the senior analyst, and she's one person. If she has two of those, the second waits.

What we still don’t know

Whether changes that go through the emergency route cause more incidents than those approved at the board.The administrator logs emergency approvals but nobody compares what happens after them with ordinary changes, so this study cannot say whether the quicker route costs anything.
How long a change takes from the moment someone decides it is needed, rather than from submission.The log starts at submission. Requesters described days spent writing a rollback plan or asking a colleague first, and nobody times that.

Deep Study

A few days after the last conversation, Deep Study went back to two people whose answers left a question open, and spoke to one colleague a participant suggested.

Change board member, senior IT manager Asked again

Said nearly everything is approved at the first meeting, then that about a third are returned. How does he see the difference?

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: ·

Security analyst, 6 years in role Asked again

Said the review itself takes a day or two. Why do requesters wait for it?

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: ·

Service desk coordinator, 3 years in role Suggested by: Change administrator, 4 years in role

Suggested by the change administrator: requesters ring the service desk when they cannot see where their request is.

Open the conversation

Excerpt from the conversation with: ·

What Deep Study added

The board chair had thought of the returns as an exception. Seen as a rate, 30 of 87 requests in six weeks, they are a regular part of how long a change takes.
Security reviews queue first in, first out, so a two-hour review can wait six working days behind a longer one.
The service desk takes about 15 calls a week from requesters who cannot see their status, on top of the 25 emails the administrator answers.

Who took part

People are described by their role and context, as in any Lontra study.

Application developer, 5 years in role Raises two or three changes a month · 21 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Application developer, 5 years in role · Raises two or three changes a month

Lontra
Think of the last change you raised. What happened between submitting it and it going live?

Application developer
A one-line configuration change on the document upload service. Twenty minutes of actual work. I submitted it in early June and it went live on 9 July.

Lontra
Where did the time go?

Application developer
I submitted it on the Tuesday after papers had closed, so it missed that week's board. The week after, it was sent back: rollback plan missing. I'd put 'revert the setting' and apparently that isn't a rollback plan. Then I resubmitted and it needed security.

Lontra
The history you shared shows the security review was requested on 23 June, thirteen days after you submitted. Did you know it would be needed?

Application developer
No. The form doesn't ask whether it touches personal data. I found out when security emailed me.

Lontra
How do you fill in the form?

Application developer
I copy my last one and change the bits. It's thirty-eight fields. The board reads four of them, I'm told.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Application developer
I don't. It says Submitted until it says Approved. I email the admin.

Lontra
How many changes do you raise?

Application developer
Two or three a month.

Lontra
What would you change first?

Application developer
Show me the status. And ask the security question on the form, so I find out on day one, not day thirteen.
Infrastructure engineer, 10 years in role Network and servers, raises changes weekly · 7 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Infrastructure engineer, 10 years in role · Network and servers, raises changes weekly

Lontra
How often do you raise changes?

Infrastructure engineer
Weekly. Network and servers.

Lontra
How long do they take to get approved?

Infrastructure engineer
Depends. A week. Two if I miss Monday.

Lontra
What do you do when it can't wait?

Infrastructure engineer
Emergency. Same day, usually.

Lontra
How do you know where a request is?

Infrastructure engineer
I don't. Email the admin.

Lontra
Is there anything else you'd want the board to know?

Infrastructure engineer
No. It's the process.
Project manager, business side, 2 years in role Raises changes for her project's releases, not a technical person · 14 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Project manager, business side, 2 years in role · Raises changes for her project's releases, not a technical person

Lontra
What changes do you raise, and what was the first one like?

Project manager
Releases for my project. I'm not technical. The first time I filled the form in it came back the following week for the rollback plan. I'd no idea what a rollback plan was. I rang a developer to write it for me.

Lontra
How long do you plan between deciding a release date and having approval?

Project manager
I plan for three weeks now. I used to plan for one.

Lontra
What changed?

Project manager
I learned. Papers close Monday at noon. Anything after that is next week. And I know I'll probably be sent back once, so I submit two weeks ahead, not one.

Lontra
Does security come into it?

Project manager
Only if the board asks. For my last release they asked on the Thursday and then security took five days. I'd have gone to security first if I'd known. Nobody told me.

Lontra
How do you know where your request is?

Project manager
I look at the agenda the admin sends on Tuesday night. If I'm not on it, I'm waiting.

Lontra
What would you change?

Project manager
Tell me up front what a request needs. A checklist.
Change board member, senior IT manager Seven years on the board, chairs the weekly meeting · 20 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Change board member, senior IT manager · Seven years on the board, chairs the weekly meeting

Lontra
What does the board do in its weekly meeting?

Change board member
We go through the agenda, forty minutes or so. Fifteen, sixteen requests. We look at the summary, the risk rating, the rollback plan and the window. If those four are there we approve.

Lontra
How many get approved at the first meeting?

Change board member
Nearly everything. We rarely turn anything down.

Lontra
You said nearly everything is approved at the first meeting, and also that a request needs those four things. What happens when one of them is missing?

Change board member
It's returned for information. That's different from turning down.

Lontra
How many are returned?

Change board member
Perhaps a third. So approved, yes, in the end, but not that week.

Lontra
What is usually missing?

Change board member
Rollback plan, nine times in ten.

Lontra
When are the papers due?

Change board member
Monday at noon. The admin needs Monday afternoon to build the pack and we need Tuesday and Wednesday to read it. Fair, I think.

Lontra
Would you take later papers?

Change board member
No. If you can't read them, you can't approve them.

Lontra
What about security?

Change board member
We ask for a review when a change touches personal data or payments. We ask at the meeting, so it adds a week at least.

Lontra
Would you meet more than once a week?

Change board member
We've talked about it. We need five for a quorum and getting five people in a room twice a week is hard.

Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Change board member, senior IT manager · Seven years on the board, chairs the weekly meeting

Lontra
You said the board approves nearly everything at the first meeting, and that about a third are returned. The administrator's log has 30 returned out of 87 heard. Had you seen it as a rate?

Change board member
No. I was thinking of the two we turned down, and they're what I remember. Thirty of eighty-seven is a different picture.

Lontra
What would let the board approve those 30 first time?

Change board member
A rollback plan that can't be left empty. Right now it's free text, so someone puts 'revert'. A template with three lines would do it.

Lontra
Would the board accept a template?

Change board member
I'd bring it to the next meeting. I think so. Nobody enjoys sending them back.
Change board member, business operations Two years on the board, reads for operational impact · 13 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Change board member, business operations · Two years on the board, reads for operational impact

Lontra
What do you look at when you sit on the board?

Change board member
I'm there for the operational impact. Will this stop a depot working? I read the summary and the window.

Lontra
How often are requests returned?

Change board member
A few every meeting. It's nearly always the rollback plan, or a window that clashes with the Friday peak.

Lontra
What do you see of how long a request has already waited before it reaches you?

Change board member
Nothing. I see it on the agenda. I don't know if it was submitted on Tuesday or three weeks ago.

Lontra
Does the wait come up at the meeting?

Change board member
Not really. Our job is to decide on the paper in front of us. That bit we do quickly.

Lontra
What would help you?

Change board member
The date it was submitted, on the agenda. That would change how I read it.
Security analyst, 6 years in role Reviews changes that touch personal data or payments · 17 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Security analyst, 6 years in role · Reviews changes that touch personal data or payments

Lontra
When does a change reach you?

Security analyst
When the board asks for a review, or the requester remembers to ask. It's usually after the board's first look.

Lontra
How long does a review take?

Security analyst
The review itself, a day or two. But it joins a queue. There are two of us.

Lontra
What would you want to be different?

Security analyst
To see it before the board does. If we reviewed it when it's submitted, the board would get our view on the same agenda.

Lontra
What happens when you have more questions for the requester?

Security analyst
It goes back and the clock restarts.

Lontra
Do you think the review is the slow part?

Security analyst
No. The waiting for it to start is. And I wouldn't want to make it shorter than it is. The point is to look properly, otherwise there's no point.

Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Security analyst, 6 years in role · Reviews changes that touch personal data or payments

Lontra
In the queue you shared, CHG-0421 waited six working days before anyone started it, and then took one day. What decides the order?

Security analyst
First in, first out, except emergencies jump the queue. There are two of us and one is on a project half the week. A two-hour review can sit six days behind a three-day one.

Lontra
Could the short ones go first?

Security analyst
We could triage. We haven't because someone would have to read each one when it arrives, and that's a job nobody has.

Lontra
Is it worse for some requests?

Security analyst
Anything with personal data goes to the senior analyst, and she's one person. If she has two of those, the second waits.
Compliance officer, 4 years in role Checks changes against audit requirements · 8 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Compliance officer, 4 years in role · Checks changes against audit requirements

Lontra
What does compliance need from a change?

Compliance officer
Evidence. That it was approved, who tested it, the date.

Lontra
When do you see it?

Compliance officer
After, mostly. It's an audit trail thing.

Lontra
Is there a point where you need to be involved before it's approved?

Compliance officer
For some. The regulated systems.

Lontra
How long does that take?

Compliance officer
Not long. Our bit is quick.

Lontra
Is there anything you'd change?

Compliance officer
We need to see it before it's approved, not after, for those ones. Otherwise it's fine.
Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role Carries out approved changes in the overnight window · 16 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role · Carries out approved changes in the overnight window

Lontra
Where do you come in?

Operations lead
I carry out the changes. Overnight window, Wednesday and Saturday nights. I get the approved list on Thursday afternoon.

Lontra
How do requesters know when theirs will go in?

Operations lead
They don't, until the list. I get rung most weeks by a requester asking if their change has been approved, and I only know once the list comes out.

Lontra
What is your view of the wait?

Operations lead
The wait for the board is the whole problem, in my view. Nine days for something that's twenty minutes in the window.

Lontra
What happens when something can't wait nine days?

Operations lead
People raise it as emergency, because the next board is nine days away. I've seen a change that was planned in March go through emergency in April because it missed papers twice.

Lontra
What's on the list you get?

Operations lead
Twenty or so a week. Most of what I see is small stuff that's the same every time. It shouldn't need a board.

Lontra
What would you change?

Operations lead
Pre-approve the routine ones. A list of changes that are fine to do without asking.
Change administrator, 4 years in role Runs the process and the weekly agenda · 22 min

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Excerpt from the conversation with: Change administrator, 4 years in role · Runs the process and the weekly agenda

Lontra
What does a normal week look like for you?

Change administrator
Papers close Monday at noon. Monday afternoon I build the pack, Tuesday night it goes out with the agenda, Thursday is the board, Friday I send the outcomes. In between I'm answering emails. About twenty-five a week. Where's my change?

Lontra
What are they asking?

Change administrator
Mostly has it been seen, am I on Thursday's agenda, why was it sent back.

Lontra
How long does a request take from submission to approval?

Change administrator
Submit on a Tuesday, nine days. Submit on a Monday morning, three. That's if it's approved first time.

Lontra
The log you shared shows 87 requests heard over six boards, and 30 of them returned for information. What happens to those 30?

Change administrator
They go on the next agenda once they're resubmitted, if the missing piece is in by Monday noon. Mostly it isn't, first time, so it's another week or two. It's usually the rollback plan. Sometimes the test evidence.

Lontra
And when security is involved?

Change administrator
Security only comes in after the board has asked, so for those changes it's two cycles.

Lontra
How does the emergency route work?

Change administrator
Two board members sign it off by email, same day. It's meant for outages. I log them, and it's more than it should be if it's only for outages.

Lontra
If you could change one thing, what would it be?

Change administrator
Let people see where their request is. A status field. I'd stop answering half of those emails. And it's not one thing. It's the Monday cut-off, the send-backs and the second look all stacking up.
Service desk coordinator, 3 years in role Takes the calls from requesters asking where their change is · 10 min · joined in Deep Study

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Excerpt from the Deep Study conversation with: Service desk coordinator, 3 years in role · Takes the calls from requesters asking where their change is

Lontra
The change administrator suggested we talk to you, because requesters ring the service desk. What do they ask?

Service desk coordinator
The same three things. Has it been seen, when's the board, why was it sent back. I can't see the status either, so I look at Tuesday's agenda or I forward it to the admin.

Lontra
How many a week?

Service desk coordinator
I log them. About fifteen.

Lontra
What do you tell them?

Service desk coordinator
If it's before Monday noon, it'll be seen Thursday. If it's after, next week, and they're not happy about that.

Lontra
Does anyone ask about the emergency route?

Service desk coordinator
Every week someone asks how to mark theirs as an emergency. I tell them it needs two board members to agree. Some give up. Some get it.

Lontra
What would help you most?

Service desk coordinator
One page with the dates on it. When papers close, when the board sits. I'd just send the link.

About this study

The question

“I want to understand what slows down our change requests between submission and approval, where they wait, and what the people on each side of the process see.”

A logistics company with 3,000 staff and 14 depots. Nine people took part: three requesters (an application developer, an infrastructure engineer and a project manager), two change board members, a security analyst, a compliance officer, an operations lead and the change administrator. Each conversation lasted 7 to 22 minutes. Deep Study went back to two of them and spoke to one colleague a participant suggested.

What Lontra asked about

What a request goes through between submission and approval
Where requests wait, and for what
What the board, security and compliance each need to see
How requesters find out where their request is

Ask your results

Answers from 9 conversations and 3 documents

These are questions the organiser asked about this study. Each answer shows the quotes it rests on.

Where does a change request wait the longest?

Between the steps, not inside them. A request waits for the Monday cut-off, again for a returned request to reach the next agenda, and again for security, which is asked for only after the board's first look. The board's decision and the security review themselves take a meeting and a day or two.

The example record shows it: a twenty-minute change took 29 days.

Show 3 sources

“Security only comes in after the board has asked, so for those changes it's two cycles.”

Change administrator, 4 years in role

“The review itself, a day or two. But it joins a queue.”

Security analyst, 6 years in role

“Twenty minutes of actual work.”

Application developer, 5 years in role

Is the board the bottleneck?

People on each side of the board disagree. Requesters and the operations lead say the weekly cycle is the problem. Board members say they decide on what is in front of them and that missing information is what holds requests up, and the log supports part of that: 30 of 87 requests were returned.

The administrator's view is that the cut-off, the returns and the second look stack on one another, rather than any one of them being the cause.

Two board members took part, so this is a small view of how the board itself sees its meetings.

Show 3 sources

“The wait for the board is the whole problem, in my view.”

Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role

“Thirty of eighty-seven is a different picture.”

Change board member, senior IT manager · Deep Study

“Our job is to decide on the paper in front of us.”

Change board member, business operations

Did anyone say the process works well?

Two people did not describe a problem. The compliance officer said it is fine apart from seeing some changes before rather than after approval, and the infrastructure engineer, who answered in a few words, called it the process. The board chair said nearly everything is approved, then agreed that about a third is returned first.

Both gave short answers, so this study cannot say what they would change given more time.

Show 3 sources

“Otherwise it's fine.”

Compliance officer, 4 years in role

“No. It's the process.”

Infrastructure engineer, 10 years in role

“Nearly everything. We rarely turn anything down.”

Change board member, senior IT manager

What would they change first?

Show requesters where their request is, and tell them on the first day what it needs. Beyond that each person asks for something in their own part of the path: the submitted date on the agenda, a rollback template that cannot be left empty, security looking at the request when it is submitted, and routine changes that need no board at all.

Show 4 sources

“Show me the status.”

Application developer, 5 years in role

“To see it before the board does.”

Security analyst, 6 years in role

“Pre-approve the routine ones.”

Operations lead, depot systems, 9 years in role

“A template with three lines would do it.”

Change board member, senior IT manager · Deep Study

In your own study, you type questions here and Lontra answers from your conversations. Start your own study

Lontra says when the evidence is not enough. It never invents a quote.

A change waits mostly between the steps, not in them: for Monday's cut-off, for the next agenda after a return, and for a security review that is asked for only after the board's first look.

What people said

Where accounts differ

Whether the weekly board is what slows a change down

Requesters and operations 4 people

Board members 2 people

Security and compliance 2 people

Change administrator 1 person

Documents

What we still don’t know

Deep Study

Who took part

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