side menu

Work with an RFC

The stages of change request processing are automated using preconfigured business processes. Each stage is carried out by a specific employee designated when the RFC is created: the approver, the request owner, and the CAB expert.

Work on the RFC proceeds in the following sequence:

  1. The approver approves the proposed changes.
  2. The employee responsible for the request develops a change implementation plan and assigns tasks to complete the RFC. They then schedule the time and dates for the work.
  3. CAB experts approve the timeline and implementation plan for the request.
  4. Assigned employees carry out the tasks assigned to them for change implementation.
  5. The responsible employee marks the work as completed and closes the RFC.

Approve an RFC

If an approver is specified when creating an RFC, they will receive a task to approve the request. An approved RFC moves to the workload assessment stage.

If approval is denied, the employee leaves a comment. The RFC will receive a Declined status. You can create a new RFC and resubmit it for approval.

Create a change implementation plan

For RFCs with New, Initial approval, or Assessment and planning statuses, you can create a change implementation plan. This is useful when completing an RFC requires gradually involving employees from different departments.

To do this:

  1. Open the RFC page in edit mode.
  2. In the Preparation plan table, describe tasks as individual steps, set their deadlines, attach files, and assign responsible employees.
    work-with-rfc-01
  3. Save the changes.

Once an assigned employee closes their task, the next person will begin work.

The plan is displayed on the RFC page under the Preparation Plan and Preparation Plan Gantt tabs. Employees can review the stages, deadlines, and work results. Tasks are also duplicated on the side panel of the page.

Estimate workload

Once the changes have been approved, the RFC receives an Assessment and planning status.

The responsible employee assesses how many hours are required to implement the changes for the RFC and plans the work timeline accordingly.

To do this:

  1. Open the RFC page and click Estimate.  
  2. In the window that opens:
    work-with-rfc-02
  • Enter the number of hours to complete the RFC. This data will appear on the side panel of its page.
  • Select the impact level of the work on service delivery: Low, Significant, or Highest.
  • Specify the dates:
    • Start and end dates for the change implementation work. A corresponding event will be automatically scheduled in the RFC Calendar app for these dates.
    • Unavailability of services or configuration items linked to the RFC for processing requests.
  • Select additional participants for the RFC work, such as CAB experts, technical specialists, etc.
  1. Click Completed.

The CAB experts will then receive an RFC approval task. The RFC will be assigned a Pending CAB approval status.

Get approval from the CAB expert

If RFC execution requires permission from the change advisory board, a CAB approver is specified when creating the RFC. For example, to replace equipment in an office, approval must be obtained from the system administrator acting as an expert.

After the RFC effort is assessed, the employee will receive a task to approve the proposed changes.

If approved, you can proceed with the change implementation, and the RFC will receive an Implementation status.

If the employee denies approval, they leave a comment. The RFC receives a Declined status. You can create a new RFC, assess it, and resubmit it for board approval again.  

Suspend an RFC

You can temporarily suspend change implementation for an RFC, for example, if equipment delivery is delayed.

To do this:

  1. On the RFC page, click the Suspend button.
  2. In the window that opens, fill in the fields:
  • Indefinitely. Configure how work on the RFC will resume:
    • Yes. Start work manually. To do this, click the Resume button on the RFC page.
    • No. In the Suspension period* field that appears, enter the date and time when the RFC will automatically return to work. The responsible employee will receive a notification.
  • Reason*. Enter the reason for suspending work.
  • Notify the RFC initiator. Select Yes if the RFC author should receive a notification about the work suspension.
  1. Click Suspend.

Complete an RFC

When change implementation work is finished, click the Completed button on the RFC page. In the comment field, you can list completed and outstanding tasks from the preparation plan. This data will appear on the side panel of the RFC page.

An RFC marked as completed will move to the Summarizing the results of implementation status. Using the information from the comment, review the number and success of completed planned tasks. Then close the RFC by doing the following:

  1. Open the RFC page and click the Close button.
  2. In the window that opens, fill in the fields:
    work-with-rfc-03
  • Completed successfully*. Evaluate the result of the change implementation:
    • Yes. The change resolved the user’s problem.
    • No. Difficulties arose while working on the RFC, for example, the change caused new issues or the necessary equipment for implementation was not available, etc.
  • Rollback required*. This field appears if the RFC was completed unsuccessfully. Specify:
    • Yes. If the changes need to be undone and everything restored to its state before implementation.
    • No. If the changes can remain.

This mark will appear on the side panel of the RFC page.

  • Result description*.  Add the result of the work on the RFC.
  • Partially implemented*. Select Yes if there are outstanding tasks from the preparation plan. This information will appear on the RFC page. You can create a separate RFC to complete them.
  1. Click Completed.

Depending on the work result, the RFC will receive one of the final statuses: Completed (success) or Completed (unsuccessful).

 

 

 

add-rfc.html rfc-calendar.html