14 Jul Change management and change request in a global Dynamics NAV project

Change Management is a continuous process of special importance in international companies. Obviously, it becomes vitally important when the change involves the global standardization process of the ERP systems used in various subsidiaries. However, international companies have to deal with such changes on an ongoing basis.

Helpdesk as Change Management

The helpdesk system is a part of change management. The topic has been already discussed in the blog post Helpdesk for global companies – 3 levels of support. When the end user submits a problem to a key user, the latter is to decide firstly whether it should be classified as a service request or change request. If it is only a service request , the key user solves the problem on their own or transfers it to a central helpdesk department. If the helpdesk is not able to solve the problem, it is transferred to an ERP Microsoft Dynamics NAV partner.

Global change request management

Requests that have been classified as change requests are handled using a totally different path. The key user is to decide whether the request is to be passed to a central helpdesk system or a Change Manager. If the key user decides to ignore the request, he/she communicates the decision to the end user and the request is closed. If the change request is to be transferred to the headquarters, the request is received by a change manager.

Change request and various Global Template (System Core) versions

Firstly, the Change Manager is to decide whether the problem submitted for a solution has not already been solved within the latest Global Template. It may happen that the user that submitted the request for modification, still uses the former group, consolidated Dynamics NAV system. This  means that the change request could have been already submitted by another  user and the problem solution is being developed within the latest Global Template version. Thus, it is important to consider the  issue of version updates when project assumptions are being defined. As early as the global project is started, a decision has to be made on the frequency of Global Template updates. Our experience shows that updating system versions every half year is not too a frequent process. We offer a tool for Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP that traces the scope of implementation and changes within the Global Template version implemented in a subsidiary of an international company. For more details on version update, please see the blog post: Language versions of a global, consolidated Dynamics NAV.

A completely new change request

If the request is the first of its type, the Change Manager has to decide whether change request is due to a legal requirement. In such a case, it will be implemented. However, it will not be added to a Global Template, because it will be not used in other countries. It is possible that the request might be a business requirement or just a customer’s “nice to have” requirement. In each of these cases, the Change Manager consults the requirement with the Business Owner that is responsible for an application area within which the change is to be implemented. It is the business owner that is to decide whether the change is to be implemented or not.