If you get their attention with one of the 'elevator speeches' above, you could try something like this for a more detailed description. Note that while we offer CVS Suite as one solution, we'd rather see you use something rather than nothing -- we just believe our solution has all the features you'll need at a great price.
Change Management is a discipline to ensure that the configuration of an item (and its components) is known and documented and that changes are controlled and tracked.
Everyone who works with documents uses some form of change management, from simple to sophisticated systems. A simple system might have the latest copy in the user "Documents" folder and older copies stored in an email "sent items" folder. A more sophisticated process would keep the information in a consistent location and capture detailed information on the important elements of change: What was the change, Who did it, Why did they change it, When did the change happen, and provide the ability to easily retrieve any previous version.
Change Management processes don't require software (you can maintain a log of changes in a written journal), but with the right software your process will be much easier to use and consistently apply. The opposite is also true: the wrong software can make it much harder to manage change and cause frustration and delays, slowing down the change you are trying to manage. It is important that the software you choose is not getting in the way of your change management process.
Modern CM research by firms such as the Configuration Management Institute has shown that the majority of benefits only occur when the change management system can ensure the integrity of all managed items, make their evolution more manageable and the interrelationship clear. The effectiveness can be improved by implementing automated techniques for Insulation, Security and Access Control, Lifecycle Management, Communication and Detailed Reporting.
In summary, Effective Change Management is a process that for each managed item will:
- Document changes.
- Ensure integrity.
- Make the evolution more manageable.
- Clarify the relationships between changes.
- Manages security and access control.
- Facilitates easy flow through the lifecycle.
Enable communication and detailed reporting about changes.
CVS Suite contains the features you need to establish an effective Change Management process.
Quoting from a draft for http://march-hare.com/
