ITIL Expert Posts: 117 Sun Jan 24, 2016 7:07 am Freeze periods are meant to maintain high system availability through limiting the number of changes. So maintaining high system availability is the purpose and change freeze is just an enabler.
When should you start a change freeze?
Many IT Service Managers will opt to start a change freeze sooner than it is perhaps required. This risk management approach works to allow time to clear any backlog of changes, to have capacity for error or for any reworks, and it minimises last minute stress. But perhaps more importantly it extends the change freeze beyond what is necessary.
What is the recommended frozen planning period?
Usually, the frozen planning period will include review time and lead time for products. The recommended period is 1-2 weeks. A frozen planning period helps bifurcate the different domains like demand planning, supply planning, and execution. What is a frozen period?
Do I need a mandatory freeze period for my system?
A mandatory freeze period is not going to address that. A full parallel production run may be very necessary in some cases, like in industrial settings or when replacing your ERP system. But this is not necessarily the same as a freeze, as you will want to verify your fixes.
Is a freeze period a good idea?
My conclusion is that a freeze period is theoretically a nice idea but there are so many gaps in its concept and concessions to make in its implementation that its practical usefulness is close to zero.
What is a freeze period?
“Freeze Period”: A term which indicates a restrictive period for baseline changes. The intent of the Freeze Period is to limit, or control, the baseline changes made in reaction to project performance.
What is the purpose of change freeze?
The weeks surrounding term startup events have been identified as “change freeze periods” – time periods during which additional caution and scrutiny of changes are warranted. During term startup change freeze, no significant changes to critical services or major project deployments should be scheduled.
What is code freeze and why is IT necessary?
Simply put, a code freeze is a period of time in which developers stop coding any changes to a website. The site's code is truly “frozen” at that point in time, most often to prevent any issues during a busy time of the year (ie. the holiday season). Every developer has their own definition of a code freeze.
What is a production change freeze?
A production freeze ensures service availability and reduces risk by establishing a period of time—or "freeze"—during a business cycle where no major changes are made to services and systems.
What are the 3 stages in the change process?
These three distinct stages of change (unfreeze, change, and refreeze) allow you to plan & implement the required change. A well-thought combination of change models and change management tools can go a long way in steering your employees through the change.
What happens after code freeze?
After the code freeze, the code should not be changed by the developers. Only in case of critical defects, developers change the code after the approval of the change control board and make the changes required to fix that critical defect. Code freeze will happen only in the final stages of the software development.
How long does code freeze last?
Currently Code Freeze lasts around 4 weeks.
Who does code freeze?
More specifically Code Freeze refers to preventing developers from further modifications on the software code. Means the code is frozen to prevent further modifications to bring a stability in the code before finalizing the product and delivering to client/consumer.
What is code freeze and QA?
It allows QA's to pressure test the system. It prevents other system or application dependencies. Industry norms also encourage Code Freeze among developers. Code Freeze is an adopted milestone from Waterfall days. Allows developers to integrate modules without coming across unexpected changes.
What is month end freeze?
Month End Freeze Period means the period of duration from the 25th of any given month to the 5thof the next month.
What is soft code freeze and hard code freeze?
In a hard freeze, the freeze is implemented at the deployment level, and developers temporarily do not have access to deploying code. Soft freeze: In a soft freeze, developers agree not to make any changes to code, allowing for exceptions that a hard freeze doesn't.
What is feature freeze agile?
A feature freeze is a period of time where all feature development stops. Development is entirely devoted to stability work. Deployment of stability related changes is allowed. I have also heard this referred to as a pause on value demand and a focus on failure demand.
When implementation of a change is executed?
The change request management process in systems engineering is the process of requesting, determining attainability, planning, implementing, and evaluating of changes to a system. Its main goals are to support the processing and traceability of changes to an interconnected set of factors.
Is freeze a noun or verb?
transitive verb. : to harden into ice. : to convert from a liquid to a solid by cold.
When documenting your change freeze timings, do you call out the date range?
Finally, when documenting your change-freeze timings don’t forget to call out the date range, if the dates are inclusive, and any time zone differences.
When is a change freeze in business?
a period when changes are minimized, ideally ceased, to protect business operations. This might relate to busy/critical business periods, times such as seasonal holidays when fewer IT staff will be at work, times when major infrastructure changes are already planned, or similar.
How to remind people of a change freeze?
If you have an IT service desk area, then put up posters to help people be aware. And put a notice on your self-service portal or service catalog reminding people that there will be no business-as-usual (BAU) changes during the communicated change-freeze period.
What are some examples of change freezes?
For example: security updates, urgent business deliverables, or critical remedial work.
What is the need for senior management approval during a change freeze?
In general, if something is so serious that it needs to be implemented during a change freeze, it should require senior management, potentially even board level, approval. So, make sure you have agreed your change-freeze-exemption escalation matrix in advance.
How long is a frozen zone?
The recommended time period is 1-2 weeks. A frozen planning period helps to bifurcate the different domains like demand planning, supply planning, and execution. Get more definitions about Frozen zone and other ERP related terms here.
Why is a frozen planning period important?
The frozen planning period is very important to avoid short-term alterations in the plan.
How do you unfreeze the frozen zone?
It is challenging to deal with unexpected orders, delays in shipping even if you plan and forecast carefully . Dealing with this problem is not possible with a planning tool.
What is a frozen zone?
A frozen zone is the scheduling time horizon during which no alterations to the master production schedule are allowed. This provides more balance and control to the master production schedule. According to Gartner (Global research and advisory firm), all organizations face one critical problem. That is the planning and execution of sales orders.
Can you change purchase orders in a frozen zone?
Outside the fence, that means in the liquid zone you can change the purchase order and production plans. But inside the fence (frozen zone) you can not change the purchase orders and production plans. You have to work in the real world.
1. What is ITIL?
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a collection of comprehensive practices for IT Service Management (ITSM), which focuses on IT services alignment with the requirements of business needs.
5. What processes are utilized by the Service Desk?
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6. What are the objectives of Incident Management?
The main objectives of the incident management process are listed below:
8. What are the stages of incident management in ITIL?
Incident Management is the process of managing the lifecycle of incidents that are reported. It consists of several steps that must be carried out to resolve and document the incidents.
9. What is an SLA?
An SLA (Service Level Agreement) is a commitment between a service provider (internal or external) and the end-user. It represents the level of service assumed by the service provider.
13.What is a Known Error?
A Known Error is a problem that has a recorded root cause and a workaround.
16. What is the purpose of Configuration Management in ITIL?
The primary purpose of Configuration Management is to collect, store, manage, update, and verify data on IT assets and configurations in the enterprise.
Why is the change freeze postponed?
In theory, all changes are postponed until January to avoid disrupting operations during a pretty critical time of year. In practice, there are a number of exceptions to the freeze, ...
Why is change freeze necessary?
Last century it might have been reasonable to institute a change freeze, because the goal was making sure that relatively simple IT systems — cash registers and bar-code scanners — would continue to operate. By and large, if they were not interfered with, they would just keep ticking along.
Why do ITSM change freezes work?
ITSM change freezes can protect business operations at times where major changes are underway, when you have fewer IT professionals working, or simply during busy periods. They can minimise staff stress, prevent change errors, and restore project focus. Invoking a change freeze really can be in the best interest for your business.
Why do IT service managers freeze changes?
This risk management approach works to allow time to clear any backlog of changes, to have capacity for error or for any reworks, and it minimises last minute stress. But perhaps more importantly it extends the change freeze beyond what is necessary. Lengthening the freeze will allow teams to return from holidays or recover from busy periods. The first days back can potentially be the service desk’s busiest, so allow staff to get caught up and back into the flow of things before being met with change requests.
Why do we need a change freeze?
ITSM change freezes can protect business operations at times where major changes are underway, when you have fewer IT professionals working, or simply during busy periods. They can minimise staff stress, prevent change errors, and restore project focus. Invoking a change freeze really can be in the best interest for your business.
Is it too late to start a change freeze?
If you are yet to implement a change freeze for this festive season it is absolutely not too late to start. This guide will help prepare you for rolling out a change freeze quickly and smoothly. Think of it as your checklist for change freeze success!
Is ITIL4 Foundation online course good?
ITIL4 Foundation online course was very useful to help me pass the ITIL4 Foundation exam in first attempt. Pass Pledge feature is very good as it allows free second attempt and serves as a comfort factor. I didn't have to use Pass Pledge though as I passed the exam in first attempt with score of 95%.
Can you share change freezes on Slack?
It is worth sharing the news of your impending change freeze on multiple channels. By email, sharing it on Slack (or any similar chat service you use as a company), as a headline or banner on any ticketing software or intranet you use, and even adding it to calendars. It is paramount that all teams are aware and understand the change freeze and what it means.
What is the freeze period?
Freeze period is a point in time in the development process after which the rules for making changes to the source code or related resources become stricter or the period during which those rules are applied.
What is ITIL in IT?
As defined by Wikipedia, ITIL (formally an acronym for Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a set of detailed practices for IT service management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of the business. The IT industry is a dynamic one, with constant changes in the service structure and practices. This makes it difficult for professionals to deliver good quality service constantly. ITIL helps professionals to overcome these difficulties.
