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Standard Change Proposals and Template Versions

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • Why templates need approval
  • How to propose a new template
  • How updates and versions work
  • How to retire a template

🔁 Quick look back: Last time: The Standard Change Catalog and Templates. You learned how standard change templates work, and how SNWR created one for restarting the mail service.

1 “Who said this was safe?”

Anyone could make a template in the old tool.

  • Someone made “Update firewall” a standard change.
  • It skipped every check.
  • It caused an outage.

🎯 The problem: If anyone can make a change pre-approved, risky work slips through.

👉 The fix: require a proposal for every new, changed or retired template, approved by the change manager.

2 The proposal flow

Key term: Standard change proposal

A request to create, change or retire a standard change template.

Key term: Template version

Each approved update to a template becomes a new version. Old versions are kept for history.

A standard change template's life. 1 Ravi proposes a new template, Renew internal certificate, with plans and a reason. 2 Mei reviews and approves the proposal. 3 The template becomes active in the catalog as version 1. 4 Later, Ravi proposes an update, which Mei approves, creating version 2. 5 When the job is no longer needed, a retire proposal removes it from the catalog.
Figure 1. Propose, approve, publish, update, retire.

3 Three kinds of proposal

Proposal Use it to SNWR example
New Add a new template Renew internal certificate
Modify Change an existing template Add a check step to Restart SNWR mail service
Retire Remove a template An old server is switched off

💡 Good to know: Ask for a history before approving: “How many times has this been done as a normal change, and did any fail?”

📝 Note: Remember the VPN problem: certificate renewals became a tracked, safe job. That’s why Ravi proposes this template.

4 Let’s try it: propose a template

  1. Open the standard change catalog and choose the option to propose a new template.
  2. Name it Renew internal certificate. Fill in the plans and the reason.
  3. Submit the proposal.
  4. As an admin or change manager, find the proposal and approve it.
  5. Check the new template now appears in the catalog.

5 Quick recap

  • New, changed and retired templates need a proposal
  • The change manager approves proposals
  • Each approved update makes a new version
  • Retire templates that are no longer needed
  • Ask for a safe history before approving

6 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 Who approves new templates at SNWR? Show answer

Mei, the change manager.

2 What happens when a template is updated? Show answer

A new version is created; the old one is kept for history.

3 An old server is switched off. What do you do with its template? Show answer

Raise a retire proposal.

4 What should Mei ask before approving? Show answer

How often it’s been done, and whether any attempts failed.

Nice work! SNWR’s templates stay safe over time. 🎉
Next up: Emergency Changes

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