How to Request Emergency IT Changes

In urgent situations like service outages, IT changes may need to be implemented outside normal procedures to restore services quickly while minimizing business impact and risk.

Criteria for Emergency Changes

Submit an emergency change request for high-priority incidents under these conditions:

Critical system/application outage affecting multiple users
Significant security vulnerability risking exposure
Temporary workaround needed to restore service pending permanent change

Emergency changes should be rare; try to follow the standard change management process when possible.

Request Process

To request an emergency change, follow these steps:

Submit a high-priority ticket in the IT Service Desk detailing:
- The issue, outage, or vulnerability
- Justification for emergency change
- Proposed change details (rollout plan, downtime, test plan, backout plan)
The IT Change Manager will urgently review the request
If approved, follow instructions for scheduling and implementing the change
The emergency change advisory board (CAB) will meet to evaluate next steps

Emergency changes require final approval from the IT Director and business stakeholders based on criticality and risk.

Implementation Rules

When implementing an emergency change, teams must:

Assemble a qualified team quickly
Have vetted rollback and backout plans
Communicate impacts and downtime clearly
Follow standard procedures like peer review and testing as much as possible
Document everything during and after the change

Emergency changes are subject to audit, so maintain meticulous records. Don't hesitate to request an emergency change when needed - the IT team is ready to resolve the issue.