11 Change Management KPIs for IT teams

In IT service management, change is enabled and regulated at various stages for a sound IT infrastructure. Even minor modifications can have a significant impact, which is why IT teams have well-planned change management processes to ensure these changes positively contribute to the organisation's objectives.

To track and thus improve these change processes, businesses can use a variety of IT change management KPIs and metrics. These metrics can help businesses:

• Identify and remove bottlenecks and delays in change processes
• Track and minimize incidents related to implemented changes
• Manage capacity and allocate optimal resources to carry out changes
• Ensure transparency and accountability of the stakeholders involved

Now that you're aware of the significance of change management metrics in aligning IT change processes with them organizational objectives, let's take a look at some essential KPIs to track for IT teams.

The first 5 metrics help you gauge the general trends in IT change requests while the rest help you measure the efficiency of change programs.

1. New change requests created

The number of new changes created during the reporting period helps business have a view of the frequency of the IT change requests that are created within an organization. This metric gives businesses the ability to plan and allocate resources judiciously.

2. Number of completed changes

The total number of changes completed during the reporting period is referred to as completed changes. Completed changes include changes that were closed, resolved, failed, or declined and weren't reopened in that time period.

3. Failed changes

These are the changes that did not achieve their intended outcomes, indicating areas for process improvement. They are also marked as completed changes. Tracking this metric, organizations can quickly determine that a change is a failure and halt further work on it.

4. Change volume

Change volume refers to the total number of changes created during the reporting period. It includes new changes created, completed changes, and failed changes.

‍Change volume = Total number of new changes created + Total number of completed changes + Total number of reopened changes

‍Change volume provides a comprehensive overview of the number of changes being processed within a given timeframe.

5. Change backlog

Change backlog refers to the number of pending change requests that have not been resolved by the end of the reporting period. The change backlog represents the workload that still needs to be addressed management team.

6. Change cycle time

Change cycle time, also known as time to resolution for changes, refers to the duration it takes for changes that were completed during the reporting period to transition from the 'Created' state to the 'Completed' state.

‍‍For instance, let's say the number of days taken to complete change 1, change 2, change 3 is 7, 4, and 3 days respectively. Then the change cycle time is 14/3 = 4.6 days.

Change cycle provides insights into how quickly changes are being implemented and highlights any delays that may need to be addressed. Having automated change management workflows can help speed up the cycle time.

7. Change acceptance rate

A high change acceptance rate is a way of monitoring the number of change requests being approved by the Change Advisory Board (CAB). This KPI indicates how robust, operational, and effective your organization's change enablement process is.

‍A higher number indicates that your change requests and change plans are solid and well-prepared. You can configure change approval policies within Atomicwork to monitor and improve change acceptance rates.

8. Emergency change rate

Changes can be split into three major categories: normal, standard, and emergency change.

The emergency change rate measures the proportion of changes that are classified as emergency changes compared to normal and standard changes.

‍It indicates the frequency of urgent and unplanned changes within the IT change management process. You can assign specific Change Advisory Boards (CABs) to manage emergency changes, streamlining the approval process effectively.

9. Number of incidents caused by change

Not every change goes according to plan, and some changes can result in a cascade of incidents and support tickets which is measured by tracking the total number of incidents or tickets following a change.

A high number of incidents or tickets following a change indicates that the change needs to be planned and executed more effectively to avoid disruption of service operations.

Centralizing your communication for changes in one platform that has other ITSM capabilities like incident or problem management built-in is a big boon. This helps organizations track and analyze change-related incidents easily for quick issue identification and resolution.

10. Number of changes closed within SLAs

The number of changes closed within SLAs refers to the count of changes that were completed within the agreed-upon timeframes set by Service Level Agreements. This KPI assesses the performance of the change management process in meeting service-level commitments. You can manage change SLAs within Atomicwork and help organizations assess their compliance with predefined timelines, ensuring timely adherence to SLA commitments.

11. Costs involved with changes implemented

Costs involved with changes implemented refer to the total expenses incurred in implementing changes. Tracking costs associated with changes provides insights into the financial implications of the change management process. By simplifying and automating IT change management processes, Atomicwork helps in optimizing resources and minimizing costs associated with changes.

Parting note

Change is constant and sometimes, inevitable - in life and business. And, it is not always possible to execute changes end-to-end perfectly.

The different change management KPIs that we discussed above can help businesses understand, assess and adapt their change management processes more effectively.

If your business needs help automating and managing IT changes, let’s connect!