The change management process follows a structured lifecycle to minimize risk and disruption. After a change request is planned, tested, and analyzed for risk, it is presented to a change management review board (often called a Change Advisory Board or CAB) for approval. The board's approval is the formal authorization to proceed. Therefore, the immediate next step in the process is the scheduled implementation of the approved change. All prerequisite activities, such as risk analysis and testing, have already been completed and validated during the review phase.

A. Perform risk analysis: This is a critical step that must be completed before the change is submitted to the board for approval.

B. Assign a change coordinator: This role is typically assigned at the beginning of the change process to oversee the request from submission through completion.

D. Verify testing results: Test results are verified and presented to the review board before they grant approval to ensure the change is effective and stable.

1. University of California

Berkeley

Information Services and Technology. (n.d.). Change Management Process. Section 5.0

"Change Management Process Flow." The document outlines the standard workflow where the "Change Implementation" phase directly follows the "Change Approval" phase.

2. The University of Texas at Austin

Information Technology Services. (2021). ITS Change Management Process. The process flow diagram on page 5 explicitly shows that the step following "CAB Approval" is "Implement Change."

3. Purdue University

Information Technology. (n.d.). IT Change Management. In the "Process" section

the workflow states

"Once a change is approved

it is ready to be implemented by the assigned implementer(s)." This confirms implementation is the next action after approval.