Managing Change › How to Schedule Change Windows

How to Schedule Change Windows

You can schedule change windows and view them in the Change Calendar. Maintenance windows establish time periods when CI changes should occur, and blackout windows establish time periods when CI changes should not occur. Change windows help you schedule changes to minimize their effect on critical business processes. CA Service Desk Manager can implement change windows at the global or system level.

To schedule change windows, do the following:

1. View the Change Calendar to see where you want change windows.
2. Create the appropriate change windows for your organization.

   Maintenance Window

   Indicates a scheduled time period during which a CI or a set of CIs can be changed. Because changes can involve downtime, these windows can be used to minimize disruptions to critical business processes. In general, scheduled changes should occur inside a maintenance window.

   Blackout Window

   Indicates a scheduled time period during which CI changes should not occur. This blackout can indicate a reduced support period (for example, a holiday), a corporate event, or a critical business time, such as fiscal year-end. In general, scheduled changes should only occur outside blackout windows.

3. (Optional) Specify the recurrence patterns of the change windows.
4. Open the Change Calendar.

   The legend displays icons and colors to identify change windows in the schedule.

5. Create change orders associated with CIs.
6. Update the Change Calendar by using the Change Scheduler.

Note: For more information about creating change windows, see the Online Help.