Changes

A planned change names the affected service and summarizes the work. Its risk, scheduled start and end, and rollback plan give the approver enough context to decide whether the work should proceed. The approved state is the handoff to implementation, not the outcome. An implementer checks the same information before acting and records whether the result was verified or rolled back.

This distinction matters when work is scheduled near store trading hours. The change record should make the window easy to find and the rollback plan usable by the person doing the work. If a scheduled interval is unsuitable or a rollback plan is unclear, the approver should settle that before approval rather than expect the implementer to infer intent on the day.

• Preparation. Record the summary, affected service, risk, planned start and end, and rollback plan.
• Approval. Review the proposed work and decide whether it can move from review to approved or rejected.
• Outcome. The implementer checks the approved record, performs the change and records the implementation result.

Set the decision rule for low, medium and high risk changes. Agree who can approve a change, and when that person needs input from a store operator or service owner. The service owner may know when the service can tolerate interruption; the change approver makes the recorded decision. Agree how the scheduled times reflect the operating timezone and how conflicts between changes will be found before work starts.

Make the rollback plan specific enough to guide the implementer if the planned work fails. The implementation action reads risk, the scheduled window and rollback plan before recording an outcome. The team should decide what evidence counts as verified and when a rolled back outcome needs follow-up. Keep the actual decision in the change record’s status rather than in an untracked conversation.

Rehearse a planned update to a checkout service after a store closes. Draft the change with the affected service, a medium risk level, start and end times, and a plan for reverting the update. Submit it for review. Have the approver inspect the timing and plan, then approve it. The implementer opens the approved schedule, checks the same fields, performs the work and records the result as verified or rolled back.

The reviewer should be able to reconstruct the path from the current state and the planned details. If the implementer sees an outdated window or a plan that cannot be followed, stop and correct the decision record before execution. If work is rolled back, retain that outcome rather than making the change look verified to keep the schedule tidy.

• Change Approval Inbox — Changes in review with risk, schedule and rollback plan visible.
• Approved Change Schedule — Approved work with both scheduled start and end times.

Use the approved change process to rehearse decision, execution and outcome.