This work-flow starts with a custom Windows Service we created for our client.

The solution provides automatically-created Exchange Calendar appointments that are sent to a list of attendees (editable with a web form). The Windows Service reads a database of Change Controls and determines which of them are not currently on the Exchange Calendar for the date range specified by the client and creates any appointments that are not already on the calendar. The calendar entries are color-coded to match the Change Review board (also designed by us) colors for different types of Changes that are required by the Systems Support team.

Prior to creating the Exchange appointment, the Windows Service compares the data from the Change Control database to a database (designed by us) that has specific details for specific systems that need to be noted in the appointment but may not have been noted in the Change Control, and may have changes that have been made in the environment after the Change Control was intially created. This database is editable with a web form we created for the client.

When the time comes to perform the Change, the Systems Support team members then click a link on the Change Review board to create a Service Desk ticket for the change. This is accomplished with a web form that reads the Change Control calendar entry, and then populates the form fields with the appointment data automatically.

When the Change is completed, the team member then clicks on a link to close the Change Control, Service Desk ticket, and send a notification email with a single click.

This was designed for our client to provide automatic reminders to the team, allow easy management task performance during the execution of the Change, and to create a very rigid standardized completion path.

The Change Review board is displayed on a big screen in the NOC for team review of up-coming and recent changes, and scales down well to a wide-screen desktop monitor.

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