Rollout and Backout plans are critical for Change Managers to consider when approving changes. They should be brief and concise, but reasonably understandable by all change managers, even ones who are not an expert in the particular technical area.
They should include:
- Whether the work required is a routine or tested process, or is unique to this change
- Details of any technical work required to support the change, such as special snapshots or backups, or ensuring the correct code (both new version for rollout and current version for backout) is available in a repository
- The steps that would be taken to rollout or backout the change
- Any testing required during or following the rollout or backout to ensure services are operating as expected at that state
- How long each of the rollout and backout might be expected to take
If it will not be possible to back a change out, this should be clearly stated alongside details of the extra testing or the risk mitigation approach that such a circumstance would bring about.
For large or complex changes, it may be useful to group them into smaller sections steps that provide logical breakpoints, where decision can be made on whether to continue, halt, or start backout.
Where the change allows for a backout, detail the circumstances under which a decision to backout would be contemplated, and when and by whom a decision will be made.