Change is quite inherent in technology, and in particular in information technology. At the same time we want technology to provide a reliable service, and that requires a degree of control. In this chapter we’ll explore some fundamentals of change, in particular how this works with groups of people.
Change and control mindsets complement each other. We need both, even if they conflict at times.
For example, in a typical IT environment, you have developers and system administrators. The output of the developers is a stream of changes: new features, improvements, bug fixes, and so on. Adminstrators are in the business of keeping everything stable, the same. They see no fundamental difference between a new feature and an incident. Both are disrupting the normal flow of business. Consequently, they are seen as a threat, and that is why it often feels that developers and system administrators are from different planets.
Part of running a smooth IT function is juggling the balance between change and control.