A systems administrator installs a service pack on a production server without notifying anyone. What process would have BEST helped avoid this outage?

Change management policies are crucial in environments where system stability and communication among team members are essential. This process involves a structured approach to managing changes in infrastructure, including software updates like service packs. By implementing change management policies, all changes made to the production environment would be documented, evaluated, and communicated to the relevant stakeholders. This would ensure that any service pack installation is discussed and planned, minimizing the risk of unintentional outages that could arise from unexpected changes.

Through change management, potential impacts of the installation could be assessed in advance, rollback procedures could be prepared, and an appropriate notification process would be established. This proactive approach helps to ensure that all parties are aware of changes, mitigating risks and maintaining the integrity and availability of production systems.

In contrast, while service level agreements, business continuity plans, and business impact analyses address specific aspects of service delivery and operational resilience, they do not specifically govern the change communication and approval process like change management policies do.