Emergency change
A change to production that cannot wait for the normal approval process, usually to fix a live problem, approved quickly and reviewed afterwards.
Also written emergency fix, urgent change, expedited change, ECAB
Most changes to production go through change control, with time for review and approval. An emergency change is one that cannot wait, usually because a production problem is happening now: a batch job keeps failing, or a fix is needed before the online day starts.
Emergency changes still follow a process, just a faster one. A small group, sometimes called the emergency change advisory board, or ECAB, approves it, often by phone. The change is recorded, tested as far as time allows, and has a plan for backing it out. Afterwards, it is reviewed to check that it was really needed and was done correctly.
Sites watch how many emergency changes they have. A high number suggests problems are being found too late, or that the normal process is being avoided.
For a developer, it means being ready to fix a program quickly when production needs it, but also being careful. An emergency change made at night under pressure can cause a second incident if it is not checked properly.
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- Change controlThe process every change goes through before reaching production: reviewed, approved, scheduled and reversible.
- IncidentAn unplanned interruption to a service, or a drop in its quality, which is logged, prioritised and worked on until the service is back.
- Change freezeA period when no changes may be made to production systems, except emergencies, to protect a busy or important time.
- Firecall IDA powerful user ID kept locked away for emergencies, used only with approval and with everything done under it reviewed afterwards.
- Production supportKeeping live systems running: diagnosing failures, fixing what broke, and getting the service back.