What is a Change Advisory Board? (Overview, Roles, and Responsibilities)

Change advisory boards have a wide range of responsibilities, which can vary depending on the specific needs of each organization. Here are 5 of the most common roles a CAB can fulfill. 

1. Change Evaluation and Risk Assessment 

Not every proposed change is a good fit for every organization. A change advisory board is responsible for carefully evaluating the potential benefits and risks of each proposal to determine whether it is likely to support your organization’s objectives. This includes risks that directly impact your organization itself and those that might affect other key stakeholders. This assessment helps change advisory board members build the strongest possible understanding of the specific ways in which approving each potential change might positively or negatively impact the organization. 

2. Approving or Rejecting Changes 

After a thorough evaluation, a CAB will use the evidence that was gathered to decide whether to approve moving forward or reject a particular change that is proposed. These decisions are based on a wide range of factors, such as whether a proposed change supports business objectives or carries risks that are too significant for the organization to manage adequately. 

A CAB will likely also consider whether a particular change is important enough to be prioritized for the resources that will be needed to implement them. In some situations, a CAB might also request that the details of a particular change proposal be adjusted to better align with what they are seeking rather than rejecting the change outright. 

3. Ensuring Compliance and Governance 

The CAB plays a crucial role in maintaining governance and compliance standards throughout the change management process. They verify all changes adhere to internal policies and procedures, ensuring consistency and reducing risk. The board also takes responsibility for ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements relevant to the organization’s industry and operating regions. 

Change advisory boards  maintain proper documentation of the change process from proposal through implementation and review, creating an important historical record. The CAB enforces separation of duties where necessary to prevent conflicts of interest or security vulnerabilities. By preserving comprehensive audit trails, they establish accountability for all aspects of the change. 

The board also works to align changes with enterprise architecture standards, maintaining the integrity of the organization’s technical ecosystem. This governance function ultimately helps organizations manage risk effectively and maintain the integrity of their systems and processes while implementing necessary changes.

4. Communication and Coordination

Effective change management requires strong communication throughout every stage of the process. Implementing changes without inadvertently causing problems for the organization is only possible when the various teams and stakeholders involved are intentional about keeping one another informed about current and upcoming changes and how they will affect each other. Strong communication includes providing regular updates about the status of each step in the process and addressing any concerns stakeholders might have about each change.  

5. Post-Implementation Review and Continuous Improvement 

A change advisory board must also oversee efforts to ensure new changes function properly and continue to do so over time. Performing an initial post-implementation review is an important step in helping stakeholders understand how well the change process worked. Continuing to monitor data that is related to that change over time can help a change advisory board identify areas in which the change is not performing well. The CAB can then strategize solutions for making improvements in those areas.