Change Control Policy (ENG-POL-002)

1. Objective

This policy establishes comprehensive requirements for managing changes to the video streaming platform’s information systems, applications, and infrastructure. The policy ensures that all changes are properly authorized, thoroughly tested, and implemented systematically without compromising security, availability, or user experience across the platform’s operations.

2. Scope

This policy applies comprehensively to all changes affecting production systems, applications, network infrastructure, security controls, and platform configurations that support video streaming services. The policy governs planned changes, emergency changes, and standard changes across all environments and geographic regions where the company operates its services.

3. Policy

3.1 Change Management Framework

  • All changes must follow a structured change management process with documented procedures.
  • Formal change request documentation and approval must be obtained before implementing any changes.
  • Risk assessment and impact analysis must be conducted for all changes regardless of scope or complexity.
  • Testing and validation must be performed in non-production environments before production deployment.
  • Rollback procedures and contingency planning must be established for all changes.
  • Post-implementation review and documentation must be completed for all changes.
  • Change management must be integrated with incident management and problem management processes.

3.2 Change Classification

Changes are classified based on risk and urgency:

Standard Changes:

Standard changes must be pre-approved, low-risk modifications with established documented procedures. These include routine maintenance activities, security patches, and configuration updates that follow well-understood processes. Automated deployments through approved pipelines are permitted for standard changes, provided they have minimal business impact and utilize well-tested procedures. Changes deployed via fully automated CI/CD pipelines that include mandatory security scans (SAST, SCA) and successful integration tests are considered pre-approved Standard Changes and do not require manual review by the [Change Governance Body Name].

Normal Changes:

Normal changes require formal review and approval through established governance processes. These changes include new feature deployments and significant system updates that may impact operations. Infrastructure modifications and capacity changes fall into this category, as do changes affecting multiple systems or user-facing services that require coordinated implementation and oversight.

Emergency Changes:

Emergency changes are urgent modifications required to resolve critical incidents or address immediate security threats. These include security patches for actively exploited vulnerabilities and changes needed to restore service availability during outages. Emergency changes must follow an expedited approval process while maintaining appropriate controls, with mandatory post-implementation review to ensure proper documentation and learning capture.

3.3 Platform-Specific Change Requirements

Special considerations for video streaming platform changes:

Content Delivery Changes:

Content delivery modifications require careful consideration of global impact and user experience. Geographic rollout strategies must be implemented for global content delivery network changes to ensure smooth transitions across different regions. CDN configuration changes must include comprehensive traffic impact assessments to prevent service disruptions. Video encoding and transcoding pipeline modifications must be thoroughly tested to maintain content quality and delivery performance. Content caching and storage system updates must be coordinated to ensure continuous availability and optimal performance across all geographic locations.

Algorithm Updates:

Algorithm changes require specialized testing and validation procedures to ensure fairness and effectiveness. A/B testing requirements must be fulfilled for all recommendation algorithm changes to validate performance and user impact. Bias testing and fairness assessments must be conducted for algorithm modifications to prevent discriminatory outcomes. User impact analysis must be performed for content moderation algorithm updates to ensure proper content governance. Gradual rollout procedures must be implemented for algorithm deployments to monitor performance and user response before full implementation.

Mobile Application Changes:

Mobile application modifications require coordination with external app store approval processes and careful consideration of user device diversity. App store approval process coordination must be managed to ensure timely deployment and compliance with platform requirements. Feature flag management must be implemented for gradual feature rollouts to control user exposure and gather feedback. Backward compatibility testing must be conducted with older app versions to ensure continued functionality for users who have not updated. Regional deployment strategies must be developed for different markets to account for varying user preferences and regulatory requirements.

3.4 Change Authorization

  • Technical approval must be obtained from system owners and architecture teams for all changes affecting system functionality.
  • Security approval must be secured for any changes affecting security controls or potentially impacting security posture.
  • Business approval must be obtained for changes affecting user experience or business operations.
  • Executive approval must be required for high-risk or high-impact changes that could significantly affect operations.
  • Automated approval must be configured only for standard changes that meet pre-defined criteria and risk thresholds.

3.5 Testing and Validation

  • All changes must undergo unit testing and integration testing in dedicated development environments.
  • Security testing must be performed including vulnerability scanning and penetration testing for security-relevant changes.
  • Performance testing must be conducted to ensure scalability and optimal user experience.
  • User acceptance testing must be completed for all feature changes that impact user functionality.
  • Regression testing must be performed to ensure existing functionality is preserved and not adversely affected.

3.6 Deployment and Implementation

  • Scheduled maintenance windows must be established for user-impacting changes to minimize disruption.
  • Blue-green or canary deployment strategies must be utilized for production changes to ensure safe rollouts.
  • Real-time monitoring must be implemented during change implementation to detect issues immediately.
  • Immediate rollback capability must be available and tested for all changes before deployment.
  • Communication must be provided to stakeholders regarding change status and any potential impacts.

3.7 Documentation and Audit Trail

  • All changes must be fully documented with comprehensive change requests including business justification and technical details.
  • Approval records and authorization documentation must be maintained for all implemented changes.
  • Testing results and validation evidence must be preserved to demonstrate proper verification procedures.
  • Implementation logs and deployment records must be captured and stored for audit and troubleshooting purposes.
  • Post-implementation review and lessons learned must be documented to improve future change management processes.

4. Standards Compliance

Policy Section Standard/Framework Control Reference
3.1 ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.12.1.2
3.1 PCI DSS v4.0 Req. 6.5.1
3.2, 3.4 SOC 2 Type II CC8.1
3.2 PCI DSS v4.0 Req. 6.5.2
3.5 NIST Cybersecurity Framework PR.IP-2
3.5 PCI DSS v4.0 Req. 6.5.3
3.6 ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.14.2.2
3.6 PCI DSS v4.0 Req. 6.5.4
3.7 SOC 2 Type II CC3.1
3.7 PCI DSS v4.0 Req. 12.1

5. Definitions

Change: Any addition, modification, or removal of anything that could affect IT services and systems.

[Change Governance Body Name]: A group of stakeholders responsible for reviewing and authorizing normal and emergency changes.

Rollback: The process of returning a system to its previous state following an unsuccessful change.

Blue-Green Deployment: A deployment strategy that reduces downtime by running two identical production environments.

Canary Deployment: A deployment strategy that gradually rolls out changes to a small subset of users before full deployment.

Feature Flag: A software development technique that allows features to be enabled or disabled without deploying new code.

Maintenance Window: A scheduled period when changes can be made to production systems with minimal user impact.

6. Responsibilities

Role Responsibility
Change Advisory Board Review and approve normal changes, assess change risks, and ensure proper change management processes.
Change Initiators Submit complete change requests, provide business justification, and coordinate change implementation.
System Owners Review changes affecting their systems, participate in testing, and approve technical implementations.
Operations Team Implement approved changes, monitor system performance, and execute rollback procedures when necessary.
[Security Department/Team Name] Review security implications of changes, approve security-related changes, and monitor for security impacts.
Quality Assurance Conduct testing and validation of changes, verify functionality, and ensure quality standards are met.

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