Change management process
How a schema, overlay, or rule changes — from proposal through impact assessment, consultation, and release.
Status
This is a stub for upcoming work. The structure below is what we plan to populate; existing artefacts in source/ that feed it are cited inline.
What already exists (templates)
OPDA already has the templates — they just need to be consolidated under a single process document:
source/03-standards/trust-framework/docs/proposal.md— change proposal templatesource/03-standards/trust-framework/docs/proposal-impact-assessment-form.md— impact assessmentsource/03-standards/trust-framework/docs/change-notification-template.md— non-breaking change noticesource/03-standards/trust-framework/docs/breaking-change-notification-template.md— breaking change noticesource/03-standards/trust-framework/docs/compliance-and-policy-checklist.md— pre-release checklist
Proposed flow
flowchart LR
classDef step fill:#eef4f8,stroke:#1a4d80,color:#0b2545;
P[Proposal raised]:::step
IA[Impact assessment]:::step
WG[Working group review]:::step
CS[Public consultation]:::step
SG[Steering Group sign-off]:::step
REL[Release + notification]:::step
REG[Trust Registry update]:::step
P --> IA --> WG --> CS --> SG --> REL --> REG
Each step has clear owners under the DPMSG working-group structure.
Cadence
- Minor (additive / backward-compatible) — monthly release window
- Major (breaking) — twice-yearly, with 6-month migration window
- Regulatory-driven (e.g. MHCLG publishes successor to NTS) — fast-track, no consultation needed if conformist with the regulatory text