POL-3: Change Management Policy

Purpose

This policy establishes the process for managing changes to LNC Nexus systems, applications, and infrastructure. It ensures that changes are evaluated, tested, and approved to minimize risk and maintain the stability of legal-medical knowledge and analysis services.

Scope

This policy applies to all changes affecting LNC Nexus hosted, private, or self-managed deployments. It covers software updates, configuration modifications, and infrastructure adjustments.

Policy Statements

All changes must be documented, evaluated for risk, and approved before implementation. Emergency changes require post-implementation review and approval. In self-managed deployments, customers manage their own change processes; LNC Nexus provides guidance but not enforcement. Changes to regulated data handling must include privacy impact assessments. No change shall be implemented without a rollback plan.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Change Advisory Board evaluates and approves changes. System administrators implement approved changes and maintain records. Users report issues arising from changes. The Security Team reviews changes for security implications.

Evidence and Review

Change requests, approval records, and implementation logs serve as evidence of compliance. The Security Team conducts periodic reviews of change management practices and investigates anomalies. Deployment-specific configurations are treated as controlled material.

Exceptions

Exceptions to this policy require written approval from the Security & Compliance owner or delegated risk owner and must be documented with a risk acceptance statement. Exceptions are valid only for a defined period and must be re-evaluated before expiration.

Enforcement

Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination, and legal prosecution where applicable. Changes may be reverted immediately upon detection of a violation.

Related Policies

POL-4 (Vulnerability Management Policy), POL-16 (Risk Management Policy), POL-17 (Incident Response Policy).

Revision History