N10-009 Question 189
Single answer3.1 Explain the purpose of organizational processes and procedures.A network administrator needs to replace a failed core switch in the middle of the business day. The replacement requires a brief outage for several departments, and the administrator wants to avoid confusion, reduce risk, and ensure management is aware of the impact. Which organizational process should the administrator follow FIRST to handle this work properly?
- A
Submit a change request through the organization's change management process
- B
Update the asset inventory to reflect the new switch serial number
- C
Review the acceptable use policy for employees affected by the outage
- D
Perform a vulnerability scan on the replacement switch before installation
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best answer is to submit a change request through the organization's change management process. In Network+ objectives related to organizational processes and procedures, candidates are expected to understand why businesses use formal processes such as change management, incident response, escalation procedures, and asset management. In this scenario, the key issue is not just replacing hardware, but doing so in a controlled way that accounts for risk, downtime, approvals, communication, and rollback planning. Change management frameworks and IT operational best practices commonly require documenting the reason for the change, expected impact, maintenance window, test plan, and backout plan before work begins. Asset inventory updates and technical validation are still important, but they occur within or after the approved change workflow rather than replacing it.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Change management is the organizational process used to formally review, approve, schedule, document, and communicate changes that may affect production systems. Replacing a core switch during business hours introduces operational risk and user impact, so the first step is to follow the change management process. This helps ensure proper approvals, outage notification, rollback planning, and coordination with stakeholders.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Updating the asset inventory is important after the replacement is completed or once the hardware assignment is confirmed, but it is not the first organizational process to follow when planning a production-impacting change. Asset management tracks equipment ownership, lifecycle, and configuration details, but it does not provide approval and communication controls for the outage itself.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. An acceptable use policy defines how end users may appropriately use organizational IT resources. It is not the primary procedure for approving or coordinating infrastructure maintenance. Someone might choose this if they confuse user policy documents with operational change procedures, but AUPs do not govern planned network modifications.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Security validation of the replacement device may be appropriate as part of technical preparation, especially to confirm firmware status or baseline configuration, but it does not address the required organizational approvals, scheduling, business impact review, or stakeholder communication. This is a technical task, not the primary organizational process for initiating the work.