Network management apparatus, network management method and network management system

A network management method performed by a network management apparatus, comprising:

• an acquiring step of acquiring a change request that describes information on contents of a change plan relating to a network configuration;
• a first determination step of determining, based on the information included in the acquired change request, whether or not to perform an automatic approval that approves the change request without notifying an approver of the change request;
• an assessment step of assessing, based on the information included in the acquired change request, a risk of implementing a change in accordance with the change request;
• and
• a second determination step of determining whether or not to perform the automatic approval based on the risk assessed in the assessment step with respect to the change request for which the automatic approval has not been determined to be performed in the first determination step.

A network management system, comprising:

• at least one memory configured to store program code;
• and
• electronic circuitry including at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to read and operate according to the program code, the electronic circuitry configured to:
• acquire a change request that describes information on contents of a change plan relating to a network configuration;
• determine, based on the information included in the change request, whether or not to perform an automatic approval that approves the change request without notifying an approver of the change request;
• assess, based on the information included in the change request, a risk of implementing a change in accordance with the change request;
• and
• determine whether or not to perform the automatic approval based on the risk with respect to the change request for which the automatic approval has not been determined to be performed.