Any Marketo Admin who has worked with me has heard me scold them to "Make sure to log it in the changelog!" many times. A changelog is a shared spreadsheet where you log any changes made in Marketo that have a global impact—operational programs and smart campaigns, Admin, global smart lists, and segmentation. The key to a changelog is not just what was changed, but why. You can get the what by looking at Audit Trail. But Audit Trail won't tell you why the change was made, which can the key to understanding your instance in the future. Think of it as a gift from current you to future you (and your team).
Prop Tip: fill out the changelog before you make the change—that way you have to slow down to explain to yourself what you are doing, and you'll make much smarter changes to your instance.
To get you started, below is my changelog template!
P.S. If you find yourself constantly reminding your teammates to fill out the changelog, please feel free to sing The Changelog Song to them, to the tune of "We Are The Champions":
🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶
We have a changelog, my friend
And we need to use it, to the end
We have a changelog
Fill out the changelog!
No, you can’t skip it
Because we need a record ... of the change
🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶
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