31 Change Management

I. Change Management

• Definition (from Wikipedia): "The objective of change management...is to ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes to control IT infrastructure, in order to minimize the number and impact of any related incidents upon service."
  • Key Idea: Change Management provides a structured, standardized process for managing changes to the IT environment (hardware and software). The goal is to minimize disruption and risk.
• What is a Change? (Wikipedia definition, elaborated):
  • Approved: Changes must be authorized by management.
  • Minimized Risk: Implemented with an understanding and acceptance of potential risks.
  • New Status: Results in a change to the state of one or more Configuration Items (CIs).
  • Increased Value: Provides a benefit to the business.
• Types of Changes in ServiceNow:
  • Standard Change: Pre-approved, low-risk, frequently performed changes (e.g., routine server reboots). Often not tracked as a formal Request for Change (RFC).
  • Normal Change: A typical change that requires a formal RFC, review by the Change Advisory Board (CAB), and approval by a change manager.
  • Emergency Change: A change that must be implemented immediately (e.g., a critical security patch). Review often happens after implementation.
• Table: Change records are stored in the change_request table.
• Complexity: Change Management in ServiceNow is complex due to:
  • Multiple change types (each with its own workflow).
  • The ability to request new normal changes.
  • Many moving parts and configurations.
• Change Management Features:
  • Risk Assessments: Questions or calculations to determine the risk level of a change.
  • Workflows: Out-of-box workflows for each change type (Standard, Normal, Emergency).
  • Service Catalog: A catalog for proposing new standard changes.
  • Schedules: Change schedules (e.g., weekly CAB meetings).
  • Calculated Risks: Considers dependencies and potential conflicts between changes (e.g., multiple changes affecting the same CI).
• Change through releases
  • change management has had dramatic changes over past releases

II. Demo: Change Management in ServiceNow

• Change Application Modules:
  • Create New: Opens an interceptor to select the change type (Standard, Normal, Emergency). This is a key difference from Incident/Problem.
  • Open, Closed, All: List views of changes.
  • Overview: Change statistics dashboard.
• Standard Change Section:
  • Standard Change Catalog: Allows ITIL users to request pre-approved standard changes.
  • Network Standard Changes: An example category.
  • Add Network Switch to Data Center: An example standard change. Selecting this creates a new change request with pre-populated fields based on a Standard Change Template.
  • My Proposals, Open Proposals: Proposals for new standard change types.
  • All Templates: Displays all Standard Change Templates.
  • Standard Change Template: Defines the values that are automatically populated when a standard change of that type is created (Short Description, Description, Implementation Plan, Backout Plan, Test Plan, etc.). This saves time and ensures consistency.
  • Statistics Tab (in Template): Shows how often the standard change has been requested.
• Change Advisory Board (CAB) Section:
  • CAB Workbench: Opens a service portal with a calendar view of CAB meetings.
  • CAB Meetings: Can be viewed to see associated changes.
  • Define New CABs, View All CAB Meetings: Options for managing CABs.
• Schedule Section:
  • Change Schedules: Allows defining organizational change schedules.
• Administration Section:
  • Change Properties: System-wide settings for Change Management.
  • Risk Conditions: Define conditions that determine the risk level of a change (often using advanced scripting).
  • Blackout Schedules: Dates/times when changes are not allowed.
  • Maintenance Schedules: Schedules for planned maintenance.
  • Conflict Properties: Settings related to change conflicts.
  • Standard Change Properties: Settings specifically for standard changes.
• Interceptor (Create New):
  • The interceptor prompts the user to choose a change type (Normal, Standard, Emergency).
  • Edit Interceptor: Shows the interceptor record, where the target URLs for each change type are defined.
• Creating Different Change Types:
  • Normal Change: Selecting "Normal Change" in the interceptor creates a new change request with Type = Normal. The "Type" field is read-only.
  • Standard Change: Selecting "Standard Change" in the interceptor displays the Standard Change Catalog. Choosing a specific standard change creates a new change request with pre-populated fields.
  • Emergency Change: Selecting "Emergency Change" in the interceptor creates a new change request with Type = Emergency.
• Change Request States and Workflow:
  • States: New, Assess, Authorize, Scheduled, Implement, Review, Closed, Canceled. The change must progress through these states in order.
  • Show Workflow: Displays the workflow associated with the change request. Each change type has a different workflow.
  • Standard Change Workflow: Much simpler than the Normal/Emergency workflows.
• Moving a Change Through States:
  • Scheduled: Requires specifying an Assignment Group.
  • Implement: The stage where the change is actually carried out.
  • Review: The CAB reviews the completed change.
  • Close: Requires a Close Code and Close Notes.
• Calculate Risk UI Action:
  • Calculates the risk of the change based on risk conditions and other factors (e.g., other changes affecting the same CI).
• Approvals (Emergency Change Example):
  • Moving an emergency change to the next state triggers approval requests.
  • Approvers can approve directly from the related list.
  • Approvals drive the workflow forward.
• Change Tasks:
  • Change Tasks are created as part of the change process (e.g., "Implement" and "Post-Implementation Testing" tasks).
  • Closing all Change Tasks can automatically move the change to the next state (e.g., from Implement to Review).

Key Takeaways:

• Change Management in ServiceNow enforces a structured process. The different change types, workflows, and states ensure that changes are handled consistently and with appropriate approvals.
• Standard Changes significantly streamline routine tasks. Templates and pre-approval reduce overhead for frequently performed changes.
• The interceptor is a key part of the Change Management process. It guides users to the correct change creation path.
• Workflows are central to Change Management. They define the steps and approvals required for each change type.
• Risk assessment and management are built into the process.
• Change Tasks provide a way to break down the implementation of a change into smaller, manageable steps.
• The CAB Workbench and related modules provide tools for managing the change approval process and scheduling. This integrates with the broader IT governance framework.