Change Management

Introduction

This tutorial series covers ServiceNow Change Management, explaining how to use, administer, and develop within the application. It's suitable for ITIL users, ServiceNow administrators, and developers.

What is Change & Change Management?

• Change: Addition, modification, or removal of any authorized, planned, or supported service/component that could affect IT services. Think of adding/removing features in ServiceNow itself.
• Change Management: Standard procedures and practices for managing change requests effectively, minimizing risk and impact on business operations. It helps manage the risks associated with implementing changes.

Change Management Process (Activities)

The process follows a sequence:

1. Create and Log: A change request is created.
2. Review: Change is reviewed and prioritized.
3. Evaluation: Impact, risk, and benefits are assessed.
4. Approvals: Authorization is required before implementation.
5. Implementation: Change is implemented as per schedule.
6. Validation: Verification that the change was implemented correctly and without negative consequences.

Change Management Application in ServiceNow

ServiceNow provides a Change Management application to automate and track this process. It offers a systematic approach to control the lifecycle of changes.

• Accessing the Application: Type "change" in the application navigator.
• Modules:
  • Create New: Opens a new change request form.
  • Open: Lists open change records.
  • Closed: Lists closed change records.
  • All: Lists all change records.
  • Overview: Dashboard with change metrics.
  • Standard Change: Configuration for standard changes.
  • Change Advisory Board (CAB): CAB Workbench and related options.
  • Schedules: Change schedules (maintenance, blackout, default).
  • Change Policy: Change approval policies and definitions.
  • Administration: Configuration options (properties, risk conditions, etc.).
  • ATF Suites: Automated Testing Framework test cases.

Change Management Plugins

Various plugins enable features:

• Change Management Core, ITSM Roles, Business Stakeholder, State Model, Collision Detector, Risk Calculator, Change Schedule, Risk Assessment, Standard Change Catalog, Bulk CI Changes, Mass Update CI, Approval Policy, CAB Workbench.
• Many are activated by default (e.g., in New York release).
• Some (e.g., Mass Update CI, Risk Assessment) might need manual activation. *Access the plugin via typing "plugins" in application navigator.

Change Types

ServiceNow supports three change types (aligned with ITIL):

1. Standard Change:

   • Pre-authorized, low-risk, follows specified procedures.
   • Frequently implemented, repeatable steps.
   • No CAB approval required.
   • Uses pre-approved templates.
   • Simplified workflow (auto-approval, scheduled, implement, review).

2. Emergency Change:

   • Implemented ASAP to resolve high-priority issues.
   • Bypasses some approvals, moves directly to CAB authorization.
   • Often "post" changes (record created after implementation).
   • Example: Adding database space to fix a production outage.
   • Workflow includes CAB approval, but fewer steps than normal changes.

3. Normal Change:

   • Doesn't fall under standard or emergency.
   • Follows the complete change lifecycle (two levels of approval).
   • Planned, may have impact.
   • Requires assessment, approvals, and often presented in CAB meetings.
   • Defined maintenance window.
   • Workflow involves more activities and a full lifecycle.

Change Form and Fields

The change request form captures details:

• Top Section: Process flow (New, Assess, Authorize, Scheduled, Implement, Review, Closed, Canceled).
• Key Fields:
  • Number, Reported by, Category, Service, Configuration Item, Priority, Risk, Impact, Type, State, Conflict Status, Assignment Group, Assigned To, Short Description, Description.
• Planning Section: Justification, Implementation Plan, Risk and Impact Analysis, Backout Plan, Test Plan.
• Schedule Section: Planned Start/End Date/Time, CAB Required, CAB Date, Actual Start/End Date, CAB Delegate, CAB Recommendation.
• Conflicts Section: Shows conflicting changes (e.g., multiple changes to the same CI at the same time).
• Notes Section: ITIL notes, work notes, watch lists.
• Closure Information Section: Closure Code, Close Notes.

ServiceNow Change Process Flow (States)

1. New: Default state for a new change.
2. Assess: Quality, impact, and risk are assessed.
3. Authorize: Change is under approval.
4. Scheduled: Change is approved, awaiting implementation.
5. Implement: Change is being implemented.
6. Review: Results of the implemented change are reviewed.
7. Closed: Change is complete.
8. Canceled: Change is canceled.

Change Creation

Ways to create change records:

• New Option: From the "Change" application.
• Incident/Problem Records: Right-click, "Create Normal/Standard/Emergency Change."
• CI: From a Configuration Item, "Add to New/Existing Change Request."
• Standard Change Catalog: Select a pre-approved template.
• Copy Existing Change: Right-click, "Copy Change."

Creating and Processing Changes (Demo Walkthrough)

The text provides a detailed walkthrough of creating each change type (Normal, Emergency, Standard):

• Normal Change:

  • Fill out the form, set a future schedule.
  • Request approval (goes to assignment group and CAB approvers).
  • Impersonate approvers to approve.
  • Move through states (Scheduled, Implement).
  • Close tasks (implementation, post-implementation testing).
  • Close the change (select closure code and notes).

• Emergency Change:

  • Similar to normal, but bypasses some approvals (goes directly to CAB).
  • Faster workflow.

• Standard Change:

  • Select from pre-approved templates.
  • Some fields are pre-populated and read-only.
  • No approvals required (moves directly to Scheduled, then Implement).

The demo highlights the differences in workflow and approval processes for each change type. It emphasizes the out-of-the-box nature of the workflows and the possibility of customization, while recommending sticking to the standard processes as much as possible.