What Is Change Management?
Change management in ServiceNow is something that a surprising number of even large organizations don’t get totally right.
Keep in mind, the below is a template or framework to follow – it is not a mandate!
There are many different flavors and styles of Change Management. The below is what some companies follow.
Ultimately when implementing Change Management, you need to engage your organization and IT Management, to ultimately design a proper solution for your team. Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to perform this or that way.
Some companies may not have a “Routine” change, and some companies may have a unique approval process, involving VP’s for their emergency changes. That is all completely fine.
Okay, let’s get into it.
Change management in ServiceNow is a process that helps organizations to plan, coordinate, and implement changes to their IT systems and services. It helps to ensure that changes are made in a controlled and organized way, minimizing the risk of disruptions to the operation of the systems and services.
In ServiceNow, the change management process typically includes the following steps:
- Planning: This involves identifying the need for a change and determining the scope of the change.
- Coordination: This involves coordinating the change with the relevant stakeholders and ensuring that all necessary approvals and approvals are obtained.
- Implementation: This involves carrying out the actual change, which may involve making changes to hardware, software, or processes.
- Testing: This involves testing the change to ensure that it has been implemented correctly and that it does not negatively impact the operation of the system or service.
- Review: This involves reviewing the change to determine whether it was successful and to identify any lessons learned that can be applied to future changes.
Overall, the goal of change management in ServiceNow is to ensure that changes are made in a way that is orderly, controlled, and minimizes risk to the organization.
Incident, Problem and Change Management – Work Together
Changes are a part of the “bigger picture” in IT Service Management.
There are upstream causes, that create incidents – and that usually starts with incidents, which roll into problems.
In ServiceNow, incidents, problems, and changes are related in that they are all used to manage and resolve issues that may arise with a system or application.
This is a crucial point to understand.
Incidents are used to track and resolve issues that are impacting the operation of a system or application. When an incident is reported, it is typically assigned to a specific individual or group who is responsible for investigating and resolving the issue. Once the issue has been resolved, the incident is closed.
Problems are used to identify and address the root cause of incidents that are related to a common issue. When multiple incidents are reported that are related to the same underlying issue, a problem record is created to track and resolve the root cause of the incidents.
Changes are used to manage and implement changes to a system or application. Changes may be required in order to fix problems, or
to implement new features or functionality. Change management processes are used to review and approve change requests, and to ensure that changes are made in a controlled and consistent manner.
So when you think about IT Service Management, realize that incidents, problems, and changes work together in ServiceNow to help organizations manage and resolve issues that may arise with their systems and applications.
Incidents are used to track and resolve immediate issues, while problems are used to identify and address the underlying causes of those issues.
Changes are used to implement necessary changes to the system in a controlled and consistent manner.
What Are The Types Of Change Requests?
Not every change request is created the same.
Changes vary widely on their impact, risk and their rollback process.
Some changes impact a small team and other changes can impact customers.
Let’s discuss the most common types of changes.
Again, most companies don’t adhere to just these 3, and they may call them something else.
Every company is a little different.
The Routine Change
In ServiceNow, a routine change is a type of change request that is used for changes that are routine and follow a predetermined process. Routine changes are typically low risk and can be implemented without requiring extensive planning or coordination. Examples of routine changes might include installing a software update or patch, adding a new user to the system, or making a small configuration change.
Routine changes are typically classified as “standard changes” in ServiceNow. Standard changes are those that are routine and follow a predetermined process, and are typically low risk and can be implemented without requiring extensive planning or coordination. Standard changes are typically used for changes that are repetitive and follow a well-established process, and are often handled by a designated group or individual within the organization.
Overall, the goal of routine changes in ServiceNow is to ensure that changes are made in a controlled and efficient manner, minimizing the risk of disruptions to the operation of the systems and services.
The Standard Change
In ServiceNow, a standard change is a type of change request that is used for changes that are routine and follow a predetermined process. Standard changes are typically low risk and can be implemented without requiring extensive planning or coordination. Examples of standard changes might include installing a software update or patch, adding a new user to the system, or making a small configuration change.
Standard changes are typically used for changes that are repetitive and follow a well-established process, and are often handled by a designated group or individual within the organization. The goal of standard changes is to ensure that changes are made in a controlled and efficient manner, minimizing the risk of disruptions to the operation of the systems and services.
Standard changes are typically classified as “routine changes” in ServiceNow. Routine changes are those that are routine and follow a predetermined process, and are typically low risk and can be implemented without requiring extensive planning or coordination. Overall, the goal of standard changes in ServiceNow is to ensure that changes are made in a controlled and efficient manner, minimizing the risk of disruptions to the operation of the systems and services.
The Emergency Change
In ServiceNow, an emergency change is a type of change request that is used for changes that need to be made quickly in order to address a critical issue or outage. Emergency changes are typically high risk and require immediate attention in order to prevent significant disruptions to the operation of the systems and services. Examples of emergency changes might include applying a patch to fix a security vulnerability, restoring a system after a hardware failure, or fixing a bug that is causing the system to crash.
Emergency changes typically require a more expedited process and may involve bypassing some of the normal change management controls in order to address the issue as quickly as possible. They are typically handled by a designated group or individual within the organization who has the authority to make the necessary changes and coordinate with the relevant stakeholders.
The goal of emergency changes in ServiceNow is to address critical issues as quickly as possible in order to minimize the risk of disruptions to the operation of the systems and services.
What Is a CAB (Change Advisory Board)? What Are The Responsibilities Of A CAB?
In ServiceNow, a CAB (Change Advisory Board) is a group of individuals who are responsible for reviewing and approving change requests. The CAB is typically composed of representatives from different areas of the organization, including IT, business units, and management.
CAB’s tend to meet on a weekly basis, and it is usually the full time job of a person to run a CAB meeting.
The primary role of the CAB is to review change requests and ensure that they are necessary, feasible, and aligned with the overall goals and objectives of the organization. The CAB will typically consider factors such as the potential impact of the change, the risks associated with the change, and the resources required to implement the change.
Once the CAB has reviewed and evaluated a change request, it will make a recommendation on whether the change should be approved or denied. If the change is approved, the CAB may also provide guidance on how the change should be implemented, including any necessary controls or safeguards that should be put in place.
Overall, the CAB plays a critical role in the change management process in ServiceNow, as it helps to ensure that changes are made in a controlled and consistent manner, with minimal disruption to the organization.
Change Requests And Approvals
The workflow and approval engines are crucial components to the automation layer behind Change Management in ServiceNow.
But not all change requests will require an approval.
A very repeatable and low risk change should not always require an approval, for example.
In ServiceNow, change requests typically require approval before they can be implemented. The specific types of change requests that require approval will depend on the organization’s change management policies and procedures.
For routine and standard change requests, the approval process is typically more streamlined, as these types of changes are typically low risk and can be implemented without requiring extensive planning or coordination. The approval process for routine and standard change requests may involve reviewing the change request to ensure that it follows the predetermined process, obtaining the necessary approvals from relevant stakeholders, and verifying that all necessary resources are available to implement the change.
For emergency change requests, the approval process is typically more expedited, as these types of changes are typically high risk and require immediate attention in order to prevent significant disruptions to the operation of the systems and services. The approval process for emergency change requests may involve reviewing the change request to ensure that it is necessary to address a critical issue or outage, obtaining the necessary approvals from relevant stakeholders, and verifying that all necessary resources are available to implement the change.
Overall, the goal of the approval process for change requests in ServiceNow is to ensure that changes are made in a controlled and organized way, minimizing the risk of disruptions to the operation of the systems and services.
Change Requests and Workflows
In ServiceNow, a workflow is a series of tasks that are automatically completed in a specific order to achieve a desired outcome. A change request is a request for change that is made by a user or an automated process in the system. Workflows and change requests can be related in that a change request can trigger a specific workflow to be initiated.
Every change request, should follow a workflow in ServiceNow.
For example, a change request might be made to update the configuration of a system. The change request process would involve reviewing the request, approving it, and then implementing the change.
The implementation of the change could be automated using a workflow that includes tasks such as backing up the current configuration, updating the configuration, and testing the updated configuration to ensure it is functioning correctly.
In this way, workflows and change requests can be used together to automate the process of making and implementing changes to a system in a consistent and controlled manner.
Change Blackout Windows
Change blackout windows are periods of time during which changes to a system or application are not allowed to be made. These blackout windows are typically put in place to ensure that the system or application remains stable and available during times when it is most critical, such as during business hours or when the system is being heavily used.
Change blackout windows are often used in conjunction with change management processes to help ensure that changes are made in a controlled and consistent manner. During a change blackout window, all change requests must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate authorities before they can be implemented. This helps to reduce the risk of unexpected or unplanned changes being made to the system, which could potentially cause disruptions or outages.
So change blackout windows are an important tool for maintaining system stability and availability, and are often used to ensure that the impact of changes on the system is minimized.
Blackout Windows Over the Holidays?
Definitely.
So most companies won’t want to interrupt their service offerings or risk having an outage on their company site – during the busiest times of the year.
It is common for companies to implement change blackout windows during the holiday season in order to minimize the risk of disruptions or outages during a time when the organization may be running at a reduced capacity.
During the holiday season, many companies may have fewer staff members available to handle any issues that may arise from changes being made to the system. In addition, the holiday season is often a time when the organization’s systems and applications may be under more stress due to increased usage or demand.
As a result, companies will often implement change blackout windows over the holidays to ensure that the system remains stable and available during this critical time. This may involve restricting the implementation of changes to certain hours of the day, or to certain days of the week, depending on the specific needs and requirements of the organization.
This along with a weekend blackout window is pretty common.
You need to establish when users can and cannot push code.
Under certain circumstances, you would need to require higher approval if a change does need to be pushed over the weekend or holidays.
But again – this varies wildly in the industry and is not always adhered to – and sometimes, for good reason.
Change Requests and Change Tasks
In ServiceNow, a change task is a task that is associated with a change request and is used to track the work that is being done as part of the change request process. Change tasks can be used to break down the work associated with a change request into smaller, more manageable pieces.
For example, if a change request was made to update the configuration of a system, the change request process might involve several different tasks, such as:
- Backing up the current configuration
- Updating the configuration
- Testing the updated configuration to ensure it is functioning correctly
- Deploying the updated configuration to production
Each of these tasks could be represented as a separate change task within the change request. The change request process would then involve completing each of these change tasks in the appropriate order.
Change tasks can be assigned to specific users or groups and can include information such as the status of the task (e.g., in progress, completed, etc.), the priority of the task, and the estimated time to complete the task. This information can be used to track the progress of the change request and ensure that it is completed efficiently and effectively.
Overall, the type of change request used will depend on the nature and complexity of the change being made, as well as the potential impact on the organization.
We hope you now have a better understanding of IT Change Management.
We’d love to hear any thoughts or questions you may have below.
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