Understanding Changes, RITMs, and Standard Change Models in ServiceNow ITSM

[Edward Rosario]

What’s a Change?

In ServiceNow, a Change is a formal request to modify something in your production environment. This could be a code deployment, patch update, or infrastructure tweak—anything that alters your live system. The goal is to manage these modifications in a structured way to minimize disruption and risk.

What’s a RITM?

RITM stands for Request Item. It typically comes from a Service Catalog and represents a user's request for a specific product or service—like a new laptop or access to a software tool. A RITM kicks off a workflow and includes a series of tasks that need to be completed before fulfilling the request.

While RITMs and Changes might seem similar (they both involve workflows and tasks), they serve very different purposes. RITMs are user-facing requests, while Changes are more about internal, controlled modifications to your IT environment.

Change Models in ServiceNow

Within the Change module of ServiceNow ITSM, there are three main types of change models. Interestingly, all three use the same base form out of the box, but their use cases and approval processes differ.

1. Emergency Change
   This is your "break glass" scenario. Something’s broken or at risk, and you need to fix it ASAP. Approvals and documentation may be retrospective because speed is the priority.
2. Normal Change
   These changes are routine but still require planning and approvals. Think of a server upgrade or scheduled downtime—stuff you do regularly but still want oversight on, just in case something goes wrong.
3. Standard Change
   These are pre-approved, low-risk, and repeatable changes. Since they’ve been vetted ahead of time, the form can be prepopulated, approvals are skipped, and the change can be quickly scheduled and executed.

What About Standard Changes and the Portal?

Standard Changes often appear on the Service Portal or Employee Service Center (ESC) under a category like "Standard Changes." To the end user, they look very much like catalog items. The user selects a predefined change, fills out any remaining required fields, and submits.

But here’s the key difference: there’s no RITM involved. While it might feel like a catalog item experience, it’s actually built on a Change record with associated Change Tasks, not RITMs.

Why It Matters

If your organization is using ad hoc processes or has manually created catalog items for changes, it might be time to simplify. ServiceNow ITSM includes Change Management as part of its core licensing, and it’s surprisingly straightforward to implement out of the box.

By aligning with the standard Change models—especially leveraging Standard Changes—you can streamline your change process, reduce errors, and bring consistency to your IT operations.

TL;DR:

• Changes modify production.
• RITMs fulfill user requests via catalog items.
• Standard Changes are pre-approved changes that look like catalog items but are actually Change records.
• Most ServiceNow setups already include everything you need—no custom RITMs required.

Ready to simplify your change management? Start with what's already built into your ServiceNow instance