Hello Community,
Now I know there is a lot of information available on docs and learning content for Change Request Management, but recently I got a feeling that there should be a one-stop shop for Change Mangement information. That is the reason I am drafting this article, so that we could have a theoretical consolidated information about Changes in SeviceNow. I have picked up these points from docs, learning content and information available on community. This article would help you have a general idea about important terms and terminologies used in Change in SeviceNow. It would also help you with Change Management topics for your interviews and tests.
What is Change and Change Request Management?
- A Change is any planned update or modification to IT systems that follows an approval and review process.
- Change Request Management is the controlled procedure for submitting, evaluating, approving, and implementing specific changes to a product, system, or project.
Roles in Change Request Management
- Change_owner: - Oversees and takes responsibility for the entire change management process.
- Change_manager: - Manages the CAB, coordinates teams and stakeholders, makes final decisions to approve or reject proposed changes, and directs the implementation of approved changes.
- Change_initiator:- Proposes changes, collects, and organizes relevant details, and creates plans for change implementation.
- CAB(Change Advisory Board):- Analyzes and evaluates proposed changes and provides recommendations that the change manager may use in making approvals.
- Software developer:- Often takes on the role of ‘change initiator;’ software developers are directly involved in most IT changes and are worth considering in conjunction with most other IT change management roles.
Why Change Management?
Consider something as routine as applying a scheduled antivirus update. This necessary maintenance task is usually very straightforward and relatively painless. However, while security patches are being applied, inward- and outward-facing systems may experience downtime or other issues. As such, the organization is presented with a difficult choice: experience regular interruptions while updating systems, or risk potentially devastating consequences from not updating their security tools.
For organizations to remain competitive, their IT teams need to be able to provide stable, reliable, consistent service. At the same time, they must help the organization adapt to changing needs through regular service updates. Unfortunately, these two directives are often at odds with one another—stability and reliability demand consistency, while service updates, by their very nature, introduce change.
Change Management in ServiceNow
The ServiceNow® Change Management application provides a systematic approach to control the life cycle of all changes, facilitating beneficial changes to be made with minimum disruption to IT services.
Change Management in IT infrastructure library (ITIL)
ITIL is a framework for standardizing the lifecycle of IT services within an organization. ITIL improves the efficiency and predictability of IT-service selection, delivery, management, maintenance, etc.
ITIL is one of the most popular frameworks for IT service management (ITSM), and is used throughout nearly every industry. In terms of IT change management, ITIL categorizes change into three groups:
- Standard Change
A Standard Change is a pre-authorized, low-risk, and repeatable change that follows a documented, proven implementation process.
It does not require additional review or approval each time because it has already been assessed and approved as safe. - Emergency Change
An Emergency Change is a change that must be implemented as soon as possible to fix a major incident, prevent service outage, or address a critical security issue.
Approval is expedited, often occurring after implementation. - Normal Change
A Normal Change is a change that requires risk assessment, planning, CAB (Change Advisory Board) review, and approval.It follows the full change lifecycle. - This type is used when the change is not pre-approved and not an emergency.
Learn more about change management and request types supported by ServiceNow.
Request for change (RFC)
RFC is a formal request for implementing a specific change. The RFC should contain all information necessary for evaluating and approving or rejecting the change, with the level of detail depending upon the size of the change and its potential impact and risk.
The RFC is a detailed request for change but is not the change itself. This request is sent to the CAB and must provide them with all the information they need to accurately assess the change.
Change advisory board (CAB)
CAB describes the team of individuals tasked with evaluating proposed changes to the IT environment. The formality and complexity of a CAB will vary from organization to organization and may be as simple as an email list or forum, or something as formal as an actual board led by a designated chairman. In all cases, the CAB must be composed of IT decision makers and technical experts, who can apply their own knowledge and experience in reviewing changes.
When a change is suggested, the CAB receives the relevant RFC and uses that information to inform their evaluation. However, the CAB is not responsible for making the final decision. Final approval instead falls to the change manager.
Here is the Demo Example of how CAB gets request in ServiceNow Native UI form:
ServiceNow CAB
The CAB workbench assists you in managing CAB meetings in the following ways:
- Define a schedule for CAB meetings
- Define CAB meeting attendees
- Define CAB meeting agenda
- View change calendar
- Approve or reject a change request
- View and record meeting note
Change Request Management Life Cycle:
1. Change Request (Create)
A Change Request (CR) is created to introduce, modify, or remove something that could affect IT services.
In ServiceNow, this is the formal record that captures the reason, type, and required details of the change.
2. Change Request Review (Initial Assessment)
ServiceNow defines this as the initial assessment performed by the Change Manager or Change Coordinator.
They verify:
- completeness of the request
- correct change type (Standard/Normal/Emergency)
- risk, impact, and urgency
- assignment to the right group
This step ensures the change is valid and ready for planning.
3. Change Planning
This is where the technical teams add mandatory ServiceNow change elements:
- Implementation Plan
- Test Plan
- Backout Plan
- Risk & Impact Analysis
- Schedule / Planned Start & End Dates
- Conflict Check
ServiceNow requires these fields for Normal and Emergency changes before approval.
4. Change Approval
According to ServiceNow, approvals depend on workflows based on change type.
Approvers may include:
- Change Manager
- CAB (Change Advisory Board)
- ECAB (Emergency CAB)
- Technical / Business Approvers
A change cannot proceed to implementation until all required approvals are granted.
5. Change Implementation
Once approved, the change moves to the Implement state.
The assigned team executes the implementation plan during the approved change window.
All work notes, updates, and task progress must be logged in ServiceNow.
6. Change Review (Post-Implementation Review / PIR)
ServiceNow defines this step as a Post-Implementation Review.
The Change Manager checks:
- whether objectives were met
- if the change caused incidents
- if the implementation/backout plan was followed
This determines whether the change is Successful, Unsuccessful, or Partially Successful.
7. Change Closure
The Change Manager closes the record after verifying:
- documentation is complete
- all related tasks are closed
- review is done
- no pending actions remain
Closed changes become part of the permanent audit and reporting history in ServiceNow.
Change Request Management States:
- New: - The change request is created and awaits initial review.
- Assess: - The Change Manager evaluates risk, impact, and required details to move the change forward.
- Authorize: - Required approvers (like CAB/Change Manager) approve the change to proceed.
- Scheduled: - The change is assigned a planned start/end time and is ready for implementation.
- Implement: - The technical team performs the actual change work according to the plan.
- Review: - A Post-Implementation Review checks if the change was successful and identifies any issues.
- Closed: - The change is completed, documented, and formally closed.
- Cancelled: - The change is withdrawn or stopped before completion due to no longer being required or valid.
Change Tasks:
In ServiceNow, Change Requests often include different task types to guide the change from planning to completion. Two of the most important task types are Implementation Tasks and Post-Implementation Tasks.
1. Implementation Task
This is the primary task where the actual change work happens.
Purpose:
- To execute the steps defined in the implementation plan.
- To apply the change safely during the approved change window.
What It Includes:
- Deploying updates or patches
- Making configuration changes
- Replacing or upgrading hardware/software
- Executing scripts or workflows
- Adding work notes and progress updates
Why It Matters
The implementation task ensures the change is performed in a controlled, trackable manner. Only after this task is completed can the change move to the review stage.
2. Post-Implementation Task (PIR Task)
This task occurs after the change has been implemented.
Purpose:
- To verify whether the change achieved its goal.
- To ensure no new issues were introduced.
- To review the overall success or failure of the change.
What It Includes:
- Functional testing and service validation
- Checking for related incidents or problems
- Documenting success, failure, or deviation
- Recording lessons learned
- Confirming that services are stable
Why It Matters
The post-implementation task provides visibility into the quality of the change and helps prevent future risks by identifying what worked and what needs improvement.
Change Task States:
Open: - The task is newly created and assigned but no work has been started yet.
Work in Progress: - The assigned user or group is actively performing the task activities.
Closed Complete: - All required work is successfully finished and the task meets the change requirements.
Closed Incomplete: - The task is closed without completion because needed information, access, or resources were not available.
Closed Skipped: - The task was intentionally not executed because it became unnecessary or out of scope for the change.
Closed Failed: - The task was performed but did not achieve the expected outcome, causing the task to fail.
Change approval policies:
Help change teams balance velocity, stability, and compliance using individual change conditions.
Risk intelligence:
Use machine learning similarity algorithms and classification to make data-driven risk predictions.
Overall Summary of Change Request Management
Change Request Management in ServiceNow is all about bringing structure and control to the way IT changes are planned and executed. Every change—whether it’s routine maintenance, a system update, or a major fix—moves through a defined process so that teams can keep services stable while still improving and adapting to new needs.
The application follows ITIL best practices and provides tools like CAB Workbench, approval workflows, and risk assessment features to help teams make informed decisions and avoid unplanned disruptions. The goal is simple: deliver changes smoothly, with minimal impact, and complete visibility.
Key Points from the Overall Blog:
- Roles involved: - Change Owner, Change Manager, Change Initiator, CAB members, and technical teams all play a part in assessing, approving, and carrying out changes.
- ITIL Change Types: - ServiceNow supports Standard, Normal, and Emergency changes, each with its own level of review and risk assessment.
- Lifecycle of a Change Request: - A change goes through creation, assessment, planning, approval, implementation, review, and finally closure. Each step helps ensure that the change is well-documented and safe to proceed.
Change Tasks
Two major task types help track the work:
- Implementation Tasks – where the actual change work is performed.
- Post-Implementation Tasks (PIR) – where teams validate results, check for issues, and document outcomes.
Task States: - Change tasks move through states like Open, Work in Progress, Closed Complete, Skipped, Incomplete, or Failed, giving clear visibility into progress.
CAB Support: - The CAB Workbench makes it easy to schedule meetings, review RFC details, and take decisions.
Risk & Approval Features: - Risk intelligence improves prediction of change impact, while approval policies help maintain consistency and compliance.
Conclusion
ServiceNow Change Request Management provides a complete, structured, and intelligent framework for controlling IT changes. By integrating ITIL practices, real-time risk insights, automated workflows, and thorough review mechanisms, it reduces service disruption while improving operational reliability.
With its lifecycle, task management, and CAB governance, ServiceNow empowers organizations to deliver changes efficiently, safely, and confidently.
Your inputs and suggestions are welcomed. Also let me know if you found any mistake or any points which may be missing in the article.
💡If you find this Helpful, do mark it as Helpful 😊
Regards,
Soham Tipnis
Tera Contributor || ServiceNow Community
