How do you handle production handovers in ServiceNow?

[Domifry]

Hi all,

we're currently rethinking how we handle production handovers and are considering doing it via Change Management in ServiceNow. The idea would be:

1. The project team opens a change (type: Normal or Standard, depending on risk).

2. They add preparation tasks, such as verifying system quality, documentation, and access rights.

3. Once all prep tasks are completed, the operations team reviews and accepts the change.

4. The change is then scheduled, and the actual handover takes place at the agreed time.

We’re hoping this makes the process more transparent and traceable, especially for audits.

Has anyone done something similar?
Would love to hear how you structure handovers in your organization and whether using Change worked well for you.

Cheers,
Dominic

[Maik Skoddow]

Hi @Domifry 

Your approach of using ServiceNow Change Management for production handovers is quite innovative and aligns well with ITIL best practices. You're essentially creating a structured governance model that bridges project delivery and operational support.

Benefits of Your Proposed Approach

• Transparency & Auditability: Using Change Management creates an automatic audit trail with timestamps, approvals, and task completion records - exactly what auditors love to see.
• Structured Handover Process: The preparation tasks ensure nothing falls through the cracks during the critical transition phase.
• Clear Accountability: Having operations teams formally review and accept changes establishes clear ownership transfer points.

Change Type Selection

• Normal Changes: For complex applications or high-risk handovers requiring CAB review

• Standard Changes: For well-defined, low-risk handovers that follow established patterns (consider creating pre-approved templates)

Task Structure Recommendations

Consider organizing preparation tasks into categories:

• Technical Readiness: System performance validation, security scans, backup verification

• Documentation: Runbooks, architecture diagrams, troubleshooting guides

• Operational Readiness: Monitoring setup, alerting configuration, access provisioning

• Knowledge Transfer: Training completion, support team briefings

Alternative Approaches in the ServiceNow Ecosystem

Many organizations use complementary strategies:

• Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Integration: Some teams create a formal "Go-Live" milestone in PPM that triggers the Change Management process, providing end-to-end visibility.
• Service Catalog Approach: Creating a "Production Handover Request" catalog item that automatically generates the change record with pre-populated tasks based on application type/complexity.
• Custom Application: Building a dedicated handover application that integrates with Change Management while capturing additional project-specific metadata.

Best Practices for Success

• Template Standardization: Create change templates for different handover scenarios (web applications, databases, integrations, etc.).
• Automated Validations: Use Business Rules to ensure all preparation tasks are completed before allowing operations approval.
• Integration Points: Consider integrating with your CMDB to automatically update CI relationships and ownership during handover.
• Metrics & Reporting: Leverage ServiceNow's reporting capabilities to track handover success rates, time-to-completion, and identify process bottlenecks.

Potential Challenges

• Change Advisory Board (CAB) Overhead: For Normal changes, ensure your CAB process doesn't create unnecessary delays for routine handovers.
• Task Granularity: Balance between comprehensive preparation and process efficiency - too many tasks can slow things down.
• Tool Sprawl: Ensure this doesn't duplicate existing project management processes but rather complements them.

Hope that helps

Maik