Need to modify Standard change

[VaishnaviR5151]

Here's a stronger ServiceNow Community post that includes the OOTB ITSM Change Main Flow context and the customization you've made:

---

Subject:

Additional Manager Approval Added to Standard Change - State Transition/Approval Conflict?

Hi Everyone,

We're troubleshooting a customized Standard Change process and would appreciate guidance from anyone who has implemented something similar.

Current Setup

We're using a custom "Standard Change with Approval" model.

OOTB, Standard Changes are generally pre-approved and follow the normal lifecycle. However, our requirement was to introduce an additional Assignment Group Manager Approval before the change moves to the Scheduled state.

Expected flow:

New

→ Assess

→ Assignment Group Manager Approval

→ Scheduled

→ Implement

→ Review

→ Closed

Existing Configuration

• OOTB [ITSM] Change Main Flow is active.
• We also introduced an additional custom flow to handle the Assignment Group Manager approval.
• A custom Change Model ("Standard Change with Approval") is being used.
• State model transitions are configured and the Assignment Group condition is being satisfied.

Issue

When users click Request Approval, the process is not progressing as expected and we're encountering an "Invalid update" behavior during the state transition process.

Investigation Done So Far

• Verified the Request Approval UI Action is executing.
• Confirmed state transition from New → Assess is being attempted.
• Verified Assignment Group is populated.
• Checked State Model transitions.
• Reviewed Flow Contexts and existing ITSM Change Main Flow execution.
• Found that the Schedule action relies on:

new ChangeRequest(changeGr).isNextManualState("-2");

which appears to validate whether Scheduled is the next permissible state.

Question

Has anyone successfully implemented an additional approval layer for a Standard Change while still leveraging the OOTB ITSM Change Main Flow?

Specifically:

1. Did you modify the Change Model, State Model, or Flow Designer logic?
2. Were there any conflicts between the OOTB Standard Change lifecycle and the custom approval process?
3. Could the OOTB Change Main Flow and custom approval flow both be trying to control state transitions, resulting in conflicts?
4. Are there any recommended approaches for introducing manager approvals into a Standard Change process that is normally pre-approved?

Before making further changes to the model/flow, we'd like to understand whether this pattern has been implemented successfully elsewhere and whether there are any known pitfalls.

Any insights or examples would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

---

This version will get better responses because it demonstrates that you've already checked the UI Action, State Model, Flow, and Script Includes, which usually attracts architects and experienced Change Management admins rather than generic replies.