question Re: Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval. in CMDB forum

Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval.

SahithiAnka — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:02:26 GMT

Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval. Once approved the chnages should be reflected in the Database..How to acheive this?

Description: Could you please let me know how can we acheive the below requirement.
Below are the three action item performed by the user
1) Create a new CI
2) Update an existing CI
3) Decommision a CI

Before updating a CI, the fields which the user wants to update has to be sent to approval to the CI Owner. Once approved then only the changes should be reflected in the CMDB table

Re: Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval.

Dr Atul G- LNG — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:05:10 GMT

You can easily do this using a catalog item. The user can select one option—create, update, or decommission. Based on the request type, you can design the flow, place the approval step, and once it’s approved, automatically update the fields through automation. This enables zero human touch and ensures the work is completed quickly.

Re: Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval.

Ehab Pilloor — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:25:05 GMT

Hi @SahithiAnka,

The best approach is to do it via Catalog item and depending on request type, you can do appropriate automation.

Regards,

Ehab Pilloor

Re: Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval.

SahithiAnka — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:56:34 GMT

Thank you for the response.

CREATE A CI - Yes, I understand that we can achieve this via catalog item but in my case, there are multiple classes in a CI and we are not sure about the type of CI that the user is going to create.

UPDATE OF CI - In case of updating a CI, we need to prepopulate data for the user in order to update. So every class of a CI has multiple fields and we aren't sure what field data that we have to populate.

Please share your thoughts / suggestions.

Re: Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval.

Dr Atul G- LNG — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:00:22 GMT

Yes, for updates, you need to make sure you allow only a limited set of fields that a user can change. From both a technical and process standpoint, this request is not valid, because any change to a CI is the accountability and responsibility of the CMDB manager. The CMDB manager must ensure that all records are updated correctly, whether through discovery, integrations, or other approved methods.

I would strongly advise against this approach, as it introduces unnecessary technical debt.

You also cannot create a second option for every class with a large number of fields, since each field is of a different type. This would be very difficult to manage and scale in the long run. @SahithiAnka

Re: Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval.

fknell — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:10:53 GMT

@SahithiAnka You can also use a standard change, which could be added to the catalog too.

Re: Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval.

Dr Atul G- LNG — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:01:25 GMT

NO mate, Standard change dont need any approval. B

Re: Before the user updates the CMDB record I want the CI to be sent for approval.

Tony Branton — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:09:35 GMT

As a few others have suggested, the best method for supporting an approval process for creating or updating a CI is through a catalog request.

As for decommissioning a CI, that depends on whether you mean retiring a CI or something else. You can retire a CI using Data Manager which has OOB support for approving the retirement of a CI via a task. The only gotcha is that Data Manager uses a policy-base approach that targets CIs that meet specific criteria as opposed to something that's driven by a user for an individual CI (e.g. an action on a CI form).

The main advantages Data Manager gives are that it's automated and it supports retiring the CIs that are dependent on the CI being retired, preventing orphans from being created.