Overdue Change Controls

[Jade K]

For those of us who use the change management module in ServiceNow and run a regular CAB meeting, what kind of guidance do you provide your teams for reducing overdue change controls, especially during the summer months when a large number of engineers are taking PTO? Can a manager close a change control for an engineer? Or do they have to be a delegate?

Some context: Our overdue change control averages are not terrible, but they do tend to get worse during the summertime. As the change manager, I would like to send a communication out to our engineers and CAB members to help curb the overdue change controls. 

[Kieran Anson]

Hey,

Whats your definition of an overdue change? One that's in the implementation phase but not marked as implemented (and in the review) stage?

[Jade K]

Hi Kieran - Our definition of overdue is a change control that is past the planned end date and is not marked as Draft or Closed.

[Kieran Anson · Accepted solution]

Thanks for clarifying,

If you have the Change Models plugins installed and in-use, you can easily specifying state transition rules on who/when a record can be transitioned. 

For example, OOB with this plugin the following can occur:

• Automatic transition to 'Review' if no active change tasks are found
• Anyone with the itil or sn_change_write can review an implemented change

In previous orgs, I've locked that down so only members of the assignment group that the change is aligned to, or the group manager can move the change. Equally change_manager users have full permissions to override it.

Change Models provides a lot more flexibility. I'd highly recommend it, if not already in use.

In terms of notifying, a flow could be used that is trigger when the change request is moved to implement and set to wait till X hours after the implementation window. A notification can then be triggered/change task to the group manager to review.

[Jade K]

We are absolutely underutilizing the Change Models. This seems like it may be our golden ticket! Thank you so much for your detailed response!