Using Operational Technology Change Management to optimize your production process

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Using Operational Technology Change Management to optimize your production process

    The Operational Technology (OT) Change Management application enables ServiceNow customers to collaboratively manage changes to OT devices and industrial equipment configurations. These changes include optimizations, production process alterations, and vulnerability fixes. This application allows organizations to handle OT change requests separately from Information Technology (IT) change requests by distinguishing them based on network type and site, providing clearer control and focus on OT-specific operations.

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    Key Features

    • Separate OT and IT change requests: Change requests are categorized by network type—IT, OT, or None—allowing targeted management. OT change requests are automatically assigned the "OT" network type when created from the Industrial Workspace.
    • Role-specific scenarios: Examples include OT remediation owners initiating vulnerability fixes, OT technicians addressing equipment malfunctions, and plant heads reviewing and approving changes to production activities.
    • Change models with state transitions: Two OT Change Models are available to suit organizational needs:
      • Basic OT Change Model: States include New, Plan (covering justification, implementation plan, risk and impact analysis, backout plan, test plan, scheduling), Implementation, Closed, and Canceled.
      • Advanced OT Change Model: Adds an Approve state for review and approval, and a Post-Implementation Review state to perform electrical, network, quality, and safety checks before closing or canceling the change.

    What to Expect

    By adopting Operational Technology Change Management, ServiceNow customers can expect streamlined, role-based workflows for managing OT changes. This separation ensures OT devices and industrial processes receive focused attention, reducing risks associated with operational disruptions. The structured state models guide teams through comprehensive planning, approval, implementation, and review phases, enhancing change visibility and control across production sites.

    The Operational Technology Change Management application enables your team members to work collaboratively on changes to operational technology (OT) devices or industrial equipment configurations. These changes include any optimizations, alterations in the production process, or vulnerability fixes.

    Operational Technology Change Management overview

    By using the Operational Technology Change Management application, you can manage your OT change requests separately from your Information Technology (IT) change requests. You can separate OT change requests from IT change requests by the network type and you can manage OT change requests per site.

    The following examples show how to apply Operational Technology Change Management to your organization:
    • An OT remediation owner, who's responsible for fixing vulnerabilities on OT devices, wants to initiate a change to fix a group of vulnerabilities.
    • An OT technician, who's responsible for OT configurations and plant engineering activities, wants to execute a change to fix a malfunctioned robotic arm on the industrial floor.
    • A plant head, who's responsible for overall production activity, wants to review and approve a change requested by the engineering team.

    OT change requests

    OT change requests occur when there’s a disruption in service from an OT device on an OT network. In some cases, the OT device may not be known when the change request is created. When you create an OT change request from the Industrial Workspace, the change request is automatically assigned a Network Type of OT. This attribute is used to distinguish an OT change request from an IT change request. This field isn’t displayed by default. For more information about OT devices, see OT device related items and related lists.

    For more information about how to create an OT change request, see Create a change request.

    Separating an IT and OT change

    When the Operational Technology Change Management application is installed on your instance, you can choose a Network Type of IT, OT, or None. New change requests are assigned a Network Type of None by default.

    Operational Technology Change Management model state transitions

    The following tables list the Operational Technology Change Management model state transitions for both the Basic OT Change Model and the Advanced OT Change Model. For more information about the OT Change Models, see Select a change model to fulfill change requests.
    Table 1. States for the Basic OT Change Model
    State Description
    New An OT change request is initiated.
    Plan The OT change request is analyzed with the following criteria:
    • Justification
    • Implementation plan
    • Risk and impact analysis
    • Backout plan
    • Test plan
    • Schedule the change
    Implementation The change is performed on the targeted OT device.
    Closed The change record is closed after the change is completed.
    Canceled The change record is canceled and the change isn’t applied to the OT device.
    Table 2. States for the Advanced OT Change Model
    State Description
    New An OT change request is initiated.
    Plan The OT change request is analyzed with the following criteria:
    • Justification
    • Implementation plan
    • Risk and impact analysis
    • Backout plan
    • Test plan
    • Schedule the change
    Approve The reviewers approve or deny the OT change request.
    Implementation The change is performed on the targeted OT device.
    Post-Implementation Review Add additional OT change tasks if needed and perform the following checks:
    • Electrical check
    • Network check
    • Quality check
    • Safety check
    Closed The change record is closed after the change is completed.
    Canceled The change record is canceled and the change isn’t applied to the OT device.