Change types
Summarize
Summary of Change types
Change Management in ServiceNow supports three ITIL-defined service change types: standard, emergency, and normal. The change type chosen dictates the workflow state model and the required change process, ensuring appropriate controls and approvals based on risk and urgency.
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Standard change
A standard change is a low-risk, pre-authorized, and frequently implemented change with repeatable steps and a proven success history. It follows a streamlined process, bypassing group-level, peer approvals, and CAB authorization. These changes can be accessed and requested efficiently through predefined templates in a change catalog, allowing the Change Management team to tightly control which changes qualify as standard.
Emergency change
Emergency changes must be executed immediately to resolve major incidents or critical issues like security patches. They bypass typical review and approval steps, proceeding directly to CAB approval due to their urgent nature. Emergency changes address situations where service impact has either already occurred (fix on fail) or is imminent (fail or fail). These changes do not follow the full lifecycle of a normal change. Additionally, emergency changes may trigger unauthorized change requests if unplanned CI changes occur, which then require approval.
Normal change
Normal changes are any changes that do not qualify as standard or emergency. They require a full, prescriptive process with multiple levels of approval including peer or technical review and CAB authorization. These changes undergo comprehensive assessments to minimize service disruption and are typically scheduled outside blackout periods or during maintenance windows. Normal changes implement beneficial modifications that need careful oversight.
Key outcomes for ServiceNow customers
- Clear classification of change requests enables appropriate workflows and approvals based on risk and urgency.
- Standard changes streamline common low-risk changes for faster implementation without sacrificing control.
- Emergency changes allow rapid response to critical issues while maintaining CAB oversight.
- Normal changes ensure thorough evaluation and controlled implementation of complex or higher-risk changes.
- Predefined templates and structured processes help teams efficiently manage and track change requests.
Change Management supports the three types of service changes ITIL describes — standard, emergency, and normal. The change type determines which state model is invoked and the change process that must be followed.
- Standard change
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A standard change is a pre-authorized change that is low risk, relatively common and follows a specified procedure or work instruction.
A standard change is one that is frequently implemented, has repeatable implementation steps, and has a proven history of success. As Standard changes are pre-approved, they follow a stream lined process in which group level or peer approval and CAB authorization steps are not required.
Approved standard change requests can be predefined in a catalog of templates to make accessing and requesting a standard change more efficient. This ability also enables the Change Management team to control the changes that are authorized as standard.
- Emergency change
A change that must be implemented as soon as possible, for example to resolve a major incident or implement a security patch. This change is of such a high priority that it bypasses group and peer review and approval and goes straight to the Authorization state for approval by the CAB approval group.
Emergency changes cover the following types of emergencies:
- Fix on fail or retroactive situations where the impact to service has already been experienced.
- Fail or fail situations where the impact to service is imminent if action is not taken.
During an emergency change, there are chances that an unplanned CI change activity occurs. During such a case, an unauthorized change request is created and sent for approvals. For more information, see Unauthorized change request.
- Normal change
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Any service change that is not a standard change or an emergency change.
Normal change requests follow a prescriptive process which requires two levels of approval before being implemented, reviewed, and closed. These changes require a full range of assessments and authorizations such as peer or technical approval, change management, and Change Advisory Board (CAB) authorization, to ensure completeness, accuracy, and the least possible disruption to service. These changes are most often scheduled outside of defined change blackout windows or during defined maintenance windows. The normal type is used to implement beneficial change for any change to a service that is not a standard or emergency change.
The following table summarizes about the three change types: