State model and transitions

Release version: Washingtondc

Updated February 1, 2024

3 minutes to read

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Summary of State model and transitions

The Change Management module in ServiceNow provides a structured state model to effectively manage and track change requests through various states. This enables organizations to streamline their change processes, ensuring clarity and accountability at each stage. Notifications are sent to users when their change requests transition to key states, enhancing communication throughout the process.

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Key Features

Change States: The change requests can move through several defined states: New, Assess, Authorize, Scheduled, Implement, Review, Closed, and Canceled. Each state serves a distinct purpose in the change management lifecycle.
Email Notifications: Users receive notifications as their change requests progress to Scheduled, Implement, Review, and Canceled states, keeping them informed of important updates.
Change Types: Different types of changes (normal, standard, emergency) have unique progressions through the state model. Standard and emergency changes can bypass certain states, facilitating quicker approvals.
Reverting Changes: Users can revert normal and emergency change requests back to the New state if needed, allowing for adjustments before final approval.
State Modification: Change request types can be modified while in the New state, enabling flexibility based on evolving requirements.
State Model Customization: Organizations can add new states to the existing model and configure transitions using script includes or UI policies, tailoring the process to fit specific needs.

Key Outcomes

By implementing this state model, ServiceNow customers can expect improved management of change requests, streamlined processes, and enhanced communication. The ability to revert requests and modify types increases adaptability, while the structured state transitions ensure that all changes are properly reviewed and authorized before implementation.

Change Management offers a state model to move and track change requests through several states.

State transitions in a normal change request — Figure 1. Example of state transitions for a normal change request

The following table provides a list of all the states that a change request can progress through. Email notifications can be sent to the user who requested the change when it progresses to the following states: Scheduled, Implement, Review, and Canceled.

Table 1. Change states
State	Description	State value
New	Change request is not yet submitted for review and authorization. A change requester can save a change request as many times as necessary while building out the details of the change prior to submission.	-5
Assess	Peer review and technical approval of the change details are performed during this state.	-4
Authorize	Change Management and the CAB schedule the change and provide final authorization to proceed.	-3
Scheduled	The change is fully scheduled and authorized, and is waiting for the planned start date. An email notification is sent to the user who requested the change.	-2
Implement	The planned start date has approached and the actual work to implement the change is being conducted. An email notification is sent to the user, who requested the change.	-1
Review	The work has been completed. The change requester determines whether the change was successful. A post-implementation review can be conducted during this state. An email notification is sent to the user who requested the change. Note: You cannot cancel the change request if it is in the Review state.	0
Closed	All review work is complete. The change is closed with no further action required.	3
Canceled	A change can be canceled at any point when it is no longer required. However, a change cannot be canceled from a Closed state. An email notification is sent to the user who requested the change.	4

Normal, standard, and emergency changes progress through states in different ways.

Change state progress for different types of changes — Figure 2. Change state progress

State progress for different changes

Normal changes progress through all states.
Standard changes are considered to be pre-authorized, so they bypass the Assess and Authorize states that trigger approval records. Approving these changes progress the change to the next appropriate state. Rejecting these changes send them back to New state.
Emergency changes are similar to standard changes, except that they must be authorized.

Revert a change request to a New change

Change Management allows the Emergency and Normal change types to be reverted to the new state which is the first approval state using the Revert to New action from the Context Menu. This action is performed if the approval was requested and the submitter recognizes that not all configuration item in the scope of the change is included before submitting for approval.

To modify the Normal change request to the New state, modify the state of a change request from Assess state to New state by clicking Revert to New from the Context menu.
To modify the Emergency change request to the New state, modify the state of a change request from Authorized state to New state by clicking Revert to New from the Context menu.
Note:
When you revert to New from the Assess state or the Authorized state, the workflow is restarted and all pending approvals are cancelled.

Modify change request type

A new ACL for change_request.type has been added that allows modification of the Type field in change request when the change request is in a New state and no approvals have been generated yet for it.
In case of Standard change request, you can modify the type of the change request from Standard to Normal or Emergency, if the state of a change request is New.
In case of Normal or Emergency change request, you can modify the type of the change request from Normal to Emergency or vice versa if the state of a change request is New.
If a Normal or Emergency change request is rejected, the state of the change request is set to New. As the state of the change request is New, you can modify the type of the change request again. For example, if your Emergency change request is rejected on the grounds that the change request is Normal, you can modify the Type of the change request to Normal and resubmit the change request.

Disabled Cancel change action

The Cancel option for a change request in the Review state is disabled. This restricts cancelling the request when the work is complete and is waiting for review.