Combined Change Management release notes for upgrades from Xanadu to Zurich

zurich Combined Product Files

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zurich Combined Product Files

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Combined Change Management release notes for upgrades from Xanadu to Zurich

Release version: Zurich

Updated July 20, 2026

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Summary of Combined Change Management Release Notes for Upgrades from Xanadu to Zurich

This consolidated release note provides ServiceNow customers with a comprehensive view of all Change Management updates from the Xanadu release through to Zurich. It is designed to assist you in preparing for your upgrade by summarizing new features, changes, removals, and configuration considerations relevant to Change Management.

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The notes highlight important pre- and post-upgrade tasks, plugin dependencies, and system property configurations essential for a smooth transition to Zurich.

Key Features Introduced

Service Desk Agent Role Enhancement (Yokohama): Introduction of the snservicedeskagent user role to streamline tier 1 service desk operations, including integrated roles for incident, problem, change, and request management. Integration with ITSM Gen AI plugins further enhances capabilities within Service Operations Workspace version 6.1 and above.
Change Model Type Field: Addition of a new "Model" option to identify changes controlled by a change model, ensuring default classification when no type is specified.
Risk Field Behavior: Removal of default risk values on Change Requests to promote accurate risk assessment before change progression.
Mandatory Field Enforcement: New transition conditions require completion of mandatory fields before advancing change request states, aligning with Change Model requirements.
Security Enhancements: Implementation of deny-unless ACLs on changerequest and changetask tables to prevent unauthorized access, available via the ITSM Enhanced Security Features plugin. Customers upgrading should test this in sub-production environments prior to production deployment.
Conflict Detection Improvements (Zurich): Shift from Progress Workers to Flow-based conflict detection with the introduction of the Change - Conflict Detection flow and Change Management Worker table. The new UI formatter dynamically adapts based on the change.conflict.useprogressworker system property.
Control of CAB Meetings: Ability to control the opening of CAB meetings from multiple interfaces using the snchangecab.com.snc.changemanagement.cab.usesowmeeting system property.
Conflict Detection Limits: Introduction of the change.conflict.maxcount system property to cap the number of conflict records generated per conflict type, helping manage performance and data volume.
Standard Change Template Proposal (Zurich): Users with the itil role can propose standard change templates directly from Service Operations Workspace to improve change planning and consistency.

Key Changes and Removals

Workflow Replacement: Change Management workflows have been removed for new customers and replaced by Flow Designer flows, which are customizable and extendable. Existing customers with workflows are unaffected.
UI and Theming: The Coral theme becomes the new default for Next Experience and Core UI, providing a modernized user experience.

Security and Access Control

Customers are advised to install and evaluate the ITSM Enhanced Security Features plugin to enforce deny-unless ACLs on core Change Management tables, significantly reducing unauthorized access risks. Testing in non-production environments is essential before production implementation.

Activation and Browser Requirements

Change Management is active by default as part of the ServiceNow AI Platform in Yokohama and Zurich releases. There are no changes to browser or additional requirements noted between these releases.

Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

Upgrade preparation should include reviewing and configuring new system properties related to conflict detection and CAB meeting control.
Security improvements require evaluation and possible plugin installation to leverage deny-unless ACLs for protecting change management data.
Service desk operations can be optimized by adopting the new snservicedeskagent role, especially if leveraging AI enhancements.
Change request handling will benefit from enforced mandatory fields and more accurate risk assessments.
Transitioning to Flow Designer for change workflows offers greater flexibility and maintainability.

Consolidated page of all release notes for Change Management from Xanadu to Zurich.

How to use this page

To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Change Management release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Xanadu to Zurich.

Tip:

If there were no updates for a release notes section in a certain family release, we included a short note for your reference. For example, if a product did not have any updates in Tokyo, the row says "No updates for this release."

Important information for upgrading Change Management to Zurich

Before you upgrade to Zurich, review these pre- and post-upgrade tasks and complete the tasks as needed.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	As part of the update to use Flow instead of Progress Workers for conflict detection, the Conflict Checker Progress UI Formatter record references a new UI macro, change_conflict_worker_progress_gate. This macro checks the change.conflict.useprogressworker system property to determine the conflict detection mechanism and then displays the corresponding UI macro to work with either Progress Workers or the Change Management Worker table. For more information, see Conflict detection.

New features

Between your current release family and Zurich, new features were introduced for Change Management.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	User role for service desk agents With the sn_service_desk_agent user role, increase operational efficiency by streamlining the process of asking about, gathering, and verifying information, as well as delivering quick resolutions. This role is designed for tier 1 service desk agents and is accessible when the ITSM Roles plugin (com.snc.itsm.roles) installed. The sn_service_desk_agent role includes the following roles: sn_incident_write sn_problem_write sn_change_write sn_request_write tracked_file_reader Additionally, with the installation of the ITSM Gen AI (com.sn.itsm.gen.ai) plugin, the knowledge_user and now_assist_panel_user roles are integrated within the sn_service_desk_agent role. The sn_service_desk_agent user role can be used starting with Service Operations Workspace version 6.1. Change model Type field A new Model option has been added to the change model Type field to help users identify a change that is controlled by a change model. Model is the default if a Type has not been set for the change request of a certain change model. No default Risk value for change requests There is no longer a default value for the Risk field on the Change Request table. The Risk value is set to -- None -- until the risk is evaluated for the change request. This change ensures that no risk value is pre-assigned, allowing for a more accurate assessment before advancing the change Mandatory field transition condition Ensure mandatory fields are completed before advancing through states for a change request, as defined by the Change Model. This feature enables change managers to mandate the completion of required fields before states can progress according to the Change Model. Deny-unless ACLs on core tables Prevent unauthorized access to change_request and change_task tables using deny-unless ACLs. The deny-unless ACLs restrict access on these tables for a non-authenticated user to perform actions such as read, write, delete, or create. This feature is available for new or zBoot customers with the installation of the ITSM Enhanced Security Features (com.snc.itsm.enhanced_security) plugin. Existing or upgrade customers must test and evaluate in their sub production instance before installing the plugin and implementing the security change in their production instance.
Zurich	Control opening of CAB meetings Control the opening of a CAB meeting from the CAB Meeting calendar in the CAB Meeting workbench in Service Operations Workspace or in the Core UI through the sn_change_cab.com.snc.change_management.cab.use_sow_meeting system property. For more information, see Change Management properties. Track conflict detection Track the progress of conflict detection using the Change - Conflict Detection flow (that runs as a system user) and the Change Management Worker table instead of Progress Workers. You can choose between the Flow and Progress Worker options by updating the change.conflict.useprogressworker system property. A new UI formatter change_conflict_worker_progress_gate.xml has been introduced to the change request form to replace the existing change_request_conflict_progress.xml . This update supports the change.conflict.useprogressworker system property when you upgrade to Zurich. The new formatter displays the same Conflict tab but selects the macro version to render the form according to the value of the new system property. Define the maximum records for conflict detection Limit the maximum number of conflict records that can be generated for each conflict type when conflict detection runs through the change.conflict.max_count system property; create this system property if it is not already present.

Changes

Between your current release family and Zurich, some changes were made to existing Change Management features.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	Propose a standard change template in Service Operations Workspace As a user with the itil role, you can create a standard change template proposal in Service Operations Workspace.

Removed

Between your current release family and Zurich, some Change Management features or functionality were removed.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	Change Management workflows have been removed and replaced by flows for new customers. Existing customers that use these workflows are unaffected. The flows are available to both new and existing customers. You can use ServiceNow® Workflow Studio to customize or extend these flows. For more information, see Flow Designer.
Zurich	No updates for this release.

Deprecations

Between your current release family and Zurich, some Change Management features or functionality were deprecated.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	No updates for this release.

Activation information

Review information on how to activate Change Management.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	Change Management is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default.
Zurich	Change Management is a ServiceNow AI Platform feature that is active by default.

Additional requirements

If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Change Management we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	No updates for this release.

Browser requirements

If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Change Management we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	No updates for this release.

Accessibility information

Review details on accessibility information for Change Management, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich

Localization information

If there are specific localization considerations for Change Management we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	No updates for this release.
Zurich	No updates for this release.

Highlight information

If there are specific highlight considerations for Change Management we have noted them here.


Release	Release notes
Xanadu	No updates for this release.
Yokohama	Increase operational efficiency of tier 1 service desk agents with the dedicated sn_service_desk_agent role. Require specified field details to be updated before transitioning the state of a change request by converting existing optional fields to mandatory fields. Restrict unauthorized access to Change Management tables using deny ACLs. See Change Management for more information.
Zurich	Review and authorize change requests and review recently implemented changes in the Change Advisory Board Workbench in the Service Operations Workspace (SOW). Track conflict detection using the Change - Conflict Detection flow and the Change Management Worker table instead of Progress Workers. Limit the number of conflict records for each conflict type through the change.conflict.max_count system property. Coral is the new default theme for Next Experience and Core UI, offering a more modern experience. See Change Management for more information.