Combined Change Management release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

zurich Combined Product Files

Release

zurich

ft:locale

en-US

ft:publication_title

zurich Combined Product Files

ft:clusterId

delta3zy

bundleId

delta3zy

Combined Change Management release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

Release version: Zurich

Updated July 20, 2026

6 minutes to read

Summarize

Summarized using AI

Summary of Combined Change Management release notes for upgrades from Yokohama to Zurich

This consolidated release notes document guides ServiceNow customers through the key updates, new features, changes, and important upgrade information for Change Management when moving from the Yokohama release to the Zurich release. It highlights enhancements designed to improve operational efficiency, security, and user experience within Change Management.

Show full answer Show less

Important Upgrade Information

Before upgrading to Zurich, review and complete the recommended pre- and post-upgrade tasks.
The Conflict Detection mechanism now uses a Flow and the Change Management Worker table instead of Progress Workers, configurable via the change.conflict.useprogressworker system property.
A new UI formatter (changeconflictworkerprogressgate.xml) dynamically selects the appropriate conflict detection interface based on the system property setting.

New Features

snservicedeskagent User Role: Introduced to streamline tier 1 service desk agent tasks, this role consolidates multiple permissions and integrates AI-related roles when the ITSM Gen AI plugin is installed. It is compatible starting with Service Operations Workspace version 6.1.
Change Model Type Field: Adds a "Model" option to clearly identify changes controlled by a change model, defaulting when no type is set.
No Default Risk Value: The Risk field on change requests now defaults to "-- None --" to ensure risk is evaluated before assignment.
Mandatory Field Transition Condition: Enables enforcement of required fields completion before state transitions in change requests, aligned with the Change Model.
Deny-unless ACLs: Enhances security by restricting unauthorized access to core Change Management tables (changerequest and changetask) for unauthenticated users. This requires the ITSM Enhanced Security Features plugin and careful testing before production deployment.
Control CAB Meeting Access: Administrators can control CAB meeting openings via a system property, allowing integration with Service Operations Workspace or Core UI.
Conflict Detection Limits: Administrators can limit the maximum number of conflict records per conflict type using the change.conflict.maxcount system property.

Changes

Standard Change Template Proposals: Users with the itil role can propose standard change templates directly within Service Operations Workspace.

Removed Features

Legacy Change Management workflows have been removed for new customers and replaced by Flow Designer flows. Existing customers retain workflows but can adopt flows for customization and extension.

Activation and Platform Information

Change Management remains an active ServiceNow AI Platform feature by default in both Yokohama and Zurich releases.

Additional Notes

There are no new additional requirements, browser requirements, localization considerations, or accessibility changes introduced in Zurich for Change Management.
Zurich introduces the Coral theme as the default for Next Experience and Core UI, delivering a modernized user interface.

Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

Improved operational efficiency for service desk agents with a dedicated user role that consolidates permissions and integrates AI capabilities.
Greater control and accuracy in change risk assessment and state transitions through mandatory fields and risk evaluation enhancements.
Enhanced security posture by restricting unauthorized access to critical Change Management data.
Simplified and flexible conflict detection with options to use modern Flow-based mechanisms and configurable limits on conflict records.
Streamlined change advisory processes with controlled CAB meeting access and enhanced template proposal capabilities in Service Operations Workspace.
Modernized UI experience with the Coral theme improving usability across interfaces.

Consolidated page of all release notes for Change Management from Yokohama 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 Yokohama 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.