Advanced OT Change Model playbook

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
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    Summary of Advanced OT Change Model playbook

    The Advanced Operational Technology (OT) Change Model playbook outlines the structured stages and tasks necessary to manage OT changes with approvals, ensuring safe and effective modifications to industrial technology environments. This model guides ServiceNow customers through each phase—from initiation to closure—providing clarity on required information, approvals, and validations.

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    Initiate

    This stage captures essential change details and assigns responsibility. Key actions include:

    • Describing the change with a short description, detailed explanation, category, and site.
    • Identifying priority, risk level, and impact on industrial processes.
    • Assigning the change requestor, assignment group (must be OT type), and designated individual.

    Plan

    In the planning stage, customers add comprehensive documentation and scheduling, including:

    • Justification explaining why the change is needed.
    • Implementation plan detailing how the change will be carried out.
    • Risk and impact analysis related to the change.
    • Backout plan to reverse the change if necessary.
    • Test plan describing how the change will be validated.
    • Scheduling the change with planned start and end dates, optionally using the Scheduling Assistant to select downtime slots automatically.

    Approve

    Reviewers evaluate the change request and either approve or deny it. Approvers can add comments to provide context for their decision. This step ensures oversight and governance before implementation.

    Implement

    This stage involves executing the change with safety measures, including:

    • Stopping the function of targeted OT devices, if needed.
    • Completing Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures to prevent accidental machinery startup during maintenance.
    • Performing the actual change on OT devices and marking tasks complete.

    Post-implementation Review

    After implementation, this stage verifies the success and safety of the change by:

    • Conducting and marking completion of electrical, network, quality, and safety checks.
    • Creating spin-off OT change tasks for any additional work identified.
    • Revoking LOTO to restore normal operation once safety is confirmed.

    Spin-off Tasks

    Any remaining or follow-up change tasks identified in the review are tracked here to ensure full resolution and closure of the change.

    Close

    The final stage closes the change record, requiring customers to specify a close code and add any closing notes. This formalizes the completion of the change process and documents its resolution.

    Learn about the Advanced Operational Technology (OT) Change Model playbook stages that an OT change with approvals must go through until it’s completed.

    Initiate

    The Initiate stage of an OT Change request lets you capture the details of the requested change and assign the change as necessary. This stage has three tasks.
    Table 1. Describe the change
    Field Description
    Short description Brief description of the change.
    Description Details of the change.
    Category Type of change.
    Site Site where the change takes place.
    Watch list Users who receive notifications about this change when comments are added.
    Work notes list Users who receive notifications about this change when work notes are added.
    Table 2. Capture risk
    Field Description
    Priority Impact and urgency to identify how quickly the change should be addressed.
    Risk Amount of risk the change poses.
    Impact Measure of the effect that a change has on your industrial processes.
    Table 3. Assign the change
    Field Description
    Requested by User who requests the change.
    Assignment group Assigned group that works on the change. The assignment group can be any group with the type OT.
    Assigned to User who works on this change. If the assignment group changes, the Assigned to field is cleared.

    Plan

    The Plan stage of an OT change request lets you add a justification for the change, an implementation plan, a risk and impact plan, a backout plan, a test plan, and a time to schedule the change. This stage has six tasks.

    Table 4. Add justification
    Field Description
    Justification Reason why the change must take place.
    Table 5. Add implementation plan
    Field Description
    Implementation plan Details of how to implement the requested change.
    Table 6. Add risk and impact analysis
    Field Description
    Risk and impact analysis Details of any risk and impact factors that are related to this change.
    Table 7. Add backout plan
    Field Description
    Backout plan Details of how to reverse the change in place if necessary.
    Table 8. Add test plan
    Field Description
    Test plan Details of how to test the implemented change.
    Table 9. Schedule the change
    Field Description
    Planned start date Date that the change takes place.
    Note:
    You can also choose an available downtime slot on the calendar by selecting the Scheduling Assistant button to fill in the planned start date field automatically.
    Planned end date Date that the change ends.
    Note:
    You can also choose an available downtime slot on the calendar by selecting the Scheduling Assistant button to fill in the planned end date field automatically.

    Approve

    The Approve stage of an OT Change request lets reviewers approve or deny the OT Change. This stage includes only one task.

    Table 10. Review and take action
    Field Description
    Approve button If you're a reviewer shown in the table on the task form, select Approve to accept the change.
    Deny button If you're a reviewer shown in the table on the task form, select Deny to reject the change.
    Comments Additional information about the approval or denial of the change.

    For more information about change approvals, see Operational Technology change approval.

    Implement

    The Implement stage of an OT change request provides the details of the following tasks. You can mark this stage as complete when it's finished.

    Stop the function
    If needed, mark as complete after you stop the function of the targeted OT devices.
    Ensure LOTO
    Lockout/Target (LOTO) is a safety procedure to prevent accidental or unintentional start-up of machinery during maintenance or service. Mark as complete when LOTO is completed.
    Perform the change
    Mark as complete when the change is performed on the targeted OT devices and completed.

    Post-implementation Review

    The Post-implementation Review stage of an OT change request lets you check off the performed tasks, create additional OT change tasks for remaining work identified during the review, and mark the revoke LOTO process as complete.
    Table 11. Perform checks
    Field Description
    Perform electrical check Check box that you select after the electrical check has been completed.
    Perform network check Check box that you select after the network check has been completed.
    Perform quality check Check box that you select after the quality check has been completed.
    Perform safety check Check box that you select after the safety check has been completed.
    Table 12. Recommend spin-off tasks
    Field Description
    OT Change Tasks List of the change tasks that are related to the OT change.
    State State of the OT change. The state moves and tracks changes through several stages of resolution.
    Assigned to User who works on this change. If the assignment group changes, the Assigned to field is cleared.
    Short description Brief description of the change task.
    Revoke LOTO
    After the change is implemented and reviewed, mark as complete when the lockout-target is revoked.

    Spin-off Tasks

    The Spin-off Tasks stage lists all the change tasks in the Post Implementation Review that must be completed.

    Close

    The Close stage lets you close the change record after the change is completed.
    Table 13. Close change record
    Field Description
    Close code Reason that the change record was closed.
    Close notes Additional details about closing the change record.