Using Operational Technology Change Management to optimize your production process

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Using Operational Technology Change Management to optimize your production process

    The Operational Technology (OT) Change Management application enables teams to collaboratively manage changes to OT devices and industrial equipment configurations, including production process optimizations, alterations, and vulnerability fixes. This application allows organizations to manage OT change requests distinctly from IT change requests by categorizing them based on network type and by site, supporting more tailored and efficient change control in operational environments.

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    Key Features

    • Separation of OT and IT Change Requests: Change requests can be classified by Network Type as OT, IT, or None, allowing clear differentiation and appropriate handling of OT-specific changes.
    • Role-Based Use Cases: Various OT stakeholders such as remediation owners, technicians, and plant heads can initiate, execute, and approve changes relevant to their responsibilities.
    • Automatic Network Type Assignment: OT change requests created from the Industrial Workspace are automatically assigned an OT Network Type, streamlining the categorization process.
    • Change Models: Two OT Change Management models are available:
      • Basic OT Change Model: Includes states New, Plan, Implementation, Closed, and Canceled, focusing on essential change lifecycle steps.
      • Advanced OT Change Model: Adds approval and post-implementation review steps with checks for electrical, network, quality, and safety compliance, enhancing control and risk management.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers leveraging OT Change Management can expect a structured approach to handling operational technology changes, increasing visibility and control over production-related modifications. By distinguishing OT from IT changes, organizations can reduce risk, improve compliance with safety and quality standards, and ensure changes are reviewed and approved by appropriate stakeholders. The availability of two change models offers flexibility to match organizational maturity and complexity in OT environments.

    The Operational Technology Change Management application enables your team members to work collaboratively on changes to operational technology (OT) devices or industrial equipment configurations. These changes include any optimizations, alterations in the production process, or vulnerability fixes.

    Operational Technology Change Management overview

    By using the Operational Technology Change Management application, you can manage your OT change requests separately from your Information Technology (IT) change requests. You can separate OT change requests from IT change requests by the network type and you can manage OT change requests per site.

    The following examples show how to apply Operational Technology Change Management to your organization:
    • An OT remediation owner, who's responsible for fixing vulnerabilities on OT devices, wants to initiate a change to fix a group of vulnerabilities.
    • An OT technician, who's responsible for OT configurations and plant engineering activities, wants to execute a change to fix a malfunctioned robotic arm on the industrial floor.
    • A plant head, who's responsible for overall production activity, wants to review and approve a change requested by the engineering team.

    OT change requests

    OT change requests occur when there’s a disruption in service from an OT device on an OT network. In some cases, the OT device may not be known when the change request is created. When you create an OT change request from the Industrial Workspace, the change request is automatically assigned a Network Type of OT. This attribute is used to distinguish an OT change request from an IT change request. This field isn’t displayed by default. For more information about OT devices, see OT device related items and related lists.

    For more information about how to create an OT change request, see Create a change request.

    Separating an IT and OT change

    When the Operational Technology Change Management application is installed on your instance, you can choose a Network Type of IT, OT, or None. New change requests are assigned a Network Type of None by default.

    Operational Technology Change Management model state transitions

    The following tables list the Operational Technology Change Management model state transitions for both the Basic OT Change Model and the Advanced OT Change Model. For more information about the OT Change Models, see Select a change model to fulfill change requests.
    Table 1. States for the Basic OT Change Model
    State Description
    New An OT change request is initiated.
    Plan The OT change request is analyzed with the following criteria:
    • Justification
    • Implementation plan
    • Risk and impact analysis
    • Backout plan
    • Test plan
    • Schedule the change
    Implementation The change is performed on the targeted OT device.
    Closed The change record is closed after the change is completed.
    Canceled The change record is canceled and the change isn’t applied to the OT device.
    Table 2. States for the Advanced OT Change Model
    State Description
    New An OT change request is initiated.
    Plan The OT change request is analyzed with the following criteria:
    • Justification
    • Implementation plan
    • Risk and impact analysis
    • Backout plan
    • Test plan
    • Schedule the change
    Approve The reviewers approve or deny the OT change request.
    Implementation The change is performed on the targeted OT device.
    Post-Implementation Review Add additional OT change tasks if needed and perform the following checks:
    • Electrical check
    • Network check
    • Quality check
    • Safety check
    Closed The change record is closed after the change is completed.
    Canceled The change record is canceled and the change isn’t applied to the OT device.