reviewing-update-sets

Reviewing ServiceNow Update Sets

Review, analyze, and compare update sets before promotion, and read the preview problems of retrieved (remote) update sets. See references/update-set-fields.md for update types, risk categories, preview problem types and pre-promotion checklist fields.

Tables and roles

This skill needs an admin-level identity. Every table it reads returns 403 or no rows for itil + snc_read_only.

Table	What it holds
sys_update_set	Local update sets
sys_update_xml	One row per captured change
sys_remote_update_set	Update sets retrieved from another instance, with a state and a collisions count
sys_update_preview_problem	Problems a preview found for a retrieved set
sys_update_version	Version history of each customised record

When access is denied

• 403 on sys_update_set (or list_update_sets fails): the review is not assessable with this identity. Say an admin-level identity is needed, configured in the MCP server by whoever runs it, and stop rather than guess. Never ask for credentials or tokens in the conversation.
• 0 rows from sys_update_preview_problem: either nothing was found or the rows are hidden. Check the set's collisions count and state before calling a set clean.

Workflows

1. List & Summarize Update Sets

Get an overview of update sets by state with change counts.

Progress checklist (copy into your response):

- [ ] List update sets by state
- [ ] Get change counts for each
- [ ] Summarize by developer and state

1. List update sets by state:

   list_update_sets(state="in progress", limit=20)
   list_update_sets(state="complete", limit=20)
   

2. For each update set, get the change count:

   list_update_set_changes(update_set_sys_id="<sys_id>", limit=1)
   

3. Summarize: name, state, developer, change count, last modified date.
4. Batch review (all sets in one state, e.g. everything "complete" awaiting promotion): for each set run the Deep Review steps below in brief — categorize changes by type, flag high-risk items — then check for cross-set conflicts (the same target_name / name in sys_update_xml across two sets), give each set a promotion-readiness verdict, and recommend a promotion order that respects dependencies.