change-management

Change Management for ServiceNow

Change Management ensures controlled modifications to IT infrastructure through standardized processes and approvals.

Change Types

Type	Approval	Risk	Example
Standard	Pre-approved	Low	Password reset template
Normal	CAB approval	Medium	Server patching
Emergency	Post-implementation	High	Production outage fix

Change Request Structure

Change Request: CHG0010001
├── Risk Assessment
│   ├── Impact: Medium
│   ├── Risk: Low
│   └── Conflict Status: Clear
├── Schedule
│   ├── Planned Start: 2024-03-15 22:00
│   └── Planned End: 2024-03-15 23:00
├── Approvals
│   ├── Manager Approval: Approved
│   └── CAB Approval: Pending
├── Change Tasks
│   ├── Task 1: Backup current config
│   ├── Task 2: Apply patches
│   └── Task 3: Verify functionality
└── Affected CIs
    ├── PROD-WEB-001
    └── PROD-DB-001

Creating Changes

Normal Change (ES5)

// Create normal change request
var change = new GlideRecord("change_request")
change.initialize()

// Basic info
change.setValue("short_description", "Apply security patches to web servers")
change.setValue("description", "Monthly security patch deployment for production web tier")
change.setValue("type", "normal") // normal, standard, emergency

// Classification
change.setValue("category", "Software")
change.setValue("priority", 3)

// Risk assessment
change.setValue("risk", "low") // high, moderate, low
change.setValue("impact", 2) // 1-High, 2-Medium, 3-Low

// Schedule
var startDate = new GlideDateTime()
startDate.addDaysLocalTime(7)
startDate.setValue("2024-03-15 22:00:00")
change.setValue("start_date", startDate)

var endDate = new GlideDateTime(startDate)
endDate.addSeconds(3600) // 1 hour
change.setValue("end_date", endDate)

// Assignment
change.setValue("assignment_group", getGroupSysId("Change Management"))
change.setValue("assigned_to", getOnCallUser())

// Implementation plan
change.setValue(
  "implementation_plan",
  "1. Take backup of current configuration\\n" +
    "2. Stop web services\\n" +
    "3. Apply security patches\\n" +
    "4. Restart services\\n" +
    "5. Verify functionality",
)

change.setValue(
  "backout_plan",
  "1. Stop web services\\n" + "2. Restore from backup\\n" + "3. Restart services\\n" + "4. Verify rollback successful",
)

change.setValue(
  "test_plan",
  "1. Check web server response\\n" + "2. Verify all pages load\\n" + "3. Run automated health checks",
)

var changeSysId = change.insert()