October 11, 2023
Change Management – Frequently Asked Questions
What's New
What enhancements to Change Management are included in the September/October 2022 releases?
| An approval notification will be sent to additional approvers added to the Approvers tab of a Change. The workflow is updated to include an additional manual approvers step (prior to Set State Awaiting Implementation). | RTSK0020444 |
| All Post-Compliance fields will be set to "Yes" for Emergency Changes if the approved within 48 hours after the Start Date. | RTSK0020333 |
What enhancements to Change Management are included in recent releases?
For an archive of recent ServiceNow enhancements, click here.
Upcoming
What enhancements to Change Management are coming in future releases?
| The Pre-Approved Template form will be updated to include a grayed-out field for RITM for consistency. | RITM2543311 |
| CCB invite notifications will be updated to include new Microsoft Teams information. | RITM2473753 |
| The Requested Items and Catalog Tasks tabs at the bottom of the Change form will be updated to include only the Edit button. | RITM2468114 |
| The workflow will be updated to send notifications to CI subscribers after CI Owner and Supervisor Manager approvals. Currently, CI subscribers get notified when the state is Awaiting Implementation. |
RTSK0020051 |
| A new notification will be sent upon the approval of any Change meeting the following criteria: - Includes an outage - Implementation scheduled to begin after 7am and end before 11pm - Duration of the implementation more than one hour This notification will be sent to the applicable Site CIO or the Digital Management distribution list, depending on the Change. |
RTSK0019874 |
| The workflow will be updated to identify if a Maintenance Schedule exists for Application CIs (as well as for Service CIs where the Service Classification is Application Service). Changes will require eCCB approval if the following are true: - Implementation is not scheduled during a Freeze - Impact to HealthCare Operations is High - No Maintenance Schedule exists (or Maintenance Schedule exists but there is a conflict) |
RTSK0020406 |
Change Management Training
How do I receive Change Management training?
An eLearning module on Change Management training is available to be viewed or reviewed at any time, using this link. You can also access this training by logging into HealthStream and clicking the Catalog tab to search for "MGB Digital Change Management." (New users to ServiceNow should first log into HealthStream and click the Catalog tab to search for and complete the Introduction to ServiceNow course.) You can also view a Change Management slide presentation by clicking here. Contact changemanagement@partners.org to arrange for a training session.
Change Control Board (CCB)
When and where is the CCB meeting?
- The CCB is held each Wednesday, from 3:00 – 4:30 PM, but usually ends around 4:00 PM.
- To join using MS Teams, click here
- To join using phone only: 857-327-9287 ID: 900 914 676#
- To view the latest CCB minutes report, click KB0028473.
Do I have to attend the CCB meeting for my Change?
If your Change is Significant or Major, you’ll have to attend to represent your Change.
How do I see the Changes that will be discussed at the upcoming CCB meeting?
To view the current week’s list of Changes, click here.
What Changes are covered in the weekly CCB?
All Significant and Major Changes to the production environment that are to occur in the next 7 days, from Wednesday to Wednesday, and that meet the following conditions:
- Change is in the state Awaiting CCB
- Change has been assigned a CCB Date by the Change Manager
Note: Once your Change is assigned a CCB Date, you will receive an Outlook invitation to represent your Change at CCB.
Can I socialize my Change if it’s greater than 7 days out?
If your Change is more than 7 days out, you can request that your Change be socialized at the CCB when we ask attendees if they have a Change to socialize. You must have an active Change number in the system to do this. We will ask for that Change number, and bring it up during CCB.
Changes
What is Compliance?
Change Management reviews all Significant and Major Changes for compliance before they are scheduled for review by the Change Control Board as well as after implementation. (During a Freeze, Minor Changes are also reviewed by Change Management.) A compliant Change is a well-prepared and executed Change. It is one that clarifies what, why, and how the Change is being executed, and one that is reviewed by the requester after implementation. It includes specific requirements for the following fields:
For an example of a compliant Change, see KB0038398.
What is a Change sub-type?
The Change sub-type defines the risk and impact of a Change. ServiceNow displays a Suggested sub-type to provide guidance to requesters on determining the Change sub-type. For a definition of the Change sub-type field, see KB0025391.
How are Major Changes handled differently from Significant Changes?
Changes entered with a Change sub-type of Major require a 30-day lead time (from their entry in ServiceNow, until the start of the implementation date/time). This allows each major Change to receive additional scrutiny due to the large impact or potential impact it may have on our organization.
What are the lead-times for each Change type to ensure a Normal Change?
- Minor Changes require 2+ day lead-time.
- Significant Changes require a 7+ day lead-time.
- Major Changes require a 30+ day lead-time.
What type of freezes do we use in our organization?
- Enterprise Freezes - No Changes for the entire organization.
- Site-Specific Freezes - No site-specific Changes and no Enterprise Changes that impact that site.
How do I ensure that my Change does not conflict with an Enterprise Change Freeze?
From the ServiceNow navigation bar, click Freeze Dates to display all current change freezes. You can also click Check Conflicts from any Change to ensure that your Change is not scheduled for any Enterprise Change Freeze period. For additional information, see KB0028420 ().
What are Pre-Approved Changes and how do they work?
Pre-Approved Changes (PACs) are low-risk, routine, repetitive Changes that have never caused and incident/outage in the past. All requests for PACs are scheduled for review by the CCB. Once they are approved for use, the requester can open Changes based upon these Pre-Approved Changes. Once submitted, these Changes go directly to Implement status, requiring no approvals thereafter for that type of Change. For additional information, see KB0025840 ().
How do I create a Change task?
At bottom of Change form, there is a row of tabs, labeled “Related Links.” Click the “Change Tasks” tab, and then click Add. This will open a new pane. Add the tasks to be associated to the Change there. Change Tasks should be used whenever implementation dates extend for more than 24 hours.
How do I add Configuration Items (CIs) for use on the Change form?
For instructions for proposing a new CI to the CMDB, click here. Note that a support group for the CI must exist before submitting your request.
How do I add additional CIs that my Change will impact?
At bottom of Change form, there is a row of tabs, labeled “Related Links.” Click the “Affected CIs” tab, and then click Add. For details, see KB0034251.
How do I add an approver?
At bottom of Change form, there is a row of tabs, labeled “Related Links.” Click the “Approvers” tab and then click Edit... This will open a new pane. Add the additional approver there.
How do I reopen a closed Change?
Once closed, Changes can be copied to a new Change by clicking the Copy Change button in the upper right corner. Note that you will need to enter any information that does not copy over from the previous Change.
How can I be notified about Changes that affect or impact a specific CI?
Subscribing to a CI allows you to receive email notifications related to a CI. ServiceNow sends email notifications for any Change that includes that CI on the Affected CIs or Impacted CIs tab as long as that Change is not in the past. Due to a current bug, notifications are not sent for Changes that have already been implemented. For instructions on subscribing and unsubscribing to a CI, click here.
How does the Provisioning process work with Changes?
Changes are automatically generated by ServiceNow upon approval of the associated request tasks (RITMs) for Provisioning requests. The requester must ensure that the Change is complete and all associated actions related to that Change are also completed. For details, see KB0033966.
ServiceNow
How do I request access to ServiceNow?
To request access to ServiceNow, see KB0021304.
When I click the link to go to ServiceNow and open a Change, I get kicked out to the Service Desk website. Why is that happening?
You don’t have an ITIL user account license. To request access to ServiceNow, see KB0021304.
How do I delegate my approvals, while I am Out of office?
For instructions for delegating approval access in ServiceNow, click here.
General
Where can I find additional knowledge articles about Change Management?
For additional information on Change Management, see KB0022575. Any other questions or requests related to Change Management should be entered into ServiceNow, assigned to ITSM Change Management - phs. You can also access a listing of articles about Change Management using the Knowledge option within the Self Service menu within ServiceNow. Within the IT Service Management category, select the Change Management subcategory.
Where can I find additional information about the Change Management process used for Epic application changes?
Digital Health eCare bi-weekly releases go through separate standard change practices. For additional information on the management of application changes within Epic, see the following:
I don’t see my CI as available to choose, meaning it’s not in the CMDB yet. How do I get it entered into the CMDB?
For instructions for adding a new CI to the CMDB, click here.
Where can I find additional information about Change Management policies and process?
For documentation of Change Management policies and process, see KB0019437.
Where can I find additional information about Change Management activities?
For a run book of Change Management activities, click ITSM Enterprise Change Management Run Book.
- The associated KB article includes a training demonstration.