Jakarta Change Management - New Features

Jakarta release is now available on development instances! This is a truly remarkable release; ServiceNow has presented a great set of improvements and exciting new functionality. I touched on the potential of machine learning in a previous post, and will be adding more about what's new. In this post I'd like to mention how ServiceNow has also sharpened their focus on the core ITSM enhancements for Change - Incident - Problem.

There is a new plugin for ITIL best practices alignment, which builds out a strong interface for working tickets from first report through subsequent investigation and change. This plugin will be available on all new instance, but must be requested otherwise (see below). Customers can now quickly get a performant system with many relevant ITIL-related features right out of the box, without spending the first few weeks or months attempting to implement a solid baseline.

 (See ServiceNow's Jakarta release notes page for full information:  https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/jakarta-release-notes/page/release-notes/it-service-management/change-management-rn.html)

Here are some highlights from the release notes on Change Management:

NOTE: Customers who upgrade from a previous release must request the plugin, because activating it could break existing customizations.

• Added the Outages related list. (note: To make use of this properly, customers will need to describe a process for use of the Outage application, so that the information is complete and timely.)
• Sends notifications to the requester when a change is approved and scheduled, when work has begun, and when work has been completed.
• Sends notifications to the requester when a change request is put on hold or removed from on hold.
• Displays a report showing the list of planned outages, so that decisions about scheduling change requests can be made accordingly.
• Added approval history to the change request activity log.
• Added the Requested by field to the Change Request list view.
• Added Planned start date, Planned end date, and Type fields to the Change Task form.
• Rearranged the fields on the Change Task form to contain the fields that provide most value for your users.
• Updated the mandatory and restricted Change Request properties for standard Change templates.
• Added that the change task type Implementation must fall within the planned start/end dates of the related change request.
• Made Work notes mandatory when a change request is canceled.
• Added new state values: Pending, New, Work in Progress, Closed, and Canceled to the Change Task form.
• Displays all configuration items directly affected by a change on the Affected CI's related list. (note: this will make impact assessment and communication far more effective).
• Provides a warning that the planned end date is prior to planned start date now occurs on the Change Request and Change Task forms.

Standard Changes (fixes the issue of accidentally creating changes when just trying to look at the form):

A two-step verification process has been introduced in requesting a standard change from service catalog. The process redirects the requester from a standard change template to a change request that can be viewed prior to submission. The two-step process is enabled in standard change properties.

Also worthy of note on Problem Management,  ServiceNow has added the Major Problem check box and the Review Outcome field to facilitate the management and documentation of major problem reviews. This addresses an important process consideration when working on Visible Ops methodology and developing a culture of change and causality.

 What to do right now:

1. Read the Release Notes. Jakarta is packed full of new applications, and enhancements across the board.
2. Obtain a development instance and upgrade it to Jakarta, so that you can evaluate the impact of these improvements. Then you can hit the ground running when the Jakarta release becomes available. (the plugin mentioned in this post is not yet available, but coming Soon)
3. Plan your upgrade strategy in light of your needs and your existing customizations.
4. Enjoy! This is the best release yet.