Overview
Changes to production systems may have impacts on Incidents and Problems. A change may resolve many incidents or fix a known problem. Changes that may impact Incidents/Problems can be viewed from within the Incident/Problem. A change request can also be generated from an Incident or Problem.
The following details how Change requests interact with Incidents and Problems in ServiceLink.
View Changes from Incidents/Problems
After entering a Configuration Item (CI) in the Incident or Problem, ServiceLink checks for other active records impacting that CI, including Changes. Click the Show other active tasks affecting this CI icon to view these active records.
On the list that displays, expand the Change Requests menu to view the active change requests. Hover over the record icon to view basic information about the change. If the change is relevant to your Incident/Problem, click the Number to open the Change Record.
Relating Records
If an Incident/Problem is not related to a Change but needs to be, this relationship can be established from Incident/Problem record.
In the Related Records section of the Incident/Problem, the Change Request number can be entered to tie the change request to the incident or problem record. On the change request, the number will then be listed in the Incidents Pending Change or Problems section. The Assignment Group needs to facilitate closing the Problem records once the change is implemented, which will, in turn, close out any of its associated Incidents.
Creating Changes from Incidents/Problems
When working an Incident or Problem, and it is discovered a change needs to be made to a system in order to resolve the issue, a change request can be generated from within the original Incident or Problem. Right-click on the title bar and select Create Change. This action can only be performed once per Incident/Problem.
When created, the change request pulls the Assignment Group, Assigned To, Configuration Item,Short Description, and Description from the Incident/Problem. This information should be reviewed, particularly the Short Description and Description, to ensure they are appropriate for the change request. When working from an Incident, the Caller is not carried to the change request, and the Caller will receive no notifications about the change request; that is still handled within the Incident.
Once created, the change request is worked and completed according to standard procedures. The Incident/Problem is listed in the Incidents Pending Change or Problems section. The Assignment Group needs to facilitate closing the Problem records once the change is implemented, which will, in turn, close out any of its associated Incidents.