A Nightmare on Change (management) Street

Velcome to veek two…(takes out fake vampire teeth)…there…that's better…

Welcome to week two of our super spooky countdown to Halloween ServiceNow Series Spooktacular Michael Scott Fun Run Race for the Cure (that one's for you Office fans)!

We've carved up some Problem pumpkins and slayed some Incidents (and gotten some harsh feedback or should I say backlash on the choice of Buffy's for my incident slayer article, apparently Sarah Michele Gellar has more support than I thought!)

Well Dreamweaver, it's time we turned our attention to another important ITSM topic: Change Management. Because failing to manage change in our ServiceNow instance can create a real…nightmare…boom…see what I did there…because it's like a bad dream when you don't manage change and those decisions come back to haunt you and…you get it, you get it…

As we all know, Freddy Krueger is a terrible person. An evil dream janitor with razor fingers who terrorizes kids in their sleep. A real crumb bum if you will (another Office deep cut). 

But Freddy doesn’t just show up randomly — he strikes when you’re vulnerable, when you think you’re safe, when you’ve let your guard down. And that’s exactly how poor change management creeps in.

In the world of ServiceNow, skipping a CAB review or fast-tracking a change without proper testing is like falling asleep on Elm Street. You might think you’re saving time, but what you’re really doing is inviting chaos into your environment. Freddy-style.

One moment you’re deploying a “simple” update to a workflow, and the next thing you know, your CMDB is corrupted, your integrations are failing, and your users are trapped in a loop of error messages and broken forms — screaming for help like Nancy in a boiler room.

Nightmare Fuel: Real Risks of Poor Change Management

• Unapproved Changes: Like Freddy slipping into your dreams, unauthorized changes bypass governance and leave your instance exposed to instability.
• Lack of Impact Analysis: Elm Street logic — if you don’t know what’s connected, you won’t know what breaks. A missed dependency can haunt multiple modules.
• No Backout Plan: Freddy doesn’t give second chances, and neither does a failed deployment. Without a rollback strategy, you’re stuck in the nightmare.
• Poor Communication: When stakeholders aren’t informed, confusion spreads faster than Freddy’s glove. CAB meetings and notifications are your dreamcatchers.

How to Stay Awake (and Safe)

• Use Change Models: Standard, Normal, Emergency — each has its place. Don’t treat every change like a last-minute escape from Freddy’s boiler room.
• Automate Approvals: ServiceNow workflows can help ensure no change slips through the cracks. Freddy hates automation.
• Leverage Change Proposals: Collaborate early. The more eyes on a change, the fewer surprises later.
• Monitor Post-Implementation: Just because the change is live doesn’t mean the nightmare is over. Track KPIs and user feedback to catch lingering issues.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Let Freddy Into Your Instance

In the world of ITSM, Change Management isn’t just a process — it’s your dream defense system. It’s the difference between a peaceful night’s sleep and waking up to a production environment that’s gone full Elm Street. Every skipped approval, every undocumented change, every “just push it live” moment is a claw swipe at your stability.

So don’t be the next victim. Be the Nancy. Be the one who fights back with process, governance, and a killer CAB.

Stay Awake, Stay Aligned

This Halloween, let’s exorcise the ghosts of poor change management. Review your workflows. Tighten your approvals. Light a candle for your CMDB. And if you’re not sure where to start — reach out. Let’s make sure your ServiceNow instance is more treat than trick.

Because in the battle between IT chaos and control…you don’t want Freddy writing your release notes.