IT Change Management Pipeline Template
Guide every IT change with one board
Give your change managers a single canvas that enforces the ITIL flow without extra spreadsheets. Start in Get Started, duplicate the Change Request Summary, and drag it into Intake & Logging so everyone sees the scope, window, and owner. Slide the same card across Impact & Risk Analysis, CAB Approval & Readiness, Implementation Prep, Execute & Validate, and Post-Change Review. Assign owners, attach runbooks, set due dates, and apply risk labels so CAB and ops stay aligned. Every approval, backout plan, and validation note travels with the work.
- Standardize change intake with duplicate-ready cards
- Surface risk levels instantly with labels and tags
- Attach runbooks and validation evidence to each change
- Keep CAB approvals and execution plans in one view
- Move change records left to right to prove progress
Duplicate Change Request Summary in Get Started
Open the Get Started section and drag-duplicate the Change Request Summary card. Drop it into the Intake & Logging list and fill Service/System, Requester, Change Category, Change Window, CAB Ticket ID, and Owner inside the card. Attach the request PDF or ticket link, set the due date to the planned window, and assign the change manager. Apply the Standard change or Emergency change label so the board filters work immediately.
Pro tip: Keep ticket IDs consistent with your ITSM tool.
Work through Impact & Risk Analysis
Move the same card into Impact & Risk Analysis once intake is complete. Open the Risk & Impact Evaluation card and fill its fields with affected users, downtime estimate, mitigation steps, and the accountable owner. Attach your risk log or monitoring plan and duplicate the dependency mapping task card for anything that needs verification before CAB. Tag High risk when outages or security concerns appear so the duty officer sees it in filters.
Capture CAB decisions before implementation
Slide the change into CAB Approval & Readiness ahead of your meeting. Update the Approval Checklist card with who must sign off, the decision date, and any conditions. Drop supporting evidence or meeting notes into the card so the audit trail travels with the work. Apply Audit required when compliance needs a follow-up review and set the due date to the approved change window.
Stage implementation and backout plans
Move into Implementation Prep to duplicate the Implementation Plan and Backout Strategy cards. Assign execution owners, spell out the runbook steps in the Implementation Plan card description, and attach files or monitoring dashboards the team will use during the window. Record backout triggers and verification steps so everyone knows when to roll back. Apply Security-sensitive when the change touches protected data or auth scopes.
Execute, validate, and close the loop
At go-live time, move the card into Execute & Validate and update the status fields as you work through the window. Keep the validation task card open to record monitoring results, attach screenshots, and mark the checkbox when tests pass. Once the change is stable, move it into Post-Change Review and fill the review card with metrics, follow-up tasks, and lessons learned. Assign a due date to any follow-up action so audit clean-up work stays on radar.
Pro tip: Duplicate the review card whenever you need quarterly audit samples.
What’s inside
Six-stage change pipeline
Intake & Logging, Impact & Risk Analysis, CAB Approval & Readiness, Implementation Prep, Execute & Validate, and Post-Change Review keep the full ITIL loop in sight.
Micro-templates for key artifacts
Duplicate cards for Change Request Summary, Risk & Impact Evaluation, Approval Checklist, Implementation Plan, Backout Strategy, and Post-Change Review so teams stop reinventing forms.
Risk tracking built in
Apply High risk, Emergency change, Security-sensitive, and Audit required tags to flag scrutiny and keep duty officers focused on the right queue.
Execution workspace
Store runbooks, monitoring dashboards, and validation tasks on the same card that moves into Execute & Validate so backout triggers and status notes stay visible.
Review evidence log
Attach reports, lessons, and follow-up tasks in Post-Change Review to capture the metrics auditors and CAB members need later.
Why this works
- Creates a single source of truth for CAB decisions
- Surfaces risky changes before they reach production
- Keeps runbooks and rollback plans attached to execution
- Captures validation evidence for compliance audits
- Shows real-time progress across every open change
FAQ
How do I separate standard, normal, and emergency changes?
Use the Standard change and Emergency change labels on each card; keep normal changes unlabeled or create your own variant to match your policy.
Where should sensitive approvals or runbooks live?
Attach sanitized PDFs or link to your secure repository; the card holds the reference while the source files stay in approved storage.
Can this board handle multiple simultaneous change windows?
Yes. Each change request lives on its own card, so owners, due dates, and status updates move independently across the pipeline.
What evidence do auditors get from this template?
Post-Change Review cards collect outcomes, metrics, lessons, and attachments, so you can export the board or share a filtered view during audits.