4. RFC Assessment

A preliminary assessment occurs in the Classification state when the change manager determines the change type and where to route the change; however, a deeper assessment may be required. When this is the case, the change is routed to the Assessment state where a change manager can further assess the change.

When assessing the RFC, the change manager needs to set the appropriate values for the priority and category. The Priority and Change Category values are important for the RFC process in ITIL. The priority determines the relative importance of the RFC in relation to other outstanding RFCs; it should be the main basis of when pending changes are scheduled. The change category determines the difficulty and impact of the RFC and will be the main parameter used to determine the resources that need to be allocated. The default Change Category values are:

Minor
Significant
Major

Assessment also involves calculating the possible risk in implementing the change. The Risk Calculator on the Risk tab automatically determines the risk based on the change category, estimated effort, and an array of survey questions. For more information, see Risk Analysis Calculator.

Following assessment, the change manager accepts the RFC, and the RFC transitions to the Change Approval Board (CAB) for approval.

Note: Financial and Effort estimates are required for items that go through the Assessment phase.