2. RFC Classification

After the RFC is created, it moves to the Classification Queue state, where it is assigned to a change manager. After the RFC is created, the change management team members that were selected when the RFC was submitted remain secondary owners, and can take ownership of the item if the change manager cannot complete the work. For more information, see Group Queues.

Note: You can use the Reassign transition in applicable states to assign the RFC to another change manager.

Next, a preliminary assessment needs to be made of its importance. This occurs when the item is in the Classification state.

All fields are available for editing when you are updating or transitioning an item from the Classification state. This allows the change manager to modify the proposed values for the Priority, Urgency, and Change Category fields that were selected by the submitter. It also allows the change manager to provide or update information that is critical for an accurate impact analysis of the RFC, in particular, the values in the Primary CI and Affected CIs fields and the estimated Implementation Start Date and Implementation End Date.

The change manager must determine what type of change the RFC is. The Change Type value controls which paths are available for the change to take through the workflow. For "standard" changes, the change manager can choose to Pre-Approve the change. In ITIL, "standard" changes refer to those changes that are commonly performed, such as password resets or user account provisioning. "Standard" changes are pre-approved, and therefore there is no need to go through the normal approval process. These changes skip the assessment and authorization phases and move directly from the Classification state to impact analysis, which determines the impact of the change on associated services and CIs. If the impact is low or insignificant, the change moves to the Approved Changes state; otherwise it moves to the CAB Review/Planning state. (For more information, see 3. RFC Impact Analysis.)

For regular changes, the change manager selects the Normal type. Normal changes move through the entire workflow. The Emergency change bypasses the Assessment state and moves directly to the ECAB (Emergency CAB), which is a subset of the CAB. ECAB is convened to handle emergency RFCs.

Tip: Emergency changes must be responded to immediately, and the procedure to be followed in such cases must be planned for. It is possible to create a notification in SBM to inform ECAB members about Emergency RFCs that must be responded to immediately.

From the Classification state, the change manager can choose from a variety of options, depending on the Change Type value:

An RFC may be accepted, which does not mean that it will subsequently be approved by the CAB, only that it is sufficiently justified to be given further consideration.
An RFC may simply be rejected if it is felt that the change is not justified.
An RFC may be deferred back to the originator, who can modify the item and then re-open it after the change is defined more clearly.
An RFC may need to be assessed further by the change manager before being sent to the CAB.
A pre-approved RFC can be implemented immediately without moving to the CAB, if the impact analysis performed on it determines that it does not require CAB review.

Note: If the RFC was not submitted with linked items, the Linked Items tab does not appear on the Classification state form. The change manager must click Update to add linked items such as problems and incidents.