ServiceNow DevOps change request state in Jenkins pipeline logs

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of ServiceNow DevOps Change Request State in Jenkins Pipeline Logs

    This feature enables developers to monitor the status of ServiceNow change requests directly within Jenkins pipeline console logs. By configuring the Jenkins Snippet Generator with the SnDevOpsChange step, developers can receive real-time updates on change request states and related policy condition evaluations during pipeline execution.

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    Key Features

    • Jenkins Snippet Generator Integration: Easily generate pipeline script snippets to display change request status in Jenkins logs by selecting and customizing the SnDevOpsChange step.
    • Customizable Polling and Timeout Settings:
      • Polling Interval: Defines how frequently Jenkins polls ServiceNow (in seconds) to update change status in logs when key fields such as state, assignment group, approvals, planned dates, or details change.
      • Change Creation Timeout: Sets a timeout for change request creation; pipeline behavior on timeout depends on the Abort on change creation failure flag.
      • Change Step Timeout: Sets a timeout for change step progress; pipeline behavior on timeout depends on the Abort on change step timeout flag.
      • Abort Flags: Options to abort or resume pipeline execution if change creation or change step timeouts occur.
    • Change Request Details in Logs: Logs include comprehensive change request information such as number, status, sysid, type, risk, priority, state, planned start/end dates, and URL.
    • Policy Condition Evaluation: Policy decisions and conditions from active change request policies (e.g., DevOps Change Request Advanced Automation) are evaluated and logged, showing decisions like auto-approve, auto-reject, or manual approval.
    • Supported Policies and Logging Behavior:
      • DevOps Model Change Policy: Logs on change creation and state updates.
      • DevOps Change Request Minimal Automation Policy: Logs and policy decisions on relevant changes.
      • DevOps Change Request Advanced Automation Policy: Detailed logs including decisions and conditions.
    • Policy Condition Inputs: Logs are generated when using specific fields and operators in policy conditions, enabling transparent decision tracking.
    • Custom Fields Note: If custom fields are added to change policies, they must also be manually added to the flow for proper evaluation and logging.
    • Error Handling: If a change request creation fails, the error reason and state are logged in the Jenkins console.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    This integration helps streamline DevOps workflows by providing immediate visibility into change request statuses and policy decisions within Jenkins pipelines. It aids early detection of issues with change creation or progression, supports automated decision tracking, and reduces the need to switch contexts between Jenkins and ServiceNow. Customers can configure polling and timeout behaviors to align with their release process requirements, improving pipeline resilience and transparency.

    You can use the Jenkins Snippet Generator utility to configure how and when the change state and the corresponding policy conditions must be displayed in the Jenkins pipeline job logs. This enables developers to view the status of the change in the console logs of the pipeline itself.

    To generate a step snippet, navigate to the Pipeline Syntax from a configured pipeline, select the SnDevOpsChange step from the Sample Step list, and update the values for the change state variables in the step. Select the ignore error option to prevent job failure if there is an error. Select Generate Pipeline Script to create a snippet. You can copy and paste the snippet into the pipeline to start receiving the change state notifications. Update the following variables in the SnDevOpsChange step to receive change state notifications:
    • Polling Interval: Specifies the frequency (in seconds) at which Jenkins polls ServiceNow for the change status and updates the console logs with the status. The change status is updated in the console logs only when the Change state transitions, Assignment Group updates, Approval updates, Planned Start/End date, or Change Details (if any) fields are updated.
      Note:
      If no value is entered in the field, polling interval check won’t be run to update the change status in the console logs.
    • Change Creation Timeout: Specifies the change creation timeout value in seconds. On timeout, Jenkins checks the change creation status in ServiceNow. If the change did not get created, the pipeline is resumed or aborted based on the Abort on change creation failure flag. By default, the pipeline is aborted when timeout is specified and the Abort on change creation failure flag is selected.
      Note:
      If no value is entered in the field, change creation timeout check won’t be run to update the pipeline.
    • Abort on change creation failure: Abort or resume the pipeline if change is not created till the change creation timeout.
      • Selected: Abort
      • Cleared: Resume
    • Change Step Timeout: Specifies the change step timeout value in seconds. On timeout, Jenkins checks the change step status in ServiceNow. If the change step is still in progress, the pipeline is resumed or aborted based on the Abort on change step timeout flag. By default, the pipeline aborted when timeout is specified, and the Abort on change step timeout flag is selected.
      Note:
      If no value is entered in the field, change step timeout check won’t be run to update the pipeline.
    • Abort on change step timeout: Abort or resume the pipeline if the change step is still in progress on change step timeout.
      • Selected: Abort
      • Cleared: Resume

    You can navigate to the console logs in your pipeline to view the state of a change request when a change request is created or when the state of the change request is updated. The policy conditions associated with the change request state will also be evaluated and displayed in the logs. For example, if the DevOps Change Request Advanced Automation policy is activated, the policy conditions will be evaluated and the corresponding decision made (auto-approve/auto-reject/manual-approval) will be displayed in the logs.

    The following change request details are displayed:
    • number
    • details
    • status
    • sys_id
    • type
    • risk
    • priority
    • changeState
    • plannedStartDate
    • plannedEndDate
    • changeRequestURL

    Change state logs in Jenkins pipeline console

    The logs for policy conditions will be displayed for the base system change flows as follows:
    • DevOps Model Change Policy: Only logs will be displayed on change creation and when the change state is updated.
    • DevOps Change Request Minimal Automation Policy: Logs along with change decision and policy conditions corresponding to the change decision will be displayed.
    • DevOps Change Request Advanced Automation Policy: Logs along with change decision and policy conditions corresponding to the change decision will be displayed.
    The change policy input and decision conditions are stored in the Decisions [sys_decision_question] table. Logs will be displayed if the following fields and operators are used as input for policy conditions:
    Fields
    • code_coverage
    • commits_without_work_item
    • integration_tests_failed
    • load_tests_failed
    • regression_tests_failed
    • num_of_outages_in_last_7_days
    • num_of_current_outages
    • num_of_open_incidents
    • total_num_of_commits
    • tests_passing_percent
    • risk
    • code_security
    • commits
    Operators
    • <=
    • >=
    • !=
    • =
    • <
    • >
    • ISNOTEMPTY
    • ISEMPTY
    • BETWEEN
    • ANYTHING
    • NSAMEAS
    • SAMEAS
    • GT_FIELD
    • LT_FIELD
    Note:
    If any field is modified in a change policy other than the base system fields, then those fields must be manually added to the flow for policy conditions to be evaluated.

    If a change request does not get created due to any issue, then the reason for the failure and the state is also logged in the console.