CAB meeting attendance using the CAB workbench

Release version: Yokohama

Updated January 30, 2025

3 minutes to read

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Summary of CAB meeting attendance using the CAB workbench

The CAB Workbench in ServiceNow enables ITIL users to attend Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings, view meeting agendas, schedules, and approve change requests if authorized. This tool centralizes CAB meeting management, providing visibility into meeting timings, agenda items, attendee status, and change details.

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Key Features

Meeting Timer and Schedule: Displays elapsed time with color-coded status indicators showing how much of the meeting duration has passed, alongside meeting name and scheduled date/time. The calendar view allows day, week, or month perspectives on CAB meeting schedules.
Agenda Item Management: View current and selected agenda items with detailed information. Approvers see Approve and Reject buttons to manage change requests directly during the meeting, with comment input required.
Agenda Filtering and Notifications: Filter agenda items by categories such as All, My Agenda Items, or Approved Agenda Items. Users can opt to receive notifications prior to agenda item start times.
Meeting Notes and Attendee Information: Access notes entered by the meeting host, view attendee lists, and see real-time connection status. Conference information linked to the CAB meeting record is also accessible.
Change Request Details: Toggle between form and calendar views to see detailed change request information, including planning and scheduling data. Calendar views highlight blackout schedules, maintenance windows, and potential conflicts involving assignees, groups, or configuration items.

Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

Using the CAB Workbench, ServiceNow customers can effectively manage and participate in CAB meetings with streamlined access to agendas and change approvals. The tool’s visual timers and color-coded statuses help manage meeting flow, while filters and notifications ensure users focus on relevant agenda items. Viewing change conflicts and blackout periods in calendar views supports better scheduling decisions and risk management during change planning.

This functionality improves collaboration among approvers and stakeholders, ensuring timely decisions on change requests and enhanced visibility into the CAB process.

As an itil user, you can attend a Change Advisory Board (CAB) meeting, view the agenda items, and the change schedule. If you are an approver, you can approve a change request.

View the details of a CAB meeting and its agenda by navigating to Change > Change Advisory Board > CAB Workbench. From the calendar, you can view the CAB meeting schedule for a day, week, or month. To view details of a meeting, click the meeting and then click Open in the pop-up window.

CAB meeting details. — Figure 1. CAB Workbench

The following components describe the different activities that you can perform in the interface:

Table 1. CAB workbench
Level	Description
1	View the timer that displays the total elapsed time, the meeting name, and the scheduled date and time of the meeting. The timer count starts from zero. The color code in the timer changes based on the overall percentage of time elapsed from the total duration of the meeting: 0% - 50%: Green 50% - 70%: Yellow 75% - 100%: Orange > 100%: Red The text below the meeting name displays the total time allotted for the meeting.
2	View the current agenda item. The timer displays the amount of time spent discussing the current meeting agenda item. The form area displays the details of the current agenda item that you have selected. When the current agenda item changes, the details on the form and the calendar change accordingly. If you select an agenda item that is not the current agenda item, the form area displays the details of the selected agenda item. The form area does not display details of the current agenda item even when the current agenda item is changed to the next agenda item. Note: If you are one of the approvers for the agenda item, the Approve and Reject buttons appear below the timer. You can click Approve or Reject as appropriate, enter your comments in the Confirmation pop-up window, and click Approve or Reject.
3	Filter the agenda items that you want to view and click Notify me to receive a notification before the agenda item starts. Click the Pending Agenda Items list, and select the All Agenda Items, My Agenda Items, or Approved Agenda Items option. The list of agenda items appears under the filter condition list, in the order that the items appear in the agenda.
4	Meeting Notes: Displays the document note entered by the host of the meeting. Attendees: Displays the list of attendees and also indicates whether the attendees are currently connected to the meeting. Conference Information: Displays any content that was stored in the Conference Information field from the related CAB meeting record.
5	View the details of a current change in the form view or in the calendar view. Show form: Click the show form icon () to display change details in the form view. The Change, Planning, and Schedule tabs provide information about the change request meeting, planning, and scheduling. Show calendar: Click the show calendar icon () to display change details on the calendar form. You can select the day or the month that you want to view details of a change for. In a day view, you can click the settings icon () and then click the configuration icon () to set relevant filter conditions. If you turn on any of the configuration filter conditions, the related change records are displayed. The change records appear in the time slot of the day that the current change implementation is planned for. In the configuration settings, you can view other potential conflicts. The conflicts can be other change requests that are scheduled for implementation by the same assignee, assignment group, or for the same configuration item. The day and month view of the calendar displays the Blackout Schedule time, Maintenance Window, and the agenda item that is in progress. In the day view, the specific time slot of the planned blackout and maintenance window is highlighted. In the calendar view, the entire day is highlighted. Note: For standard change proposals, the Change, Proposal, and Change Request Values tabs provide information on change request meeting, proposal, and change request values. The show form () and the show calendar () icons do not appear for standard change proposals.