Creating a new BMC Server Automation job with Change Management approval

When you create a job using a job type that requires BMC Remedy ITSM approval, you are prompted to select the approval type and enter the approval parameters when you configure the schedule.

You can specify an approval type when you execute a job or schedule a job for execution, as shown in the following table.

Setting the approval type

The Approval Information tab enables you to select an Approval type and enter the required BMC Remedy ITSM parameters to create a new change ticket or use an existing one.

• Approval types are available to you based on your role. For example, the BLOperator role might be configured with authorization for manual approval, while the BLAdmins role might be authorized for all approval types.
• Approval parameters determine the values of the corresponding BMC Remedy ITSM change ticket parameters that are created when the job definition is completed.

In the Enter approval information dialog box or the Approval Information tab, do the following:

1. From the list of predefined options, select the Approval type:

   Option	Use when
   No Approval Required	If you select No approval, you are not required to enter the additional BMC Remedy ITSM parameters. If a job type requires approval and you select No approval, the approval mechanism is bypassed and the job executes either immediately ( Execute now ) or as scheduled. This option enables users with the proper authorization to select No approval to bypass the approval process for special circumstances.
   Change Management Manual Approval	Use this option for jobs that require a BMC Remedy ITSM administrator to review the job details and impact level before approving execution. By default, this option generates a change request with a Change Timing value of Normal and an Urgency value of Medium. Note: Approving a job might take some time. The administrator that approves the job might not be available for some time (for manual approval), so submit the approval request as early as possible.
   Change Management Automatic Approval	Use this option for change requests that use an Approval Process Configuration form to automatically approve the request. By default, this option generates a change request with a Change Timing value of No impact and an Urgency value of Medium.
   Change Management Emergency Approval	Use this option for jobs that need immediate attention and must be run immediately. By default, this option generates a change request with a Change Timing value of Emergency and an Urgency value of High.

   
   The Job Approval type defines the values that you must populate in the change request for the BMC Remedy ITSM user.

2. Enter the additional information to be used in the change request.

   Field	Enter
   Change type	Type of change being requested. The default value is Change.
   Comments	Additional comments that would be helpful to the BMC Remedy ITSM user approving the request.
   Impact	Impact level of the requested change. For example, is the job targeted for one server, or for a large number of servers? The default value is Minor/Localized.

3. Do one of the following:
   • Select Create new Change Ticket.
   • Select Use existing Change Ticket, and enter the IDs for the existing change request and task in BMC Remedy ITSM. In this case the integration does not create a new change request, but rather updates the specified change request and task. See Considerations for the Using existing Change Ticket option.
4. Click OK.

Verifying the job

After the job definition is completed, BMC Server Automation schedules the job and requests that a new change request be created in BMC Remedy ITSM. A new change request is created using a specific change template and includes one task, even if multiple servers are used as targets.

To check if the interaction with the change management system is successful, review the job schedule log (which is displayed in the BMC Server Automation console under the job, until the job starts running). You can also check the job schedule log by completing the following tasks in the BMC Server Automation console:

1. Select the job from the Jobs folder.
2. Right-click and select Open.
3. Click the Schedule tab.

The job schedule log makes it easy to see:

• When the job is approved and if it is waiting to run
• If the attempt to schedule the job failed (for example, failed to create or update the change ticket)

After the job is approved and starts executing, the information in the job schedule log gets rolled into job log.

Considerations for jobs with multiple users

If multiple users execute the same job, each user must acquire approval by submitting a separate approval request. Approval requests are associated with the job schedule and are not associated with the job. Associating an approval request with the job means that all users are able to use the same approval reply.

Considerations for the Using existing Change Ticket option

If you select the Using existing Change Ticket option on the Approval information tab, note that the Change ID can be from:

• An already approved but unused Change ticket
• A change ticket where the task has the operational categorizations required for approval in BMC Remedy ITSM. In this case, make sure that the task has the following organizational tiers:
  • Organizational tier 1: Operator Initiated Change
  • Organizational tier 2: BMC BladeLogic

This the operational categorizations are required for BMC Atrium Orchestrator to recognize that the alert is for the operator-initiated change use case. If you are using the change template and task template installed by the BMC Atrium Orchestrator Content installer, then the values are set by default.