How to Use the AI Change Request Form

Sections to Complete

Change Types

Required Fields

Buttons at Bottom Right

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What is this form for? Any time you want to introduce, change, or remove an AI tool, agent, automation, or AI-assisted workflow in a production environment — this form is how you get it approved. The CAB (Change Advisory Board) reviews it before anything goes live.

01Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Pick Your Change Classification

The first thing on the form is three cards — Standard, Normal, and Emergency. Click the one that matches your change. This determines how quickly the CAB needs to review it.

💡 If you're not sure, pick Normal. It's the default for anything that hasn't been done before.

⚠ Selecting Emergency shows a warning — emergency changes still need verbal approval before you act, and you must complete the form within 4 hours after.

Fill In Requester Information

Your name and role, your team, today's date, and when you want the change implemented. Fields marked with a red asterisk * are required — the form won't be complete without them.

💡 The CAB Distribution Email field is critical — this is where the form gets sent when you click Send to CAB. Enter the CAB team's shared email address here.

💡 Leave Change Reference ID blank if your organisation doesn't use one yet — it can be assigned later.

Describe the Change

Four key fields here. Be specific — vague descriptions are the most common reason a change gets deferred by the CAB.

💡 Change Title: write it like a ticket subject line. Bad: "AI update". Good: "Deploy Copilot Studio ticket triage agent to helpdesk queue".

💡 What is changing and why: include the problem you're solving, not just what you're doing. The CAB needs context to assess risk.

⚠ If you select Yes for client data involvement, a warning appears reminding you to attach a completed Vendor Assessment. Don't skip this.

Complete the Risk Assessment

Click a cell in the risk matrix to rate your change. The rows are likelihood (how probable is something going wrong?) and the columns are impact (how bad would it be if it did?). The cell you click sets the risk rating and shows it below the matrix.

💡 Be honest. Underrating risk is the fastest way to lose credibility with the CAB — and if something goes wrong with an underrated change, it reflects on you.

⚠ The Risk Justification field is required. One sentence is fine: explain why you chose that rating.

Write Your Implementation & Rollback Plan

This is the section the CAB scrutinises most. They want to know you've thought through how to do it and how to undo it if something goes wrong.

💡 Implementation Steps: numbered list, each step on its own line. Include who does what and any verification checkpoints.

🔴 Rollback Plan is required. If you genuinely cannot roll back the change, say so explicitly and explain what compensating action you would take instead. "No rollback possible" is acceptable — but only if you explain it.

Check Off Your Attachments

Click each attachment tag to mark it as included. Red tags are required — the CAB cannot approve without these. Grey tags are optional but recommended.

💡 The AI Vendor Assessment is required for any new AI tool. If you haven't done one yet, complete that form first and come back.

Leave Section 07 Blank

The CAB Decision Block at the bottom is filled in by the CAB reviewers — not by you. Leave all fields in that section empty when you submit.

02Which Change Type Do I Pick?

Standard

Pre-approved · No CAB meeting needed

A change that follows an already-approved procedure. Low risk, done before, no novel elements. The CAB has already signed off on this category of change.

Updating a prompt in an approved tool Adding a user to an approved AI platform Routine model version update within approved vendor

Normal

5 business days lead time · Full CAB review

A planned change that hasn't been done before or involves meaningful risk. Requires full CAB review before implementation. This is the most common type.

Deploying a new AI agent or pipeline Integrating an AI tool with an existing system Adopting a new AI vendor or service

Emergency

4hr review · Verbal approval required first

An urgent change needed to restore service or contain an active incident. Get verbal approval from Operations Owner and Security Lead before acting, then fill in this form immediately after.

Disabling a malfunctioning AI automation Emergency rollback of a recently deployed agent Blocking an AI tool following a security incident

03Understanding the Risk Matrix

Click one cell in the grid. The row = how likely something is to go wrong. The column = how bad it would be. The intersection gives you a rating.

Low

Minor inconvenience if it fails. Easy to fix, no client impact, no data at risk. e.g. internal tool update with no external exposure.

Medium

Some disruption or limited client visibility if it fails. Recoverable within a day. e.g. automation that touches internal ticketing.

High

Significant disruption or potential client impact. Requires effort to recover. e.g. agent that sends client-facing communications.

Critical

Major incident, potential data breach, or irreversible action if it fails. e.g. fully autonomous pipeline touching client environments.

04The Two Buttons — Print & Send

Both buttons are fixed in the bottom-right corner of the screen at all times.

🖨 Print / Save PDF

Print or Save as PDF

Generates a clean white printable version of the form with all your filled-in values and opens the browser print dialog. Use this to save a PDF copy or print a physical copy for a meeting.

Fill in the form completely

Click the button — browser print dialog opens

Choose your printer or select "Save as PDF"

The dark UI stays on screen — only the print version goes to the PDF

✉ Send to CAB

Send to CAB via Email

Downloads a copy of the form as an HTML file, then opens your default email client with the CAB address pre-filled, a formatted subject line, and a summary of the key fields in the email body. You then attach the downloaded file and hit send.

Make sure the CAB Distribution Email field is filled in — the button will alert you if it's empty

Click the button — a file named AI-Change-Request-[date]-[ref].html downloads automatically

Your email client opens with To, Subject, and body pre-filled

Attach the downloaded file from your Downloads folder

Review and hit Send

⚠ The email client opens automatically — don't close it before attaching the file. Check your Downloads folder for the HTML file first.

05Saving & Coming Back Later

The form has a Draft bar at the very top. Three buttons let you save your progress, reload it later, and clear the form.

💾 Save Draft

Save Draft

Does two things at once — saves to your browser automatically AND downloads a .json file to your machine. Use the file if you want to continue on a different device or browser.

Click Save Draft at any point while filling in the form

A file named AI-CR-Draft-[date]-[title].json downloads automatically

The browser also saves a copy locally — no file needed if you return on the same browser

📁 Load Draft

Load a Saved Draft File

Opens a file picker so you can load a previously downloaded .json draft. Restores all field values, the change type, risk rating, attachments, and decision state exactly as you left them.

Click Load Draft

Pick the .json file from wherever you saved it

The form fills in automatically

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Auto-save: The form saves to your browser automatically as you type — the dot in the draft bar turns green when saved and yellow when there are unsaved changes. If you come back to the page on the same browser, it will prompt you to restore your last session automatically.

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Browser auto-save only works on the same browser and device. If you switch computers, use a different browser, or clear your browser data, the local save will be gone. Always use Save Draft to download the JSON file if you plan to continue elsewhere.

06Common Questions

Do I need to fill in every field? ▶

Only the fields marked with a red asterisk * are required. Everything else is optional but recommended — the more context you give the CAB, the smoother the review goes. Incomplete submissions are the most common reason for deferral.

What if I don't have a Vendor Assessment yet? ▶

Complete the AI Vendor Risk Assessment form first, then come back to this one. The Vendor Assessment is a required attachment for any change involving a new AI tool or vendor. You can't get CAB approval without it.

My change is urgent — do I still need to fill this in? ▶

Yes, but select Emergency as the classification. Get verbal approval from the Operations Owner and Security Lead before making the change, then complete and submit this form within 4 hours. Emergency changes still need a paper trail.

What happens after I send the form? ▶

The CAB team receives your email with the attached form. They'll review it using the AI CAB Review Checklist and come back to you with one of four decisions: Approved, Approved with Conditions, Rejected, or Deferred. Normal changes have a 5 business day turnaround.

The Send to CAB button downloaded a file but didn't open my email. What do I do? ▶

Some browsers or email setups block automatic mailto: links. If your email client didn't open, create a new email manually to the CAB distribution address, attach the downloaded HTML file from your Downloads folder, and use the subject format: AI Change Request -- [Change Title] [Normal/Standard/Emergency].

Can I save my progress and come back later? ▶

The form doesn't auto-save between sessions. If you need to come back later, use the Print / Save PDF button to save a copy of your progress, or leave the browser tab open. Refreshing the page will clear your entries.

Who fills in Section 07 — the CAB Decision Block? ▶

The CAB reviewers fill that in — not you. Leave it completely blank when you submit. The CAB will complete it and return a signed copy to you with their decision.

Can I save my progress and come back later? ►

Yes. Use the Save Draft button in the draft bar at the top of the form. It saves to your browser automatically and downloads a .json file you can reload on any device. If you stay on the same browser, the form will also prompt you to restore your last session automatically when you reopen the page.

I came back to the form but my fields are empty. What happened? ►

The browser auto-save only works on the same browser and device. If you switched computers, used a different browser, or cleared your browser data, the local save is gone. This is why it is important to click Save Draft and keep the downloaded .json file — use Load Draft to restore it on any machine.