1. Plan for upgrades at least once a year
Success Pillar: Get your ServiceNow foundations right

2. Success Pillars – Structure
State and measure your business goals
Actively lead the transformation
Get your ServiceNow foundations right
Create excitement, drive adoption 1
State your transformation vision and outcomes 1
Engage an executive sponsor to drive change and remove roadblocks 1
Manage to
out of the box 1
Design an engaging self-service employee and customer experience 2
Build your business case 2
Find, manage, and coordinate capable, certified partners 2
Discover and map your service assets 2
Design an optimal agent and rep experience 3
Build a phased
program plan, identify quick wins 3
Build a dedicated, dynamic governance process, policies, and team 3
Plan your architecture, instances, integrations, and data flows 3
Create a change management plan 4
Baseline and track performance, usage KPIs, and metrics 4
Reimagine how you want work processes to flow 4
Plan for upgrades at least once a year 4
Build an internal team of ServiceNow experts and train users 5
Define and map out your business services 5
Build a community of champions 6
Manage platform demand

3. Plan for upgrades at least once a year
ServiceNow releases a new version of the Now Platform® twice per year. To make sure you can take advantage of new functionality, you should stay on the latest release. We recommend upgrading your ServiceNow® instances at least once a year to stay no more than one version behind the latest release. 
By keeping your ServiceNow instances up to date, you can take advantage of the new and innovative capabilities made available with each release, reduce the risk associated with issues that have already been resolved, and lessen the challenges associated with running an unsupported release. 
Insight: Upgrade at least once a year
Effective upgrades require a comprehensive plan in place that accounts for:
Resource requirements for the upgrade process
Past experience (both yours and ServiceNow’s) to guard against missing critical steps
Anticipated issues or conflicts during the upgrade and their corresponding remediation steps
In-depth test plans to validate the expected functionality
To assist with smooth and quick upgrades, we recommend having a well-defined, targeted communication plan in place to inform stakeholders (end users, admins, and developers) about the upgrade process and help them understand how they will benefit from the upgrade. A good communication plan also helps streamline future upgrades as stakeholders provide in-depth feedback and avoid taking actions that hinder upgrades.
Key implementation steps​​
Start​​
Improve​​
Optimize​​
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

4. Step 1a: Define the ServiceNow upgrade process
ServiceNow has experienced and documented thousands of customer upgrades. Carefully review the documented ServiceNow upgrade process and define and document an in-depth, repeatable upgrade process tailored to your organization.
Define the ServiceNow upgrade process steps
Review the upgrade process on the product documentation page, product-specific upgrade instructions (like these for Performance Analytics), this video on upgrading to a new release, and the upgrade planning checklist.
Document your own version of the upgrade process with instructions specific for your organization. Make sure to include:
New functionality or notable changes that need to be validated after the upgrade as your first step
A kickoff meeting that includes the entire upgrade team to clarify responsibilities and goals
The right sequence for upgrading your instances, starting with the one farthest away from production and following this path: sandbox > development > test > production
Clear instructions on how to inform and set expectations with stakeholders before upgrading a instance
A reminder to back up work in progress (to ensure no work is lost) and clone production over to the sub-production instance (to test on the actual data) before upgrading it
A post-upgrade reflection exercise to reflect on the lessons learned during the upgrade process
Use the Upgrade History module to track every upgrade.
Practitioner insight: Treat your ServiceNow upgrade like any other project, so that time, resources, and costs are visible to everyone. For details on how to minimize upgrade issues, see our Success Playbook on performing ServiceNow upgrades quicker and more effectively.
Practitioner insight: Maintain a personal developer instance, and always update it first to experiment with and explore the new functionality available in the new release. This will help identify new out-of-the-box (OOTB) functionality that you would like to activate for your instance.
Steps
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

5. Step 1b: Secure resources for the upgrade
Successful upgrade projects don’t just have the right number of resources assigned—they also account for the different roles that are required across the upgrade process. Understand these requirements and secure resources early for a smooth ServiceNow instance upgrade.
Secure resource requirements for your ServiceNow upgrade
Identify the roles you need to help you upgrade your ServiceNow instances. Consider including:
Project manager(s) – To manage the project and stakeholder expectations
ServiceNow system administrator(s) – To execute clone requests, perform the upgrade, and manage the update sets
ServiceNow developer(s) – To remediate any issues and to use best practices to avoid future issues
Test plan managers or admin(s) – To create and maintain test plans
Tester(s) – To carry out functional, UAT, and other tests
Governance, risk, and compliance staff – To ensure the controls are in place that satisfy regulatory and compliance requirements
Make sure the upgrade is included in your project roadmap. To do this, prepare a project proposal for approval by the executive sponsor and governance team that includes:
Communication of the importance of making timely upgrades to take advantage of new functionality
Emphasis on the upgrade project as an opportunity to resolve errors and conflict
Clear estimates for the project completion timeline, resource time commitments for each project phase, and budget requirements
Steps
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

6. Step 2a: Understand your current environment
ServiceNow allows its customers to customize and configure their Now Platform instances based on their business requirements and objectives. Keep in mind that this flexibility can lead to multiple issues during an upgrade if you don’t understand what changes (configurations or customizations) you’ve made in your instances and the business need behind those changes.
Understand your ServiceNow environment to identify special upgrade needs
Document your pre-upgrade performance levels so you can compare post-upgrade performance. Evaluate log data to identify existing errors and performance levels.
Inventory all changes (configurations or customizations) made on your ServiceNow instances. Changes mainly fall into two categories:
New records you have created such as ACLs, business rules, fields, and so on
Changes to the OOTB records ServiceNow provides, including the deactivated OOTB records
Evaluate all changes to determine their need and value for the business—scoring should be consistent with your organization’s existing model for requirements management, using the standard business value criteria you used to prioritize requirements and/or user stories. Example:
5-Mandatory – Required for regulatory and compliance purposes
4-Critical – A must to realize a business and/or adoption objective
3-Medium – Supports realization of a business value and/or adoption objective, but workarounds are available
2-Low – Supports service experience for end users, process users, and/or developers, but doesn’t necessarily promote a business objective or adoption
1-No value – Doesn’t support improved service experience, value realization, or adoption
Assess the impact of all changes (whether they will delay or complicate your upgrade) based on your estimates of:
Experience with past upgrades and data on support issues
Level of testing required – Any new added functionality or code change would require additional testing during the upgrade.
Guidance from ServiceNow experts
Steps
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

7. Step 2b: Plan for a skipped changes review
ServiceNow upgrades will not overwrite changes you have made but will mark them as skipped records in the ServiceNow Upgrade Monitor. To make sure they’re successfully ported to the upgraded instance, you have to manually process the skipped changes.
Plan to review your skipped changes
Take inventory of all changes identified in Step 2a and compare it with the skipped records identified in the Upgrade Monitor. Make sure to:
Mark simple changes, such as field labels, as low-priority in the Skipped Changes to Review related list—they’re not automatically overwritten but have a lower risk.
Conduct an in-depth (code-level) review of all other changes. Manually review every extensive change on OOTB records and decide to revert, resolve, or merge those changes.
Note: Consider reverting the low-value changes that require extensive testing and may delay the upgrade.
Evaluate deactivated records to decide if you want to reactivate them based on the new functionality—the deactivated records will upgrade to the new functionality automatically but are not reactivated unless you do it manually. Be careful as you reactivate records—run an evaluation to ensure that reactivation does not interfere with in-place functionality. 
Steps
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

8. Step 3: Create and maintain test plans
Focus on testing what you have previously deployed. If your organization was using only ITSM, then there’s no point testing ITOM applications, which you may have just deployed. A key caveat is with integrations: Always test integrations that are used in multiple places. Always create test plan(s) as you configure and customize your applications. If you didn’t, make sure to create and test your test plans before you upgrade.
Create and maintain your test plans
Create comprehensive test plans that cover core functionality and integrations across applications. Assume the testers know nothing about ServiceNow and include:
Clear, step‑by‑step, instructions to perform the test
Expected results
Input for actual results
Input for any error messages
Input for screen shots
Automate as many test cases as possible using the ServiceNow Automated Test Framework. Refer to our best practices for using ATF.
Conduct manual testing of all remaining functionality using the ServiceNow Test Management module.
Ensure that you have a policy in place for system administrators and developers to update test plans every time an application is configured or customized.
Practitioner insight: Maintain additional test instances to allow development to continue while upgrades are underway.
Steps
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

9. Step 4: Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
Communication is key to any project, and upgrades are no exception! Build awareness about the upgrade process and timelines to help ServiceNow developers, admins, and end users plan for the upgrade and get excited about the new functionality available. 
Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
Create a targeted communication plan for all stakeholders—everyone who works on or is impacted by ServiceNow—for each ServiceNow instance (production and non-production). Be sure you include service owners, service providers, developers, application managers (like catalog managers), and end users. The communication plan must:
Highlight the upgrade timeline, process, impact (what to expect during the upgrade), and benefits (what’s in it for them) at least two weeks in advance of initiating the upgrade
Build awareness with end users using targeted campaigns such as video “commercials” on a TV monitor in the break room, upgrade parties themed after the upgrade name, like a New York party, and signs posted inside the elevator, bathroom stalls, or wherever you have a captive audience
Conduct group meetings with key service stakeholders—process users, developers, and administrators—to set the right expectations on the upgrade process and provide an opportunity to answer questions
Communicate progress on the upgrade through notifications
Post upgrade, educate process users (e.g., service desk agents), developers, and admins, on the new functionality implemented and how they can use it for their needs. Consider:
Listening to release webinars from ServiceNow
Here’s one example—you can also look for links advertised through Community and local SNUG meetings.
Refreshing critical staff with role-based training and certification courses—automatically updated to the current Now Platform release
Steps
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

10. Step 5a: Optimize based on lessons learned
Every upgrade is an opportunity to reexamine your ServiceNow environment for opportunities to further optimize your processes and realize incremental value from your investment in the Now Platform. Make sure after every upgrade cycle you capture the lessons learned, specifically on the end-to-end upgrade process and changes to OOTB functionality that hinder (in terms of delaying or complicating) your future upgrades. 
Capture lessons learned and feedback
Conduct a post-upgrade retrospective exercise with the entire upgrade team to capture the lessons learned. Use these reflection questions:
What should we start, stop, and continue in future upgrades?
What were the key issues faced during the upgrade, and how could we resolve them better?
What went well in the upgrade process?
Seek feedback from key stakeholders (process users, developers, and admins) on their ServiceNow upgrade experience.
Rate the impact of all changes (new records and changes to OOTB records) that were ported to the new version. Use simple scoring to assess the volatility and risk they presented to the upgrade process:
Low – It didn’t delay or complicate the upgrade process.
Medium – It somewhat complicated or delayed the upgrade process.
High – It significantly delayed or complicated the upgrade process.
Take action on lessons learned and feedback
Reevaluate the business need for changes that had a high impact on the upgrade process.
For high-value changes, look for alternatives to simplify the upgrade—refer to these technical best practices for developers.
For low-value changes, make the case to remove them and incorporate OOTB functionality.
Along with the upgrade team, update the future upgrade process based on feedback received and lessons learned.
Steps
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

11. Step 5b: Govern to minimize customizations
To take advantage of new OOTB capabilities and deliver innovation faster, you must limit customizations to clear, demonstrated business needs and avoid the management pitfalls that lead to excessive, unsustainable customization.
Minimize customizations that hinder upgrades
Educate developers on the difference between customizations and configurations.
Configurations – With configurations, you’re tailoring an instance using ServiceNow best practices and APIs to meet your requirements without making changes to the code that’s part of the baseline installation of the instance. For example, you might define a UI policy to make a field mandatory for submitting incidents.
Customizations – A customization is any change to code that’s part of the baseline installation of a ServiceNow instance. For example, you might change the UI macro (which is part of the baseline installation of the instance) for the catalog checkout page to add additional fields so you can gather data during checkout.
Educate development teams and business lines about the complexities associated with customization, so incoming demands are limited to true business needs.
Conduct regular audits, using ServiceNow HealthScans and Performance Analytics, to identify the customizations that are not helping you meet your expected business outcomes.
Report on the time it takes to upgrade and the associated complications that hinder the upgrade process. Help business lines evaluate the true return on investment for customization (taking into account the business need versus the issues caused) from the standpoint of the total value you see from ServiceNow.
Practitioner insight: To restrict customizations and configurations to validated business needs, put strong governance policies and processes in place. This includes having a clear criteria to assess the technical complexity associated with the proposed change and effective demand management processes to validate the business value. Refer to our Success Playbook on avoiding customization pitfalls for additional guidance. 
Steps
1. Create a repeatable upgrade process
2. Prepare for conflicts during the upgrade
3. Create and maintain test plans
4. Prepare stakeholders for the upgrade
5. Streamline future upgrades

12. KPIs and stakeholders Key performance indicators Essential KPIs
Time required for the upgrade end to end (should decline)
# of issues reported post upgrade that should have been resolved during upgrade (should decline)
# of conflicts (to remediate) during upgrade (should decline)
% of functionality tested through the ServiceNow Automated Test Framework (should increase)
Nice-to-have KPIs
# of customizations/configurations removed or returned to OOTB due to redundancy or lack of business value
Stakeholder satisfaction score on the upgrade process and the new functionality added
Stakeholder map
Responsible/accountable
Now Platform owner
ServiceNow system administrator
Platform support team
ServiceNow testers
Executive sponsor
Consulted/informed
All IT organization
Business leaders
ServiceNow users
Service owners
Service providers
Application owners
Service desk and change management teams