Create and manage agile projects

Release version: Yokohama

Updated January 30, 2025

4 minutes to read

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Summary of Create and manage agile projects

This guide outlines the essential tasks ServiceNow customers need to perform to create and manage agile projects using the Yokohama release. It covers setting up agile groups, creating sprints and projects, managing project phases, planning sprints, and executing testing processes with both Test Management 1.0 and 2.0.

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Set up Agile Groups and Projects

Define Agile Groups: Create groups via Agile Development > Create Agile Group and add members through the Group form.
Set Group Capacity: Define the capacity in points for each group to manage workload.
Create and Manage Sprints: Use the Group form to create multiple sprints or add individual sprints and view them accordingly.
Create Projects: Start new projects from Project > Projects > Create New or directly in Project Workspace.
Open Existing Projects: Access via Project Workspace or Project form links for ongoing management.

Manage Project Phases and Details

Add Phases: Add agile or test phases to projects if Project Portfolio Management and Agile Development 2.0 or Test Management 2.0 applications are installed.
Assign Groups and Sprints to Phases: Edit agile phases to assign groups and select start/end sprints for detailed planning.
Create and Refine Stories: Add new stories directly in the project workbench and manage story backlogs either per project or across multiple projects.
Add Milestones: Milestones can be added via the project workbench to track key project events.

Plan and Execute Sprints

Sprint Planning: Initiate planning from Agile Development > Groups, add stories to sprints, and manage sprint workload effectively.

Testing Process

Test Management 1.0: Create test plans, add test cases from suites, assign testers, notify testers to start, monitor progress, and finalize with sign-off—all accessible via Test Management modules.
Test Management 2.0: Create test execution suites, add tests, assign tests to testers (only if tests are Ready), and testers execute tests through assigned test lists.

Key Outcomes

By following these structured tasks, ServiceNow customers can efficiently set up and manage agile projects with clear group definitions, sprint planning, phase management, and integrated testing processes. This ensures improved project visibility, better resource allocation, streamlined sprint execution, and reliable quality assurance through comprehensive testing workflows.

An overview of the tasks involved in creating an agile project.

The following tables, arranged by task group, list the tasks involved in creating an agile project.

Table 1. Set up a development group
Task	How do I do this?
Define an Agile group	Navigate to Agile Development > Create Agile Group and click New.
Add group members	Navigate to the Group members related list on the Group form and click Edit.
Decide the capacity of a group	Navigate to Agile Development > Groups, select the desired group, and enter a number in the Group capacity (points) field.

Table 2. Create sprints
Task	How do I do this?
Create a sprint	Use the Create Sprints related link on the Group form to create multiple sprints or use the Sprints related list to create individual sprints.
View the created sprints	Use the Sprints related list on the Group form.

Table 3. Create a new project
Task	How do I do this?
Create a project	Navigate to Project > Projects > Create New. Navigate to Project > Projects > Project Workspace and click New Project.

Table 4. Open an existing project
Task	How do I do this?
Open an existing project	Click the Project Workspace related link on the Project form. Navigate to Project > Projects > Project Workspace and select the project from the Select Projects choice list in the workspace header.

Table 5. Add phases to a project from the project workbench
Task	How do I do this?
Create an agile phase for a project	Click the Add phase icon () and select Agile from the Phase Type choice list. Note: This option appears only when both the Project Portfolio Management and Agile Development 2.0 applications are installed.
Create a test phase for a project	Click the Add phase icon () and select Test from the Phase Type choice list. Note: This option appears only when both the Project Portfolio Management and Test Management 2.0 applications are installed.

Table 6. Add details to a project phase from the project workbench
Task	How do I do this?
View phase details in list view or VTB	Click the List or VTB button in the project workbench header.
Assign a group to an agile phase	Edit the Agile phase and select a group in the Group field.
Select sprints for an agile phase	Edit the Agile phase, ensure that a group has been assigned, and select a Start Sprint and End Sprint.
Create stories for an agile phase	Click the Agile phase in the project workbench and click New in the detail view header.
Refine stories for one project	Click the Manage Stories button to open the Manage Stories dialog box. Note: You can also use the Agile Planning & Tracking related link on the Project form to view your backlog, assign stories to the projects, or create new stories for the project.
Refine stories across multiple projects	Click the Manage Stories related link on Group form.
Assign a group to an agile phase	Click the Agile phase edit icon and select the group from the Group choice list.

Table 7. Add milestones to a project from the project workbench
Task	How do I do this?
Add milestones to a project	Click the Add phase icon () and then click Milestone at the top of the Add Phase pop-up window.

Table 8. Plan sprints
Task	How do I do this?
Start sprint planning	Navigate to Agile Development > Groups, open the desired group, and click the Sprint Planning related link.
Add stories to the sprint	Navigate to Agile Development > Groups, open the desired group, click the Sprint Planning related link, and click Create story.

Table 9. Testing process ( Only when Test Management 1.0 is activated)
Task	How do I do this?
Create a test plan	Navigate to Test Management > Test Execution > Test Plans > New.
Add test cases to a test plan	Click the Add Test Cases from Test Suite related link on the Test Plan form.
Assign test cases to testers	Select a user in the Assigned to field on the Test Case form.
Notify testers to start testing	Click the Notify testers to start testing related link on the Test Plan form.
Tester performs tests and submits results	Navigate to Self-Service > My Tests or Self-Service > My Assessments.
Monitor the testing progress	The Test Plans list, Test Plan form, and Test Case form all display results for test cases and individual tests.
Testing sign-off	Click the Sign-off Test Plan related link on Test Plan form.

Table 10. Testing process (Only when Test Management 2.0 is activated)
Task	How do I do this?
Create a test execution suite	Navigate to Test Management 2.0 > Test Execution Suites, and click New.
Add tests to a test execution suite	Open a test execution suite, and click Add tests. From the Tests list, select the required tests and click Add to Execution Suite.
Assign tests to testers	Open a test execution suite. In the Test execution assignments related list, assign tests to testers. Note: Only the tests in the Ready state can be assigned.
Tester performs tests and submits results	Navigate to Test Management 2.0 > Tests Assigned to me. Select the required tests and click Run.