MIgration guide for team level agile from Agile Development 2.0 to CWM

[alekhyanema]

Migration Guide

Agile Development 2.0 → CWM

Team-Level Agile Execution · A step-by-step guide for transitioning to Collaborative Work Management (CWM)

Contents

1. Overview
2. Phase 1: Before You Begin
3. Phase 2: Set Up Your CWM Space
4. Phase 3: Create Your Sprint Board
5. Phase 4: Connect Your Work Items
6. Phase 5: Recreate Custom Fields & Columns
7. Phase 6: Set Up Sprint Planning
8. Phase 7: Day-to-Day Execution with Kanban
9. Phase 8: Migration Gaps & Known Limitations
10. The Artifact Journey
11. Table mapping

 

Overview

This guide walks Agile Development 2.0 customers through every step needed to migrate team-level agile execution — including sprints, backlogs, stories, and scrum tasks — into CWM. If your team does scaled agile, use Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) alongside CWM to meet your agile needs. Follow the phases below for a smooth transition.

Phase 1 Before You Begin

 

1.1 Understand What Changes Between Agile Development 2.0 and CWM

Review the key differences at the team level before migrating.

Feature	Agile Development 2.0	CWM
Sprint board	Sprint planning board with native sprints	Board + Sprint Planning view
Backlog	Built-in backlog within sprint board	Backlog section within Sprint Planning view
Work items	Stories and scrum tasks	Stories/scrum tasks connected via 'Connect Work'. Also supports other record types on the task table (e.g. incidents, problems, changes)
Importing other work items	Unified backlog	Connect work
Kanban / tracking	Sprint tracking board	Kanban view in CWM
Epic backlog	Built-in epic backlog	Requires EAP integration (not in CWM alone)
Sprint data history	Stored in Agile Development 2.0 sprint table	New sprint table in CWM
Release Management	Field in Story form	Add the fields in the Story form under CWM view

⚠ Important

Sprint data in Agile Development 2.0 and CWM use different sprint tables. We strongly recommend starting your CWM adoption from a new sprint rather than attempting to import historical sprint data.

 

1.2 Identify Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm the following are in place:

• You have a CWM license (or SPM license) and access to your organization's CWM environment.
• Your team members have been provisioned with CWM roles.
• You have identified all Stories and Scrum Tasks currently active in Agile Development 2.0 that need to move to CWM.
• You have noted any custom fields or columns on Story/Scrum Task forms that need to be recreated in CWM.
• You have agreed on a cutover sprint boundary with your team (a clean sprint start is strongly recommended).

Helpful Links Configuring CWM

 

Phase 2 Set Up Your CWM Space

 

2.1 Create a CWM Space for Your Team

A Space in CWM is the container for your team's boards and docs. Each agile team should have its own Space.

1. Navigate to CWM and click + Create in the left sidebar.
2. Select Space and give it a clear name that identifies your team (e.g., Team Phoenix).
3. Add a description so team members understand the Space's purpose.
4. Click Create to confirm.

Helpful Links Collaborate with Spaces

 

2.2 Share the Space with Your Team

Once the Space is created, invite your agile team and any stakeholders who need visibility using the Share button at the top right of the Space.

1. Open the Space and click Share (top right).
2. Search for the agile user group to share with the entire team, or search for individual team members by name or email.
3. Set the Access level: Editor for team members doing work, Viewer for stakeholders.
4. Click Done to save.

✅ Tip

Use group-based sharing if your organization has Agile user groups set up — this is faster than adding individuals one by one.

 

Phase 3 Create Your Sprint Board

 

3.1 Create a Board

The Sprint Planning Board in Agile Development 2.0 is replicated in CWM by creating a Board inside your Space.

1. Inside your Space, click Create (top right) and select Board.
2. Enter a Board name (e.g., DC Team 1 Sprint Board).
3. Confirm the Space is set to your team's Space.
4. Click Use templates to start from a pre-built layout, or Create to start from scratch.
5. Your new board will open and is ready to configure.

Helpful Links Sprint Planning in CWM

 

Phase 4 Connect Your Work Items

 

4.1 Bring Stories into the CWM Board

CWM uses a Connected work feature to pull existing stories and work items from across ServiceNow into your board. This is the primary way to bring your Agile Development 2.0 stories into CWM without recreating them from scratch.

1. Open your board and click the ⋮ (more options) icon in the board toolbar.
2. Select Connected work from the Connections section of the menu.
3. In the Manage connected work dialog, click + Add new to define a connection rule.
4. Select Story as the work item type, then set conditions to filter by your team's Assignment group or other relevant criteria.
5. Toggle the connection On and click Save.
6. Repeat for any other work item types your team uses (e.g., Tasks, Incidents if applicable).

ℹ Note

• Scrum tasks that are children of a Story will automatically come in with the Story when it is connected. You do not need to connect scrum tasks individually.
• Each connected work condition has a first-time import limit of 100 tasks. You can edit the limit in sys_properties_list.do. Be mindful of the performance impact large conditions have.

Helpful Links Connect Work documentation  ·  Connect Work FAQ

 

4.2 Validate Work Items on the Board

After connecting work items, your board should show all stories and tasks your team is actively working on. Switch to the List view to review everything is correct.

• Confirm that all active stories from Agile Development 2.0 are visible on the CWM board.
• Check that scrum tasks appear nested under their parent stories (expand the arrow next to a Story row).
• Verify that work item statuses look correct.
• Decide whether Closed or Done items from Agile Development 2.0 need to appear in CWM or should remain in Agile Development 2.0 for historical reference only.

🚩 Note

Stories that are already Closed in Agile Development 2.0 may still appear in CWM if they match your connection conditions. Review your connection filters and narrow the conditions (e.g. Active = true) to keep the board focused on current work.

Helpful Links Board Preferences to filter work

 

Phase 5 Recreate Custom Fields & Columns

 

5.1 Add Custom Columns to Your CWM View

There are two ways to create custom fields:

Option A — Org-wide custom fields (e.g., Release, Product, team-specific attributes): Add these at the rm_story table level to the CWM view.

1. Navigate to the rm_story list view and click Edit views.
2. Select CWM view.
3. Click + Add column and select from available fields such as Release, Product, or any custom attribute.
4. Save the view.

Option B — Space or board-specific custom columns: Custom columns added this way are local to the space they're created in.

1. Navigate to Workspaces > Collaborative Work Management.
2. From a Space, select the Board you want to add columns to.
3. In the List view of the Board, select Add column from the column header and select a data type.
4. Enter the Field name and fill in other details as prompted:
   • Label / Dropdown: Enter the options for this field.
   • People: Select the user type and whether to allow single or multiple users.
   • Reference: Select the table to reference.
5. Select Add column.

✅ Tip

Before this step, document all columns your team used in Agile Development 2.0 as a checklist. Work through it systematically to ensure nothing is missed.

 

Phase 6 Set Up Sprint Planning

 

6.1 Switch to Sprint Planning View and Create Your First Sprint

CWM has a dedicated Sprint Planning view that replaces the sprint planning experience in Agile Development 2.0. Use this view to create new sprints and move items from the backlog into a sprint.

1. On your board, click the Sprint planning tab in the view selector.
2. Your connected work items will appear in the Backlog column on the left.
3. Click + (Add sprint) next to an existing sprint, or use the Create Sprint button, to create your first CWM sprint.
4. Set the sprint name, start date, and end date.
5. Drag and drop work items from the Backlog into the sprint to assign them.
6. When ready to begin execution, click Start on the sprint.

⚠ Important

Do not migrate historical sprint data from Agile Development 2.0 into CWM. The sprint table structures are different and are not compatible. Begin CWM sprint planning fresh from your agreed cutover sprint date.

Phase 7 Day-to-Day Execution with Kanban

 

7.1 Use the Kanban View for Sprint Tracking

If your team used the Sprint Tracking Board in Agile Development 2.0 for daily progress tracking, CWM's Kanban view provides equivalent functionality with swimlane and filter support.

1. On your board, click the Kanban tab in the view selector.
2. Use the Filters dropdown to focus on CWM Tasks or the current sprint only.
3. Team members drag cards between columns to update status in real time.
4. Click the gear icon on the right to change the vertical and horizontal lanes.

✅ Tip

Project the Kanban view during your daily standup — team members can update card status live during the meeting, keeping the board accurate without extra effort.

 

Phase 8 Migration Gaps & Known Limitations

The following gaps were identified between Agile Development 2.0 and CWM. Review these with your team before go-live to ensure expectations are aligned.

Reporting and analytics

Gap	Current state	Recommended path
Sprint velocity, burndown, and burnup charts	CWM + EAP — EAP has native team-level sprint reporting today. CWM alone: build with Platform Analytics	Team level analytics will be supported in CWM starting Q3 2026.

Work item creation and management

Gap	Current state	Recommended path
Native Epic creation visible on the CWM board	The Create Epic button writes to sn_align_core_scrum_epic but the epic does not appear on the board today. Native visibility is on the 2026 roadmap.	CWM today- For legacy rm_epic, use Connected Work for visibility only. CWM + EAP — manage epics in EAP; the Story’s Parent Work Item field populates when a parent-child link exists.
Native Defect creation from CWM board	rm_defect can be surfaced via Connected Work but cannot be created from Add Item button on CWM board.	CWM today — create defects from the rm_defect form or Agile Development module, then surface via Connected Work.
Native Enhancement creation from CWM Add Item	rm_enhancement can be surfaced via Connected Work but cannot be created from Add Item. Creation still happens from a Demand.	Choose between Idea portal/ Epic/Story/CWM task based on the usecases discussed Error! Reference source not found.. .
Sprint Goals	Not available out of the box in CWM.	Use a custom field on CWM sprint table
Theme as a native board grouping	Theme field exists on rm_story, but CWM does not group stories by Theme on the board like Agile 2.0 did.	CWM today – Use Epics or custom column at board or table level.

Integration with other modules

Gap	Current state	Recommended path
Digital Product Release (DPR) ↔ CWM integration	Native DPR integration with CWM/EAP is on the roadmap but not yet OOTB.	Workaround — add the Release field on rm_story to the CWM view for story-level traceability.
CWM ↔ Project Workspace bidirectional sync	No native bidirectional sync today; on the roadmap.	Workaround — bring pm_project_task  and demand tasks into CWM via Connected Work; use SPW Portfolio to surface project + CWM progress in one place.
Direct board-to-Demand or board-to-Project link	Boards contain work items, not container records. No direct link out of the box.	Workaround — model traceability through Demand → Epic (sn_align_core_scrum_epic) → Story; use Connected Work for project tasks.

Migration

Gap	Current state	Recommended path
Migrating historical sprint data from Agile 2.0	rm_sprint and the new CWM sprint table are structurally incompatible.	start each team from a clean CWM sprint at cutover; keep Agile 2.0 read-only for history.

Helpful Links EAP and CWM connection

The artifact journey

Some artifacts used in Agile 2.0 don't map to CWM. Walk through each artifact below before deciding on a path.

Enhancements

Over time, Enhancements became a flexible — sometimes informal — container for work that did not fit neatly into other item types. Below common patterns that drove Enhancement adoption, each of which now has a more purpose-built solution. 

Work smaller than a project, not necessarily agile 

Enhancements offered a lightweight way to track and complete work that did not warrant a full project but still needed visibility and accountability. In CWM, a CWM task is the natural replacement for teams managing non-agile, task-based work.  

Assign work to an agile team

For teams that do follow agile practices, an Epic or a Story depending on the size of works, provides the same structured container without requiring a full project setup. Epics can be created in CWM, with the option to view/manage them in CWM is planned for H2 2026. 

Operational improvements and internal product requests 

Many teams used Enhancements to capture ongoing improvement ideas, product feedback, and internal requests that do not drive net-new capability.  

The recommended path for this use case is Product Feedback (Idea), which supports an Enhancement Request category out of the box. An Idea portal can be configured to capture submissions, route them to the appropriate product or team, and provide status visibility back to the original requestor — all without custom development.  

Quick reference: choosing the right path 

Scenario	Recommended Approach
Non-agile operational or task-based work	CWM task
Agile planning	Epics or Stories (based on size of work)
Internal product requests with requestor visibility	Product Feedback — Idea portal

Note: Organizations currently using Agile Development 2.0 may continue using Enhancements until the retirement milestone. However, if you are onboarding new teams or users, we recommend adopting the replacement paths outlined above now. This ensures a smoother migration and avoids building further dependency on a work item type that will no longer be supported going forward.

Themes

Product Themes (rm_theme) also belong to the Agile 2.0 data model. They will remain a valid grouping mechanism on the Story form.

Recommendation: Use Epic- Feature- Capability hierarchy between CWM and EAP to group your work. You can also create a custom column at a table level  (rm.story) or CWM board level to group working using a column.

Or, if you choose to continue the old table:

• Creation Path: Still on rm_theme, referenced from the Theme field on rm_story.
• Visibility in CWM: The Theme field is hidden by default in the CWM view. Add it back via the rm_story list view → Edit views → CWM view → add the Theme column.
• Not supported: Creating new Themes from the CWM Add Item button
  
  

Features

There are three legacy feature tables. Pick the right one for your context. OOTB CWM does not support feature creation or execution.

Recommendation: If you are moving to scaled agile, manage Features on sn_align_core_feature in EAP. Reserve rm_feature for legacy Agile 2.0 visibility only. EAP does not support rm_feature.

Table	Purpose	Where it’s managed
rm_feature	Agile 2.0 compatibility. Surface in CWM via Connected Work for visibility only.	Agile 2.0
sn_align_core_feature	Scaled agile execution — features owned by an ART or program.	EAP planning board
sn_dpr_feature	Strategic product visibility tied to Digital Product Release.	DPR

Releases

Release planning was handled through the Release field on the Story form in Agile 2.0. The field still exists on rm_story — it is simply hidden by default in the CWM view.

• Creation Path: Create a release on your existing release table.
• Visibility in CWM: Open the rm_story list view and form view, click Edit views, select the CWM view, and add the Release field. Once added, it appears as a column on every CWM board that uses this view and the rm_story form in CWM.
• Digital Product Release (DPR): Native DPR integration with CWM and EAP is on our roadmap but not yet out of the box. Until it ships, the Release field on the Story is the interim traceability mechanism.

Epics

Recommendation: Use sn_align_core_scrum_epic for all new epic-level work.  It is the shared CWM + EAP epic table. Epics created here are visible to multiple teams and flow correctly through EAP planning.

Table	Used by	Status
rm_epic	Agile 2.0 (legacy)	Available — the Epic field on a story still points here. Bring into CWM via Connected Work.
sn_align_core_scrum_epic	EAP and CWM (shared)	Available — use for all new epic-level work. The Parent Work Item on a story populates from this when a parent-child link exists in EAP.
sn_safe_epic	SAFe (legacy)	Deprecated — do not build new integrations on this table.

Today, EAP epics cannot be opened directly on a CWM board, but the Parent Work Item field on a Story will populate when a parent-child relationship is established in EAP. Native epic visibility on the CWM board is on the 2026 roadmap.

Defects

Defects are not available OOTB in CWM today but is the on product roadmap.  Use Connected Work to bring them on to a board.

• Creation Path: Native defect creation from the CWM Add Item button is not yet supported. Create new defects from the Agile Development module or the rm_defect form, then connect them to the board.
• Visibility in CWM: Open Connected Work on your board, add rm_defect as a source table, and filter by Assignment Group or Product.
• Story linkage: Use CWM task dependencies and relationships to link defects to their parent stories for traceability or continue to use the platform defect- story related list view outside of CWM.

Table map 

Agile 2.0 concept	Agile 2.0 table	CWM equivalent
Story	rm_story	rm_story — same table, shared
Scrum Task	rm_scrum_task	rm_scrum_task — same table, shared
Sprint	rm_sprint	New CWM Sprint table — start fresh; no history migration
Sprint Planning Board	Sprint board	CWM Board + Sprint Planning view
Sprint Tracking Board	Tracking board	Kanban view in CWM
Unified Backlog	Unified Backlog	Connected Work on the CWM Board
Story-to-story dependency	rm_dependency	Cross-type dependencies in CWM (broader scope)
Theme	rm_theme	Use custom field on table or CWM board
Release	Release field on Story	Same field; add to the CWM view
Enhancement	rm_enhancement	Connected Work only — cannot create from CWM Add Item
Defect	rm_defect	Connected Work — native UI on roadmap

[AdrianL]

Will the rm_feature table survive and continue to be used in CWM ?

[alekhyanema]

rm_feature is still available. You can use it in EAP today. CWM will in the future support parent work items such as Epics and more. 

[Hendrik Engler]

@alekhyanema Do we know which one? We have the Agile Development 2.0 epics and within EAP the EAP Epics within their own data structure. Currently it is a pain to make EAP Epics visible in the CWM, which is not natively working (instead there are some workarounds to create a CWM task and then link the epic to it) ... And any timeline by when this will come?

[alekhyanema]

Hi Hendrik, 
The "Parent Work Item" for EAP enabled stories will show the EAP Epic. The default "Epic"Field on the CWM board- list view also support align_core_Epic ( EAP epic), only if you create a reference customer column on the board and bring in the rm_Epic table, will you see the rm_epic in CWM. 

[mdalpi]

Hello, thank you for the article.

Could you please confirm if the Defect table (rm_defect) will continue to be available and supported with EAP?