As CWM grew, so did the number of places where your work shows up as a list. One is the Board List view and with the CWM Sept 2026 release, a new List is introduced in the Left navigation panel. Two different features in CWM both named as "list" and it is easy to assume they are the same. They are not, and each has a different use case.
The choice between the two shapes how you manage a single team's board day to day, and how you work with SN records that reach beyond CWM. This article clears up what each one is, puts them side by side, and gives you a simple rule for picking the right one.
The one-line difference
- CWM Board List view is just another way to look at a single Board. It shows that Board's own work items in a table, next to the Gantt and Kanban views of the same Board.
- ServiceNow List in CWM is a configurable list of records pulled from across the platform by filter. The records do not have to belong to a Board, and they do not have to be CWM tasks at all. Its headline use case are epic backlog management, Managing all active sprints, stories etc managed by teams across boards and many more.
CWM Board List view
The Board List view is one of the five views every CWM Board supports, alongside Gantt, Kanban, Dashboard and Sprint Planning. It displays all work items on a Board in a grid, so you can scan status, update fields inline, and assign items quickly. You can switch between views at any time without losing data, and personalize which columns, sorting, and filters show.
- It only ever shows the work items that belong to that one Board.
- It is a visualization choice, the table equivalent of the same Board you also see as a Kanban or Gantt.
- You can use Board List view inside the Board itself.
| Think of it as: "show me this Board's tasks as a table." |
ServiceNow List in CWM
ServiceNow Lists in CWM is a separate capability that lives in the CWM left navigation under Quick access, next to My Work (keyboard shortcut - Opt + L for Mac users and Alt+L for windows users). It lets you access predefined lists and your own custom lists of records from any table, without leaving CWM. Under the hood these are platform list pages, where a list is a content page that displays records from a database table, each row a record and each column a field.
It has two tabs:
- Default lists are predefined and grouped into categories. CWM includes Boards and Connected work; CWM Agile includes Epics, My Epics, Stories, My Stories, Active Sprints, and Closed Sprints.
- My lists are the custom lists you create. You can build a custom list from any table, such as the Incident table, with the columns and conditions your team needs, and save it for quick access.
What you can do inside a list:
- Filter, sort, and group the records, and open any record in a new tab.
- Create and edit records directly from the list, and share a list link with users who have permission to view it.
- Export the records to Excel, CSV, JSON, or PDF, either as a direct download or by email.
- Filtering conditions on platform lists are built with the Predicate Builder, and the underlying list pages are configured by admins in UI Builder.
| Think of it as: "show me any set of records in ServiceNow, filtered how I want, from inside CWM." |
The primary use case: Epic Backlog Management
The main reason ServiceNow Lists was brought into CWM is to give teams a real epic backlog. An epic backlog is not just a pile of big items, it is the mid-range planning layer between high-level themes and day-to-day stories. Working it well is what lets a team prioritize, see the shape of the next few months, and plan capacity beyond the current sprint.
ServiceNow Lists in CWM delivers this through the predefined Epics and My Epics lists in the CWM Agile category. From there a team can order epics by priority, filter and group them by product, team, or other attributes, and drill into the stories underneath. The same pattern powers a Closed Sprints list for looking back at velocity, and Connected Work lists for surfacing records such as incidents or risks that were brought onto a Board. Because a custom list can point at any table, the same feature also covers backlogs and record sets that a plain Board view was never meant to hold.
Side by side
| Dimension | CWM Board List view | ServiceNow List in CWM |
| What it is | One of a Board's five views (List, Gantt, Kanban, Dashboard, Sprint Planning) | A configurable list of records surfaced inside CWM Navigation panel |
| Records shown (scope) | Only the work items belongs to one Board | Any Service Now table's records: predefined Agile and Connected Work lists, or a custom list from any table |
| Data source | A CWM Board's tasks | Any ServiceNow table, selected by filter |
| Primary purpose | Visualize and edit the current Board's work as a grid view | Manage backlogs and record sets across the platform, epic backlog, story backlog, list of all active sprints across boards |
| Where it lives | CWM Board View tabs |
CWM left nav, under Quick access, next to My Work Keyboard shortcut (Alt+L or Opt + L) |
| Who sets it up | Available on every Board, Any Editor+ access level user can personalize view |
Available out of the box Some Predefined lists like Epics, Stories, Active Sprints etc are shipped out of the box; custom lists can be built by the user; |
| Filtering and grouping | Personalize columns, sorting, filters on the Board | Filter, sort, group; conditions via Predicate Builder |
| Relationship to the Board | Is a view of the Board | Independent of any single Board; can even list all Boards or connected work across Boards |
| Best for | Working on tasks of any one Board. | Epic backlog, closed sprints, connected or cross-table record sets |
When to use which
Use the Board List view when:
- You want to see and edit the tasks of the Board you are already on, as a grid instead of a Kanban or Gantt.
- You are doing quick status review, inline edits, or assignments within a single Board.
Use ServiceNow List in CWM when:
- You are managing an epic backlog across products or teams, prioritizing and grouping epics above the story level.
- You want to review closed sprints for velocity, or surface connected records such as incidents or risks.
- You need a saved, filtered view of records from any table, reused without rebuilding the filter each time, and shared with your team.
| Rule of thumb. If you are working the tasks of one Board, that is the Board List view. If you are working records that span Boards, tables, or the whole platform, that is ServiceNow List in CWM. |
