Upgrading DevOps Change Velocity : Essential Considerations

[Daxin]

The DevOps landscape is constantly evolving, and so are the toolchains that power it. ServiceNow's DevOps Change Velocity application follows a rapid release cycle, with new versions packed with features becoming available on quarterly store release. Effectively managing these upgrades is vital to ensure your automated change processes remain robust, secure, and leverage the latest innovations.

This article outlines key strategies and practical steps for a successful DevOps Change Velocity upgrade, helping you maintain a smooth, high-velocity delivery pipeline.

Establish a Robust Support Model

This is a prerequisite during implementation and before go-live.

DevOps Change Velocity integrates with numerous external tools (Jira, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub, etc.) and affects how teams manage their pipelines. A well-defined support structure ensures accountability and efficiency, not just for ServiceNow upgrades but also for maintaining compatibility across your entire integrated toolchain.

Identify:

• ServiceNow Admin/DevOps Team: Responsible for the core ServiceNow application upgrade.
• DevOps Tool Owners/Admins: Responsible for upgrading and maintaining the external tools (e.g., Jenkins, Azure DevOps) and their specific plugins/extensions that integrate with ServiceNow.
• Pipeline Owners/Dev Teams: Involved in testing the impact on their automated pipelines.
• Change Management Team: To validate that automated changes and approval policies continue to function as expected.

Define Your Upgrade Cycle Strategy

How frequently you upgrade DevOps Change Velocity can significantly impact your adoption of new features and the testing overhead.

 Two common strategies are:

• "Stay Current" (Quarterly Upgrades):
  • Approach: Dedicate a specific window each quarter for upgrading and thoroughly testing the DevOps application.
  • Pros: Allows your organization to quickly leverage new features and bug fixes, staying at the cutting edge of change automation.
  • Cons: Requires more frequent, dedicated testing cycles and close coordination with external tool teams.
• "Family Release Alignment" (Bi-Annual Upgrades):
  • Approach: Upgrade DevOps Change Velocity as part of your broader ServiceNow family release upgrade cycle (typically twice a year).
  • Pros: Consolidates upgrade efforts, reducing the number of separate upgrade projects.
  • Cons: You might delay access to new features and critical fixes available in interim quarterly releases and need to check the impact of skipping versions.

The decision should involve discussions with Technical Governance Board, your ServiceNow support team, external tool administrators & support team, and pilot teams to ensure the chosen cycle aligns with your organizational capacity and strategic needs.

Thoroughly Review Release Notes

Before any upgrade, meticulous review of release notes is non-negotiable.

• DevOps Change Velocity Release Notes: Scrutinize these for every major application update. Look for:
  • New Features: Identify capabilities that address existing backlogs or can further optimize your pipelines.
  • Enhancements: Understand improvements to current functionalities.
  • Breaking Changes or Deprecations: Crucial for identifying potential impacts on your existing integrations or customizations.
  • Bug Fixes: See if any known issues you've experienced are resolved.
• External Tool Plugin/Extension Compatibility: Always check the release notes for the specific plugins or extensions (e.g., Azure DevOps extension, Jenkins plugins) that integrate with ServiceNow. Ensure they are compatible with the new version of DevOps Change Velocity and your ServiceNow instance. Plan for their concurrent upgrade if necessary.

Plan & Communicate Effectively

A well-orchestrated upgrade requires meticulous planning and clear communication.

• Comprehensive Upgrade Plan: Based on your chosen upgrade cycle and release notes, develop a detailed plan covering every environment (Dev, Test, Prod). This includes:
  • Upgrade steps for ServiceNow and integrated tools.
  • A comprehensive test plan for existing toolchains and any new features.
• Stakeholder Communication: Proactively communicate the upgrade plan , new features and changes to all impacted stakeholders:
  • Tool Owners & Application Owners: Inform them about upgrade timelines, potential downtimes, and any actions they need to take.
  • DevOps Teams: Explain the impact on their pipelines and testing requirements.
  • External Tool Admins: Coordinate upgrade windows if their Change Velocity plugin/extension needs to be updated alongside ServiceNow.

Upgrade and Test in Lower Environments

Never skip this critical step. Always upgrade your lower environments first.

• Execute Upgrade: Upgrade your lower instance.
• Review Skipped Records: Thoroughly review any skipped records during the upgrade and take appropriate action. Prioritize staying Out-of-the-Box (OOB) where possible to simplify future upgrades.
• Integrated Tool Upgrade (if applicable): If external tools require plugin/extension upgrades for compatibility, plan and execute these concurrently in your lower environments.
• Comprehensive Testing: Perform rigorous end-to-end testing, including:
  • Dedicated Test Pipeline: It's impractical to test every production pipeline. Maintain a dedicated "test" pipeline that mimics your production setup to perform repeatable and efficient integration tests.
  • Integration Testing: Validate connections and data flow with all onboarded tools.
  • Functional Testing: Ensure work item updates, build/release pipeline triggers, artifact details, change creation, and change approval policies work as expected for all connected tools.

Upgrade Live and Monitor Closely

After successful end-to-end testing in lower environment, proceed with the production upgrade.

• Production Upgrade: Schedule and execute the upgrade during a planned maintenance window.
• Post-Upgrade Validation: Immediately after the upgrade, perform quick sanity checks:
  • Review for any skipped records or upgrade errors.
  • Verify that all onboarded tools are connected and active.
  • Confirm that inbound events are being processed successfully.
• Continuous Monitoring: Closely monitor your DevOps Change Velocity dashboards, relevant logs, and integration queues for any anomalies or performance degradations in the days following the upgrade. Establish clear channels for teams to report issues.

Conclusion

Timely upgrades ensure you leverage the latest features, benefit from performance enhancements, and stay compliant, ultimately accelerating your delivery without compromising governance. The key to a smooth upgrade lies in a proactive and strategic approach. By establishing a robust support model, thoughtfully defining your upgrade cycle, reviewing release notes, planning and communicating diligently, testing thoroughly in lower environment, and monitoring closely post-go-live, you can navigate these updates with confidence. This structured approach ensures your organization continues to benefit from seamless change automation, unlocking greater velocity and resilience across your software development lifecycle.