Upgrade ServiceNow: Yokohama to Zurich (Step-by-Step)

BillMartin · 4 weeks ago

You want the newest features in your hands, and you want them running clean. Upgrading your Personal Developer Instance from Yokohama to Zurich is the fastest way to build that muscle before your enterprise follows. This guide gives you the exact flow, what happens under the hood, and how to think about the upgrade like an architect, not just a builder.

Why upgrade early

Every ServiceNow family release is more than a version number. Zurich reshapes how you work with AI-assisted workflows, stronger testing workflows that speed up delivery, and a tighter security posture across data and integrations. If you build for scale, upgrading your PDI early helps you anticipate deprecations, plugin shifts, and integration impacts long before a change window hits production.

You also set the tone for your team. You do not just push a button. You build a repeatable practice that mirrors an enterprise upgrade cycle, from planning to post-upgrade validation.

Prepare your PDI like an enterprise environment

Treat your PDI as if it were a lower environment in your enterprise stack. You will move faster, and you will catch more.

Know your current version. Check the family and patch shown at the top left of your instance. You might see Yokohama Patch 6 or Patch 7.
Back up custom work. Export your scoped apps, save scripts, and push to source control. If you have not linked Studio to Git, set that up so your changes have history.
Review plugin dependencies. Check which plugins are active and whether they change across Zurich. Plan for optional features that may shift behavior.
Scan deprecations. Each family introduces deprecations that may affect scripts, UI actions, or integrations. Flag items that need refactoring.
Decide your path. Patch the current family if you need temporary compatibility, or move to Zurich if you want access to new capabilities now. In many enterprises, this is a quarterly decision based on roadmap and risk.

Want a foundation for your environment setup first? See this walkthrough on how to set up a ServiceNow Personal Developer Instance.

Execute the upgrade: Yokohama to Zurich

From your PDI, open the upgrade interface. You will typically see two options: apply the latest Yokohama patch or move to Zurich Patch 1. Select Zurich.

Once you confirm, the upgrade process begins and you will see status activity appear at the top left of your instance. On a vanilla PDI, the process can finish in about an hour. With more data or customizations, expect 2 to 4 hours.

During the upgrade, ServiceNow applies changes as a managed service:

The application layer updates with Zurich features.
The database schema migrates to support new tables and fields.
Security fixes and patches apply as part of the family upgrade pipeline.

This design is a key reason ServiceNow upgrades run clean in enterprise settings. You are not stitching together installers. You are consuming a service-level upgrade that brings platform, schema, and security changes in one motion.

Patch or family upgrade: how to choose

When you reach the fork, you have two paths. Use this quick view to align your decision with your goals.

Path	When to choose it	What you get
Patch Yokohama	You must maintain short-term training or compatibility on Yokohama	Latest Yokohama fixes without new Zurich capabilities
Upgrade to Zurich Patch 1	You want to adopt new features and prepare for the next enterprise family rollout	New AI-assisted workflows, stronger testing workflows, security enhancements, and new documentation pathways

If your roadmap includes AI-guided operations or you need to validate Zurich changes ahead of a corporate plan, upgrade now. If you are bound to current family compatibility for a limited period, patch then schedule the upgrade window.

Use Zurich release notes as your upgrade guide

The Zurich documentation gives you a clear end-to-end path. You will find a seven-step flow from learning and preparation to final production cutover. Start here: Zurich release notes summary and highlights.

What you should scan first:

Learn and prepare sections for scope and impact.
Deprecations and behavior changes that affect custom work.
Family highlights if you want a high-level view of what is new.
Deeper capability pages when you need detail.

You can keep it high level to orient your plan, or go deep into product areas when you need specifics. Use the notes as your single source of truth during upgrade planning and validation.

A short story from the field

Picture your PDI as your first test rig. You kick off the upgrade, then open Studio. App Engine Studio loads without errors. Creator Studio comes up clean. Your custom app still pushes data into a table you extended months ago. You try a UI action you wrote for Yokohama. It still runs. Then you read a Zurich note that flags a legacy API call for deprecation. You mark a backlog item to refactor it this sprint.

You just did in 30 minutes what saves days in a later system test. That is the habit that sets you apart.

What to validate after the upgrade

Do not stop at a green upgrade banner. Run a focused validation pass.

Studio and builders. Launch App Engine Studio and Creator Studio. Confirm both open cleanly.
Custom apps. Open each scoped app. Run critical scripts and UI actions you rely on.
Integrations. Smoke test connectors or payload transforms you use often.
Plugins. Verify optional plugins remain active. Revisit any that changed with Zurich.
Security. Review any Zurich security updates that affect roles, ACLs, or data handling.

If you find issues, link them to deprecations or changed behavior in the release notes. Fix now while context is fresh.

How this maps to enterprise projects

Your PDI workflow mirrors the enterprise path. Scale the steps, add controls, and formalize the checkpoints.

Planning. Set your family target and quarter. Approve the decision to upgrade or hold.
Compatibility scan. Flag customizations that may break, including deprecated APIs.
Governance alignment. Align with ITIL processes and risk controls to manage change.
Test strategy. Expand from a PDI smoke test to module-level regression and UAT.
Cutover and comms. Coordinate your change window, stakeholder updates, and rollback plan.
Post-upgrade hardening. Track defects, confirm SLAs, and close with a lessons learned.

When you build this muscle on your PDI, you shorten enterprise timelines and reduce noise during the real event.

What Zurich brings to your work

Keep your expectations clear and grounded. Zurich brings several themes that matter to builders and architects.

AI-assisted workflows. Use AI to make process automation smarter and faster.
Better testing workflow. Speed up your development lifecycle with a tighter testing pipeline.
Stronger security posture. Gain platform updates that improve data protection and integrations.
Central guidance. Use the release notes to see what is new and what changed, with clean entry points for both summaries and detailed pages.

You will also see references to an AI Control Tower. Treat it as a signpost for where the platform is heading with centralized AI capabilities.

Explore the scope and highlights using the official Zurich release notes summary and highlights. Keep the notes open while you test.

What is happening behind the scenes

Understanding the upgrade mechanics helps you explain risk and value to stakeholders.

Application layer refresh. Zurich updates your platform features and modules.
Schema migration. The database updates to support new and changed tables and fields.
Security updates. Fixes and patches are applied as part of the family release cycle.
Managed service model. You are not running ad-hoc installers. The platform manages the upgrade, which improves consistency across environments.

For leaders, this is the backbone of why ServiceNow upgrades hold up at scale.

Practical timing and expectations

Expect 1 to 4 hours, based on data volume and customization. A vanilla PDI often completes in about an hour. While you wait, you can plan your validation checklist and skim the areas of the release notes that match your apps.

Once complete, refresh your instance and confirm Zurich Patch 1 shows. Then run your validation steps before you move on to new feature exploration.

Your upgrade checklist

Use this concise list to keep your flow tight.

Confirm current family and patch.
Back up scoped apps and scripts, commit to Git.
Review active plugins and note any changes in Zurich.
Read deprecations and behavior changes in the release notes.
Choose patch vs Zurich upgrade based on your goals.
Run the upgrade and monitor progress.
Validate Studio, custom apps, scripts, UI actions, plugins, and security.
Capture refactor items for deprecated APIs and patterns.
Document findings and next steps.

Keep building your practice

You can go further by setting up a steady rhythm. Treat your PDI like a sandbox for enterprise change.

Repeat the pattern each family.
Track a small regression set for your most used features.
Note deprecations and address them in the next sprint.
Share your findings with your platform team so they can plan.

This habit pays off when the enterprise window opens. You will speak from experience, not guesswork.

Conclusion

You upgraded your PDI from Yokohama to Zurich with a clear plan and a clean validation pass. You also built the mindset that scales to enterprise upgrades. Keep your release notes close, pair the Zurich upgrade with your test habits, and review security and plugin changes with care. If you want a quick overview of highlights or deeper detail, start with the Zurich release notes summary and highlights. Ready to go further? Set up your next PDI cycle and keep improving your upgrade playbook.