Australia Upgrade checklist

[Vijay Baokar]

Hello Folks,

We are planning to upgrade to Australia version. As a part of validation activity, i need a sample template or checklist which we can refer pre and post upgrade.

If anyone has checklist in a form of excel would be great to have. 

[GlideFather]

Ahoy @Vijay Baokar,

in my previous company we were using this checklist: ServiceNow Upgrade Planning Checklist (in pdf) eventually refer to this article about it:Upgrade planning checklist

Let me know what do you think about it  

EDIT: it is also available at My Now > Upgrade Planning Checklist (excel format available to download).

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @Vijay Baokar 

What to do before the upgrade (pre‑checks, analysis, customizations, freeze plan, clone strategy, etc.)

Ans : 1.Analysis what major feature is getting added in zurich on the module which you are using.

      2. Prepare for Upgrade communication.

  3. Asking other to take their back up (including POC)

Upgrade sequence across DEV → UAT → PROD

Ans : If you have sandbox , I prefer 

Sandbox->dev>UAT->PROD

Testing requirements:

Ans: Hope it is not first upgrade of your instance. Collect the template  where regression test cases scenarios were added

-> Check all major integrations

Communication templates (freeze notification, UAT notice, PROD upgrade notice, etc.)

Ans: check on mynow/ best practice for this and prepare for your project. Refer: https://mynow.servicenow.com/now/best-practices/success-packs/core-platform-upgrade

Timelines and how to plan dates

It depends on your project size.  Here is sample screen shot:

Post‑upgrade activities

Ans: sample activities:

• Review Upgrade Monitor: Analyze the upgrade history to ensure the upgrade completed successfully.
• Resolve Skipped Records: Review and merge or retain customizations in the "Skipped" records list (sys_update_xml) to resolve skipped update sets.
• Execute ATF Tests: Run automated tests to ensure existing features, integrations, and configurations still work properly.
• Validate Integrations & Email: Test inbound/outbound email and all API/IntegrationHub connections.
• System Validation (UAT): Perform user acceptance testing on core business applications (e.g., ITSM etc).
• Instance Scan: Utilize the Instance Scan feature to identify potential issues and ensure upgrade security.
• Communicate to Stakeholders: Inform users that the upgrade is complete and provide information on new features

Any important notes, risks, or best practices to be aware of for a large‑user‑base upgrade.

Ans : Check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOkQoHLOYck

Check following link:

Servicenow Doc: Upgrade planning checklist 

Using a Cloning Plan to Ensure Successful Clones in ServiceNow

KB0547597 Post-Cloning Checklist 

[Vijay Baokar]

Hi @Tanushree Maiti Thanks for the response detail. Yes this is the first upgrade in our instance, since last year we procured the instance and decided to move to Australia.

Note: As of now we have all the development done in Dev only , few part of current development has moved to TEST, Prod is still untouched.

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @Vijay Baokar 

You got a good opportunity to understand how production goes live.

I’d suggest starting by identifying all the data sources (tables). Also, if the admin has production access, begin setting up production for the pilot phase.

I had the opportunity to set up production for one client, and it took a lot of time .