--- sourceDocument: Yokohama IT Service Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/yokohama/it-service-management Release : - yokohama ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Yokohama IT Service Management ft:clusterId : - itsm bundleId : - itsm workflow : - Technology --- # Explore # Exploring Digital Product Release {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Yokohama Updated July 31, 2025 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 6 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Exploring Digital Product Release The ServiceNow® Digital Product Release (DPR) application streamlines the entire digital product and service release lifecycle, from planning to delivery. It supports release managers, product managers, and program managers in tracking release progress while ensuring adherence to organizational policies. DPR centralizes collaboration among stakeholders, providing end-to-end visibility on release status and automating key processes, including AI-driven generation of release notes from canonical release artifacts such as stories, incidents, and change records. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Release Lifecycle Management:** Plan, execute, and validate releases through defined phases and tasks, aligning with company policies to ensure compliance and readiness by target dates. * **Role-Focused Capabilities:** Tailored functionalities for release managers (managing calendars, templates, and processes), product managers (defining products, scopes, and initiating releases), program managers (coordinating dependencies and approvals), and engineering leads (aligning development with releases). * **Release Templates and Policies:** Use predefined templates containing phases, tasks, policies, and approval workflows to standardize and automate release execution. * **AI-Powered Release Notes:** Automatically generate, edit, publish, and share release notes in PDF or link format, reducing manual documentation effort while enhancing clarity for stakeholders. * **Release Calendars and Schedules:** Manage release readiness targets, change requests, blackout periods, and maintenance schedules to prevent conflicts and improve planning accuracy. * **Flexible Release Processes:** Support for both timeline-oriented releases with fixed phase deadlines and stage-oriented releases with flexible phase progression and policy compliance. * **Integration with ServiceNow GRC:** Connect release management with Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) to align releases with enterprise risk and compliance controls for safer delivery. * **Custom Workflow and Dashboards:** Build custom release workflows using flow actions in Workflow Studio and monitor release progress, risks, and software quality through dedicated dashboards. * **Holiday and Non-Working Day Awareness:** Incorporate holiday schedules into release planning to accurately calculate phase durations and avoid scheduling conflicts. ## Key Outcomes * **Optimized Release Management:** Streamlined coordination and execution of digital product and service releases, reducing manual effort and improving compliance. * **Enhanced Visibility and Collaboration:** Real-time tracking and communication across release teams and stakeholders to manage dependencies and status updates effectively. * **Improved Release Documentation:** Automated, AI-generated release notes ensure consistent and clear communication to stakeholders. * **Risk Mitigation and Compliance:** Integration with GRC and policy enforcement throughout the release lifecycle promote safer and more reliable releases. * **Flexible Planning and Execution:** Support for different release methodologies (timeline-oriented and stage-oriented) allows adaptation to various team workflows and project requirements. The ServiceNow® Digital Product Release application enables you to streamline the process of delivering digital products and services by managing the process from planning to delivery. ## Digital Product Release overview {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__section_vxn_ws4_kyb} Digital Product Release (DPR) is a release management solution that helps release managers, product managers, and program managers manage the release process. They can track the progress of releases while ensuring that the releases adhere to the company's policies. This solution automates processes that enable collaboration between stakeholders, so everyone can track release status, from start to finish. DPR provides AI-driven capability to automate the creation of release notes for product and service releases. The release notes are automatically generated from canonical release artifacts---such as stories, problems, incidents, and change records. You can edit and publish the release notes, and then download them in PDF or share a link. For more information, see [AI-powered release notes generation](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/MhshdYlQSiLtyr2QihYciQ "Digital Product Release provides an AI-driven summarization feature that automatically generates release notes for your product and service releases. This capability streamlines the release note creation process, reducing manual effort and improving consistency."). ## Digital Product Release Workflow {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__section_wxn_ws4_kyb} A digital product or service has a release life cycle that starts with planning, goes through development, and ends with delivery. There are many different phases to the release life cycle of a product or service, and each phase can have its own set of activities. The following infographic illustrates the life cycle of digital products and services. Figure 1. Release life cycle for digital products and services 1. Create a product or service and add features, product enhancements, and releases. 2. Plan the scope of a release by moving product enhancements into releases. 3. Initiate a release and set its release readiness target date. 4. Execute the release by tracking its progress and completing phases and tasks within each phase. 5. Validate the release phase against mapped policies to ensure that the release adheres to organizational standards. 6. Get the product or service ready by the specified target date to make it available for deployment. {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__ol_n3d_sg5_lyb} ## Personas {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__section_jwz_dfb_myb} Digital Product Release is aimed at the following personas: |-|-| | Release manager | * Manages release calendars * Manages release templates * Establishes release processes, including policy gates {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__ul_ahl_zfb_myb} | | Release coordinator or Program manager | * Communicates dependencies across a release * Approves the scope of a release * Provides status updates to the release team {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__ul_z2z_lgb_myb} | | Product manager | * Releases new products, services, enhancements, and features * Communicates updates to the development status * Plans the scope of a release * Initiates a release * Generate release notes using AI or add manually {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__ul_uyv_fgb_myb} | | Engineering lead | * Ensures development of new products, services, enhancements, and features * Connects development scope to a release {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__ul_ijt_tgb_myb} | [ ] {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__table_knl_gfb_myb} ## Digital Product Release benefits {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__section_zxn_ws4_kyb} {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__table_ayn_ws4_kyb__entry__3} | Benefit | Feature | Users | |-|-|-| | Define release readiness targets for single or recurring release schedules. | [Release readiness target](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/hq4t8DqtKbNZVqTejw3YsQ "Create release readiness targets to define the dates by which the releases must be ready for deployment. These targets help you to track and manage capacity and conflicts while ensuring a smooth delivery of your products.") | Release manager | | Define release templates that include phases, tasks, policies, and approval tasks. | [Release templates](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VgMDp9ASF8aRtrBkCOWOLg "Create a release template to predefine the release process. The template contains templates for release phases, tasks, exit criteria for each of the phases, key dates, and approvals.") | Release manager or Release template admin | | Create policies to automate the release process. | [Policy administration](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/h3y~WIeSkTiGRpTX4nP62A "The Digital Product Release Policy Content Pack contains a set of policies to automate phase gate verification and continuous evaluation of software artifacts.") | Release manager | | Manage products, services, features, product enhancements, versions, and initiate a release. | [Release planning](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/AJxlR2ILF4LKjLVKWOfP0Q "Move product enhancements into different releases of the product or service to plan the scope of your release.") | Product manager | | Generate AI-powered release notes that streamline release documentation, reduces manual effort, and improves clarity for stakeholders. | [Generate AI-powered release notes for a release](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/~nhxXjfYG66x58uV3WOK0w "Generate structured release notes for a release using AI-driven summarization, reducing manual effort and improving clarity for stakeholders. The release notes are generated from the release scope.") | Product manager | | Plan and manage the release process from start to finish. | [Release execution](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/AsYvmgi9eb~gshd9BCzHxA#dpr-work-release "Monitor and work on a release that follows the timeline-oriented release process to release a single product or service.") | Release manager | [ ] {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__table_ayn_ws4_kyb} ## Digital Product Release key terms {#dpr-exploring-digital-product-release__section_bhg_ysh_myb} Approval definition : An approval definition is a set of rules that specify how tasks will be approved from a set of stakeholders for a release. For example, the QA team might approve code quality or the Security team might approve on the security aspects. An approval for a task can be requested from an individual user or a user group. Included products : Included products help you organize and manage related digital products and services. By creating a product hierarchy using Included products, you can understand the relationships between different products and services and make informed decisions about product management. Release bundle : A release bundle helps you to group multiple releases to track and manage them concurrently from a single place. They also help you to identify dependencies and potential conflicts, and make any necessary adjustments to ensure a smooth and coordinated release process. Release calendar : A release calendar helps you manage and track release readiness targets, releases, and change requests. You can toggle between viewing release readiness targets, releases, or change requests on the calendar using the filters.. The release calendar also contains blackout, maintenance, and other user-defined schedules to avoid overlap of release targets on those dates. These options on the release calendar give you a comprehensive overview of all events or activities scheduled for each date, improving release planning and traceability. Release execution : Release execution is a continuous process to track and monitor the progress of a release. It helps you ensure that all products in the release are ready by the release readiness target date. Release readiness target : A release readiness target is when a release is ready to be released. It helps release managers to determine the dates at which the products and services should be ready for deployment by the team. Note: Release readiness target and Release target are used interchangeably in the documentation and application. Both terms refer to the same concept - release readiness target date. Release template : A release template is like a blueprint for a release process, which includes a predefined set of phases, tasks, policies, and approval tasks. : Release teams can use these release templates to create a release. All phases, tasks, approvals, and phase gates from the template will be automatically applied to the newly created release. It helps the release teams avoid redundant activities and focus on tracking and performing all the necessary tasks to complete the release on schedule. Stage-oriented release : A release that follows a stage-oriented process. This process doesn't have phases with predefined end dates. It's suitable for teams that work toward completing product enhancements and objectives. Teams can move to the next phase after they have completed tasks and met policy compliance for the current phase. Teams have the flexibility to restart any completed phase if they encounter an issue that requires them to go back. Timeline-oriented release : A release that follows a timeline-oriented process. This process has defined end dates for each phase of the release. It's suitable for teams that work toward the planned deadlines and have phases with a specific duration. Release planning : Release planning is an activity to plan a product or service's enhancements into releases to define the scope of work for each release. The release must be associated with a release readiness target date, which determines the start and end dates for phases and tasks based on the target date. * **[Digital Product Release Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/OKgxjLwVx_AuSD74_atA3w)** The Digital Product Release Workspace provides a single location for release admins to define release processes and release readiness targets. Product managers can use it to create and manage products and features, define the scope in versions, and plan and execute releases. * **[Release for a product or service](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/m5okyWTBUKtLM9IorNgS6w)** A release groups all the tasks (projects, epics, stories, enhancements, defects, problems, incidents, and so on) planned for a specific version of a product or service. Digital Product Release provides two different processes: timeline-oriented and stage-oriented, to help you in executing your releases. * **[DPR and GRC integration for release compliance](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/gRdz4rtdhLLXVg345UvM5A)** The integration between Digital Product Release (DPR) and ServiceNow® GRC: Policy and Compliance Management connects your release management processes with the enterprise risk and compliance controls. This integration helps you deliver faster, safer, and reliable releases. * **[AI-powered release notes generation](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/MhshdYlQSiLtyr2QihYciQ)** Digital Product Release provides an AI-driven summarization feature that automatically generates release notes for your product and service releases. This capability streamlines the release note creation process, reducing manual effort and improving consistency. * **[Holiday schedules in a release](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/uuUqb9bzlLzKXV32_bMvUw)** You can associate a holiday schedule with a release so that the phase and release durations are calculated considering non-working days. * **[Digital Product Release flow actions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/mEiDbScRaC8aH1N~2YadGQ)** Digital Product Release provides flow actions that you can use to build custom release workflows in Workflow Studio. * **[Digital Product Release dashboards](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/KQx8y1jahHHlEFaReOdxVQ)** Release dashboards provide insights into your releases. You can see their progress, identify any potential risks, and track their software quality. This information can help you to make informed decisions about your releases and ensure their success.