---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itsm

bundleId :

    - itsm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Nested and parallel stages in Jenkins pipelines

# Nested and parallel stages in Jenkins pipelines {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
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## Summary of Nested and parallel stages in Jenkins pipelines

ServiceNow DevOps supports the use of nested and parallel stages in scripted Jenkins pipelines to accelerate pipeline execution by running tasks concurrently.
This functionality enables more efficient automation of complex workflows, such as running multiple test cases across different operating systems and browsers simultaneously.
Show full answer Show less  
The DevOps pipeline UI replicates the Jenkins pipeline UI in real time, allowing you to view the live state of nested and parallel stages along with associated artifact details, test results, software quality summaries, and change request information.

## Key Features

* **Support for Scripted Pipelines:** Nested and parallel stages are supported only in scripted Jenkins pipelines. Freestyle pipelines continue to display stages sequentially in the DevOps UI even if parallelism exists in Jenkins.
* **Change Requests for All Stages:** Change requests are created individually for all nested and parallel stages once upstream events are completed, improving granularity and traceability of changes.
* **Real-Time Pipeline Visualization:** The Pipeline Execution view provides a link to the Jenkins-like UI for detailed, real-time monitoring of pipeline progress and outcomes.
* **Pause and Resume on Change Request Approval:** Pipeline execution pauses if subsequent steps depend on change request approvals and resumes once approved, ensuring controlled progression.
* **Approval Group Mapping:** With nested and parallel stages now identified, approval groups must be mapped appropriately to each stage to maintain proper governance.

## Upgrade Considerations

* Upgrade during off-peak hours to avoid interruptions.
* Ensure no pipeline executions are in progress to prevent missing step execution creation.
* After upgrading, rerun pipelines to generate the correct step executions for nested and parallel stages.

This enhancement allows ServiceNow DevOps customers to better leverage Jenkins scripted pipelines by accurately reflecting complex pipeline structures and managing change requests at a more detailed level, thereby improving automation efficiency and governance.  
Use nested and parallel stages in scripted Jenkins pipelines to speed up
your pipeline execution. Change requests are created for nested and parallel stages and not just
for the parent stage.

## Support for nested and parallel stages in Jenkins pipelines {#nested-parallel-stage-support-jenkins__section_qpb_2px_wrb}

You can use nested and parallel stages in scripted Jenkins pipelines to
automate and speed up tasks that can be run in parallel. For example, you have a scripted Jenkins pipeline with nested and parallel stages for various test cases such as
different quality checks for different operating systems and browsers.  
ServiceNow DevOps supports processing parallel and nested stages in Jenkins pipelines and displays the pipeline, in the DevOps pipeline UI. In effect, the ServiceNow DevOps pipeline UI renders or replicates the Jenkins pipeline UI in real time. From the Pipeline Execution view of the relevant pipeline, click the Pipeline UI related link to view the real-time state of the pipeline as it appears in Jenkins. The associated artifact details that are sourced from the build pipeline, Test Results, Software Quality Summary Results, and Change request details display on the pipeline UI.  
Important:  
Support for parallel and nested stages is restricted to scripted pipelines in Jenkins. Freestyle pipelines continue to appear in a sequential or serial manner in the DevOps pipeline UI, even if parallel and nested stages are part of freestyle pipelines in Jenkins.  
Figure 1. Jenkins pipeline with nested or parallel stages  
Sample pipeline with nested or parallel stages

    pipeline {
        agent any

        stages {
            stage('Build') {
                steps { 
                    echo 'Building...'
                    // Your build steps here
                }
            }

            stage('Test') {
                parallel {
                    stage('Unit Tests') {
                        steps {
                            echo 'Running unit tests...'
                            // Your unit test steps here
                        }
                    }
                    stage('Integration Tests') {
                        steps {
                            echo 'Running integration tests...'
                            // Your integration test steps here
                        }
                    }
                    stage('Additional Tests') {
                        steps {
                            script {
                                parallel(
                                    'Nested Stage 1': {
                                        echo 'Running nested parallel stage 1...'
                                        // Your nested parallel stage 1 steps here
                                    },
                                    'Nested Stage 2': {
                                        echo 'Running nested parallel stage 2...'
                                        // Your nested parallel stage 2 steps here
                                    }
                                )
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }

            stage('Deploy') {
                steps {
                    echo 'Deploying...'
                    snDevOpsChange changeRequestDetails: '{ "attributes": {"chg_model": "e55d0bfec343101035ae3f52c1d3ae49","standard_change_template"="563504cc47410200e90d87e8dee490e2"},"autoCloseChange": false}',changeStepTimeOut: 18000, pollingInterval: 60
                    // Your deploy steps here
                }
            }
        }
    }

## Change requests in nested and parallel stages {#nested-parallel-stage-support-jenkins__section_cfy_4qx_wrb}

Change requests are created for all nested and parallel stages, once all upstream events (before the
change request) are received. In previous releases, nested or parallel stages in Jenkins pipelines were not identified nor processed in ServiceNow
DevOps. Only parent stages were identified and processed in a linear or sequential manner. If change requests existed as part of any nested and parallel stages, those change requests were ignored and a
single change request was processed as part of the parent stage. When you run a new pipeline after upgrading, new steps and steps executions are created for nested stages.


Nested and parallel stages were not processed previously, and approval groups were mapped only
to the parent stage. Because nested and parallel stages are identified during processing, you
must verify that relevant approval groups are mapped to the appropriate nested or parallel
stage. If subsequent steps of the pipeline are dependent on the change request's being approved,
the pipeline execution is paused, and resumed when the
change request is
approved.

## Upgrade Considerations {#nested-parallel-stage-support-jenkins__section_lzg_fjb_xrb}

If you are already using Jenkins with nested and parallel pipelines as your orchestration tool, consider the following while upgrading.

* Upgrade during off-peak hours.
* Ensure that you do not have any pipeline executions that are currently in progress by ServiceNow DevOps. If pipeline executions are being processed, step executions might not be created as expected for the in-progress pipeline runs. Rerun the pipeline to create appropriate step executions.
{#nested-parallel-stage-support-jenkins__ul_dgg_gjb_xrb}