Docs for planning items in Portfolio Planning

Release version: Australia

Updated August 11, 2026

2 minutes to read

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Summary of Docs for planning items in Portfolio Planning

The Docs feature within the Portfolio Planning Workspace allows product and portfolio managers to centrally store and manage documentation for various planning items. Each planning item, such as an Epic, can have one or more dedicated doc pages to capture relevant information like business objectives and technical requirements. Predefined templates (e.g., Project Brief, Product Requirements, Brainstorming Ideas, Meeting Notes) or blank pages can be used to create these documents.

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Key Features

Auto-save and Live Presence: Content is auto-saved, and you can see who is viewing or editing the doc in real time with colored cursors and presence indicators.
Rich Text and Block-level Editing: Supports advanced formatting such as headings, lists, alignment, block movement, inline tagging of team members, and table insertion via the / command.
Content Insertion: Enables adding images via file upload or web URLs (note: Google Images links may not work).
Dynamic Data Linking: Automatically reflects the latest data from referenced ServiceNow application records, such as Projects, without manual updates. The references provide hover popovers with quick details and direct access to full record forms for edits.
Cross-application Connectivity: Allows adding references from any accessible ServiceNow table with no additional setup, reducing the need to navigate multiple applications and helping maintain a single reliable source of truth.

Key Outcomes

By using Docs in Portfolio Planning, ServiceNow customers can efficiently organize and maintain up-to-date documentation linked directly to their planning items. This fosters better collaboration through real-time editing and presence awareness while minimizing manual effort to keep documentation current. Dynamic linking ensures teams stay aligned with the latest record information, improving overall transparency and decision-making across product and portfolio management processes.

Store and manage all kinds of documentation for planning items from a centralized location of Portfolio Planning Workspace.

Docs overview

Product and portfolio managers can store information for planning items using the Docs feature.

Each planning item can have a separate doc page to capture the information related to it.
For example, for an Epic planning item, you create a doc page for high level business objectives or technical product requirements.
Each planning item can have multiple doc pages associated to it to help you effectively organize key artifacts.
Predefined templates such as Project Brief, Product Requirements, Brainstorming Ideas, and Meeting notes are available. Create doc pages for your planning items using one of these templates or start with a blank page.

Key Features of Docs

The key features of the Docs feature provide you with the following capabilities:

Auto-save content.
See who is viewing or working on a doc page through the live user presence feature.
Create documents using predefined templates.
Include rich text paragraph formatting, which includes headings, lists, alignment, and others.
Move text blocks to change their placement using block-level editing.
Tag team members inline or insert tables using the / command.
Add reference to other ServiceNow AI Platform tables to connect work across teams.
Insert images by uploading files or using web URLs.

Note:
The experience of inserting Google Images links might not work.

Real-time collaboration in Docs

You can edit a doc page concurrently with multiple other editors. Colored cursors denote the current location of each editor on the page. You can choose to show or hide these live presence indicators.
Docs real-time collaboration.

Note:

Application performance can be affected by a large number of users editing the same block of content simultaneously.

Dynamic data linking in Docs

Keep record information in your documentation current and reduce manual effort with the Dynamic data linking feature in Docs. Documentation will automatically reflect the latest updates for any referenced ServiceNow application record.

For example, if you add a reference to a Project record, the reference shows the latest field information of the project in Docs without requiring a manual update. Selecting the project reference displays the project form so that you can view the full details of the project and make any necessary changes.

A hover popover displays the details of the mentioned record, providing quick access to additional information without leaving the current context.

Dynamic linking a project record in SPW Docs.

Dynamic linking also enables adding references to a particular field of a record, such as Assigned to of a Project record.

Dynamic linking the Assigned to field of a project record in SPW Docs.

You can add references from any ServiceNow table you have access to, with no setup or configuration needed.

This feature reduces the need to switch between multiple ServiceNow applications within your instance and helps maintain a single, reliable source of truth for collaborative work, making it easier for teams to stay aligned and informed.