Combined Smart Assessment Engine release notes for upgrades from Vancouver to Xanadu

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2026
  • 5 minutes to read
  • Consolidated page of all release notes for Smart Assessment Engine from Vancouver to Xanadu.

    How to use this page

    To help you prepare for your upgrade, we have combined the cross-family Smart Assessment Engine release notes onto one page. Read this summary of the new features, changes, and updated information for your product from Vancouver to Xanadu.

    Tip:
    If there were no updates for a release notes section in a certain family release, we included a short note for your reference. For example, if a product did not have any updates in Tokyo, the row says "No updates for this release."

    Important information for upgrading Smart Assessment Engine to Xanadu

    Before you upgrade to Xanadu, review these pre- and post-upgrade tasks and complete the tasks as needed.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    New features

    Between your current release family and Xanadu, new features were introduced for Smart Assessment Engine.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    Use template designer

    By using the template designer in Smart Assessment Engine, you can easily create assessment templates and add instructions, questions, and reference information to an assessment template.

    • Add instructions and questions to an assessment template: SAE supports the most commonly used question types such as radio buttons, check boxes, drop-down lists, and more. Smart assessments are highly customizable so that you can do the following tasks:
      • Organize questions into sections and subsections for clarity.
      • Add instructions to help the assessors understand the context and requirements of each question to improve the accuracy and relevance of the responses.
      • Configure the question guidance texts to help the assessors answer questions.
      • Configure the questions to appear or hide depending on the assessor's previous answers.
      • Integrate the response justification prompts that provide the assessors with the explanations that are based on their selected responses.
      • Require the assessors to attach the supporting documents like contracts, permits, or invoices that are based on the responses.
    • Add reference information to an assessment template: Incorporate the live data from the Assessment Scope as reference information to help ensure that the assessors have immediate access to the necessary information while they’re responding to the assessments. This live data minimizes the need for external references.
    • Create an assessment template category: Create a template category as a container of related assessment templates. By creating an assessment template category, you can help to ensure that only authorized personnel can access and change the template.
    Respond to assessments
    Navigate through the assessments more efficiently by using a progress indicator that shows how much of the assessment is completed. The questions are paginated to help you more easily navigate the assessment. Your work is automatically saved, which eliminates the need for manual saving and helps to prevent data loss. You also have the option to reassign in-progress assessments to another user or cancel assessments that are no longer needed.
    Trigger assessments
    Initiate an assessment by using the Trigger Smart Assessment flow action that is based on a published assessment template. You can assign an assessment to a designated assessor with a defined scope and deadline.
    Combine multiple assessments into a single, unified submission
    Combine multiple assigned assessments into a single, streamlined view. You can efficiently manage, submit, or reassign these combined assessments at one time. You can use features, like Bulk Submit or Bulk Reassign, to handle all assessments in one action.
    Domain-separated Deployment
    Domain separation in the Smart Assessment Engine is supported starting with the Xanadu release, enabling data, processes, and administrative tasks to be organized into distinct domains. Within this framework, templates are separated by a process, while assessments are separated by data, helping to ensure controlled access and visibility according to the domain.
    Migrate legacy assessment metric types to Smart assessment templates
    Migrate existing assessment designs from the ServiceNow® Assessments and Surveys application. Your templates are automatically transferred as drafts with just one click. After you migrate the designs, you must review and publish these drafts, and confirm the results. The sets of questions in the Assessments and Surveys application are saved as metric types. When migrated, these metric types are saved as question types. Custom, Duration, Image scale, Percentage, Rankings, and Ratings question types aren’t supported for migration.

    Changes

    Between your current release family and Xanadu, some changes were made to existing Smart Assessment Engine features.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Removed

    Between your current release family and Xanadu, some Smart Assessment Engine features or functionality were removed.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Deprecations

    Between your current release family and Xanadu, some Smart Assessment Engine features or functionality were deprecated.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Activation information

    Review information on how to activate Smart Assessment Engine.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    Install SAE by requesting it from the ServiceNow Store. Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.

    Additional requirements

    If any additional requirements were introduced or changed for Smart Assessment Engine we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Browser requirements

    If any specific browser requirements were introduced or changed for Smart Assessment Engine we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Accessibility information

    Review details on accessibility information for Smart Assessment Engine, such as specific requirements or compliance levels.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Localization information

    If there are specific localization considerations for Smart Assessment Engine we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    No updates for this release.

    Highlight information

    If there are specific highlight considerations for Smart Assessment Engine we have noted them here.

    Release Release notes

    Vancouver

    No updates for this release.

    Washington DC

    No updates for this release.

    Xanadu

    • Create your assessments by using the new template designer.
    • Improve your assessment processes with the new SAE Assessment experience.
    • Combine the multiple assessments into a single, unified submission.
    • Migrate the legacy assessment metric types to SAE templates.

    See Smart Assessment Engine for more information.