--- sourceDocument: Yokohama Strategic Portfolio Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/yokohama/it-business-management Release : - yokohama ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Yokohama Strategic Portfolio Management ft:clusterId : - itbm bundleId : - itbm workflow : - Technology --- # Agile in CWM # Agile work management in CWM {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Yokohama * * Updated March 4, 2026 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 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 Agile work management in CWM Collaborative Work Management (CWM) enables agile teams to run their Scrum workflows within a unified workspace. Teams can manage the entire delivery cycle---from backlog creation and sprint planning to execution and collaboration---while leveraging CWM's flexible work item model, AI assistance, and enhanced collaboration capabilities. This approach supports teams transitioning to CWM by preserving familiar Scrum practices and adding new efficiencies. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Workspace Setup:** Create Spaces to organize work and Boards to manage items. Default work item types include Stories, Scrum tasks, and CWM Tasks, with options to add custom types like Bugs to match team terminology. * **Backlog Management:** Use the Sprint Planning view to groom, prioritize, and reorder backlog items before sprint assignment, ensuring focused and organized work intake. * **Sprint Planning:** Define sprint duration, dates, and capacity. Drag and drop backlog items into sprints with capacity indicators to prevent over-commitment. * **Work Execution and Tracking:** Utilize the Kanban board to monitor work progress by moving story cards through states. Quick filters enhance focus on relevant sprints or statuses. * **Scrum Task Decomposition:** Break stories into scrum tasks for detailed effort estimation and workload distribution. Tasks can be created manually or generated via AI assistance. * **Dependency Tracking:** Link work items with prerequisite, dependent, or related relationships across boards and spaces to visualize cross-team dependencies without blocking progress. * **Retrospectives:** Create dedicated retrospective boards at sprint end to capture insights and improvement actions. * **Connected Work:** Integrate records from any ServiceNow application (incidents, defects, enhancements) into the CWM Board backlog to manage diverse work types centrally. ## Comparing CWM with Agile Development 2.0 * **Work Item Hierarchy:** Unlike Agile Development 2.0's fixed hierarchy (Products, Epics, Stories), CWM allows customizable work item types and uses Spaces and Goals for product and objective alignment. * **Unified Backlog and Triage:** CWM replaces triage boards by directly integrating source records into backlogs via Connected work, streamlining planning and execution. * **Multi-Team and Program Planning:** CWM focuses on team-level execution; for program-level coordination (e.g., PI planning), Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) is recommended, with integration options to maintain visibility. ## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers By adopting CWM, ServiceNow customers can maintain their existing Scrum workflows while gaining flexibility through customizable work items and enhanced AI support. The ability to manage diverse work types from multiple ServiceNow applications in a single backlog simplifies coordination and visibility. Teams benefit from streamlined sprint planning, real-time progress tracking, and improved dependency management. Integration with EAP supports scaling agile practices beyond individual teams, making CWM a comprehensive solution for agile work management within ServiceNow. Run your agile workflow in Collaborative Work Management (CWM), from building and refining a backlog to planning sprints, executing work as stories and scrum tasks, and collaborating with your team. CWM is a unified workspace where agile teams can manage their delivery cycle. Teams transitioning to CWM can continue to run the Scrum workflow they're familiar with, which includes managing a backlog, planning and executing sprints, and tracking daily progress. They also benefit from CWM's flexible work item model, AI assistance, and broader collaboration features. ## Agile workflow in CWM {#agile-in-cwm__section_agile_cwm_workflow} The following end-to-end workflow shows how agile teams use CWM to plan and execute work. Set up your workspace : Create a Space and a Board for your team. The Space is where all your work lives. CWM provides Stories, Scrum tasks, and CWM Tasks as default work item types. You can also define custom work item types to reflect your team's terminology, for example, Bugs. For more information, see [Create a Board in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/zkoJoFMBAOXopiyoAt2N4A "Manage work assigned to your team as tasks and track them to completion using customizable Boards for your shared Spaces in Collaborative Work Management.") and [Create and manage custom work item types in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/k5n1x77P9RHT2c4NZ2RFmg "Create custom item types for Boards in Collaborative Work Management, so that you can organize and manage multiple types of tasks from a single location, regardless of the workflow."). Build and maintain your backlog : Add work items to your Board through the Sprint Planning view. All unscheduled work appears in the Backlog pane, giving your team a single place to groom, prioritize, and reorder items before pulling them into a sprint. For more information, see [Add work items to Sprint planning Backlog in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/neQOuGMhhpdMjb73GxpRqg "Create and add new work items to the Backlog directly from the Sprint planning view of Collaborative Work Management."). Plan sprints : Create sprints by setting a duration, start and end dates, and story point capacity. Drag items from the Backlog into a sprint, or add them directly. Capacity indicators in each sprint section help teams avoid over-committing. For more information, see [Create a sprint in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/L5~Aw9HNjNhagKGQLmbhDA "Create a sprint with custom duration and capacity to enable your team to plan and execute their work in an Agile methodology in Collaborative Work Management.") and [Plan work items into sprints in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/xU8QFu4ZmIKC717V6JmZgg "Schedule stories and other CWM tasks from the backlog into sprints or move work across sprints in Collaborative Work Management."). Execute and track work : Start the sprint and use the Kanban board to track work in progress. Team members move story cards across state lanes to update status. Use quick filters to focus the board on a specific sprint, state, or other columns to stay on top of what matters during the current sprint. For more information, see [Start or complete a sprint in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/qGaZ2m6vUZvR3SihXgHixQ "Start a sprint so that your team can start work on the planned items. After your team finishes the assigned work, you can mark this sprint complete, all directly from the Sprint planning view in Collaborative Work Management."). Break stories into scrum tasks : For more granular daily execution, break user stories into scrum tasks. Scrum tasks are subtasks linked to a story, which help teams estimate effort, distribute work, and track daily progress. Create them manually from the story's Scrum tasks tab, or use Now Assist to generate them automatically based on the story context. When a story has scrum tasks, an indicator appears on the Kanban card so teams can quickly see stories that have been decomposed. For more information, see [Scrum tasks for stories in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/9J~QGk193MJX6GO~rZuAMg "Extend your agile workflow in CWM by breaking user stories into scrum tasks. This gives your team the granularity needed to estimate effort, distribute work, and track daily progress through a sprint."). Track dependencies : Link work items to show how they relate to each other using three relationship types: prerequisite, dependent, and related to. These are informational relationships and don't block task progress. You can link work items across boards and spaces, enabling visibility into cross-team dependencies without needing to be on the same board. For more information, see [Task dependencies and relationships in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/AiNfixocrlMVMu2vie5m3Q "Increase visibility into how work is connected by linking work items directly in Collaborative Work Management (CWM), eliminating the need to track dependencies in spreadsheets or notes fields."). Hold retrospectives : At the end of each sprint, create a retrospective board to capture what went well and what to improve for the next sprint. For more information, see [Create a retrospective board for a sprint in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/U6ciWwCRbhtbNX4LTjkhaA "When marking a sprint complete, choose to create a sprint retrospective board for your team to collaborate and reflect on the recent sprint in Collaborative Work Management."). ## Bringing in work from other ServiceNow applications {#agile-in-cwm__section_agile_cwm_connected_work} Agile teams often work on more than just stories. Incidents must be resolved, defects must be fixed, and enhancement requests must be delivered. The Connected work feature in CWM lets you bring records from any ServiceNow application into your Board by defining filter conditions. Once connected, you can plan those records into sprints and manage them alongside your stories from a single backlog. Teams who previously used the Unified Backlog and triage boards in Agile Development 2.0 to manage defects, incidents, and other work records. These teams can use Connected work to achieve a similar centralized view in CWM. For more information, see [Connected work in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/0EC4FOfPb~pi8dXAmwM_aQ "Streamline task management for teams by bringing in various work items from across ServiceNow applications into Boards in Collaborative Work Management."). ## Comparing CWM to Agile Development 2.0 {#agile-in-cwm__section_agile_cwm_considerations} CWM covers the core Scrum workflow, but approaches some functional areas differently. The following describes how key Agile Development 2.0 concepts map to CWM. {#agile-in-cwm__table_agile_cwm_considerations__entry__3} | Functional area | In Agile Development 2.0 | In CWM | |-|-|-| | Work item hierarchy | Fixed hierarchy of Products, Epics, Stories, and Scrum Tasks. | Create custom work item types to build a hierarchy that fits your team. There are no built-in Products, Releases, or Themes. You can use Spaces to separate product areas and Goals to connect work to business objectives. | | Unified backlog and triage | Triage boards filtered records from other apps and automatically created stories for triaged items. | The Connected work feature brings source records directly into the board backlog. So, no separate triage step required. Teams can plan them into sprints and update their status directly from the CWM Board. See [Connected work in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/0EC4FOfPb~pi8dXAmwM_aQ "Streamline task management for teams by bringing in various work items from across ServiceNow applications into Boards in Collaborative Work Management."). | | Multi-team and program planning | Scrum Programs enabled coordination across multiple teams. | CWM is optimized for team-level execution. For program-level planning such as PI planning, use EAP. EAP teams can connect to CWM so teams execute sprint work in CWM while program-level visibility remains in EAP. See [Connecting EAP with Collaborative Work Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/QTkDw_WF1Wlac4nOoIp41Q "Enhance visibility and streamline planning for your Agile teams by connecting Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) with Collaborative Work Management (CWM)."). | [ ] {#agile-in-cwm__table_agile_cwm_considerations} * **[Sprint planning in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/7fXCTEJ4ao3EZGIRhlPZeQ)** Plan, track, and manage work for your teams in the Agile methodology using Sprint planning in Collaborative Work Management. * **[Scrum tasks for stories in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/9J~QGk193MJX6GO~rZuAMg)** Extend your agile workflow in CWM by breaking user stories into scrum tasks. This gives your team the granularity needed to estimate effort, distribute work, and track daily progress through a sprint. * **[Task dependencies and relationships in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/AiNfixocrlMVMu2vie5m3Q)** Increase visibility into how work is connected by linking work items directly in Collaborative Work Management (CWM), eliminating the need to track dependencies in spreadsheets or notes fields. **Related concepts** * [Sprint planning in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/7fXCTEJ4ao3EZGIRhlPZeQ "Plan, track, and manage work for your teams in the Agile methodology using Sprint planning in Collaborative Work Management.") * [Scrum tasks for stories in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/9J~QGk193MJX6GO~rZuAMg "Extend your agile workflow in CWM by breaking user stories into scrum tasks. This gives your team the granularity needed to estimate effort, distribute work, and track daily progress through a sprint.") * [Task dependencies and relationships in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/AiNfixocrlMVMu2vie5m3Q "Increase visibility into how work is connected by linking work items directly in Collaborative Work Management (CWM), eliminating the need to track dependencies in spreadsheets or notes fields.") * [Connected work in CWM](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/0EC4FOfPb~pi8dXAmwM_aQ "Streamline task management for teams by bringing in various work items from across ServiceNow applications into Boards in Collaborative Work Management.") * [Connecting EAP with Collaborative Work Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/QTkDw_WF1Wlac4nOoIp41Q "Enhance visibility and streamline planning for your Agile teams by connecting Enterprise Agile Planning (EAP) with Collaborative Work Management (CWM).")