Implementing Agile 2.0 and Unified Backlogs in ServiceNow for Team Efficiency
April 15, 2025
This year, I led the transformation of our platform development team at UCF IT by implementing Agile Development 2.0 using ServiceNow’s Agile module. We moved from a mix of unstructured work requests (incidents, enhancements, catalog changes) to a centralized, story-driven development pipeline — allowing us to better plan, track, and deliver.
Key Objectives
- Standardize work intake using RITMs, enhancements, and incidents as triggers
- Convert all development requests into Stories under a Unified Backlog
- Implement Story Point estimation to support sprint planning and capacity forecasting
- Bring visibility to technical work that previously went unnoticed
What We Did
- Created a Unified Backlog tied to epics across team goals (e.g., Deprovisioning, Scoped App Enhancements)
- Mapped intake types to story templates using Flow Designer automation
- Trained the team on writing meaningful acceptance criteria and estimating story points
- Introduced regular backlog grooming and monthly sprint demos
Challenges and Culture Shift
One of the biggest hurdles was shifting the perception that story tracking was only for performance monitoring. I positioned it as a tool for team accountability, planning, and visibility — not micromanagement. It helped us prioritize strategically and align with leadership goals.
Impact
- Improved transparency across projects and support work
- Allowed us to demonstrate velocity and throughput to stakeholders
- Created a structure for new interns and hires to plug into immediately
Next Steps
- Automating intake conversion even further using Catalog Tasks + Flow Designer
- Expanding Agile board usage to adjacent teams
- Using reporting to surface long-term trends and bottlenecks
Overall, this shift to Agile 2.0 inside ServiceNow has laid the groundwork for disciplined yet flexible development — supporting everything from daily ops to large-scale digital transformation projects.