How to identify configuration and functionality changes after a ServiceNow upgradeIssue <!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Identify configuration, plugin, and functionality changes that were applied to your ServiceNow instance as part of a platform upgrade. After an upgrade, it can be useful to understand which changes were applied, which plugins were activated or deactivated, and which system configurations were affected. This article describes the tools and methods available in ServiceNow to review upgrade changes and detect future changes proactively. Release<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } All supported releases Resolution<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Method 1: Review the Upgrade Monitor The Upgrade Monitor provides a real-time and post-upgrade summary of what was applied during the upgrade process, including skipped records, errors, and successfully upgraded components. Go to All > Upgrade Center > Upgrade Monitor.Select the upgrade record for the relevant upgrade.Review the results by category: Skipped — Records that were not upgraded because of customizations.Errors — Records that failed to upgrade.Upgraded — Records that were successfully upgraded. Note: Skipped records indicate that a customization exists on your instance that prevented the base system version from being applied. Review these carefully to determine whether the customization needs to be updated manually. Method 2: Review Upgrade History logs The Upgrade History table provides a record of all upgrade transactions applied to the instance, including the disposition of each record. Go to /sys_upgrade_history_list.do.Filter by the relevant upgrade date or version.Review the Disposition field for each record: Inserted — A new record was added to the instance.Updated — An existing record was modified.Skipped — The record was not applied due to a customization or conflict.Deleted — A record was removed as part of the upgrade. Method 3: Check plugin and application changes in App Manager To identify which plugins or applications were activated, deactivated, or upgraded as part of the upgrade: Go to All > System Applications > Applications.Review the Version and Status fields to identify applications that changed during the upgrade.To see application version history, go to /sys_upgrade_app_version_list.do and filter by the upgrade date. You can also go to All > System Plugins > Plugins to review the current active and inactive state of all plugins on the instance. Method 4: Use the Update XML table to review record-level changes The Customer Updates [sys_update_xml] table records all changes made to tracked records on the instance, including changes applied during upgrades. Go to /sys_update_xml_list.do.Filter by Updated on to narrow results to the upgrade window.Review the Type and Action fields to identify what changed and how. Note: This table includes all tracked changes, not only upgrade-related changes. Filtering by the upgrade date and time window produces the most relevant results. Method 5: Review release notes for the target release ServiceNow publishes detailed release notes for every platform release, including information on new features, deprecated functionality, and behavioral changes. For the release notes for your target version, see Using the release notes. General guidelines for detecting changes in future upgrades The following guidelines help you track and manage upgrade changes proactively: Review the Upgrade Monitor immediately after each upgrade to identify skipped records and address customization conflicts before they cause issues.Document your instance customizations before upgrading so you can compare the pre- and post-upgrade state and identify what was overwritten or skipped.Review release notes before upgrading to understand what behavioral changes, deprecations, and new features are included in the target release.Use update set previews when applying update sets post-upgrade to identify conflicts before committing changes.Monitor the sys_upgrade_history table after upgrades to maintain a log of all dispositions for audit and compliance purposes. Related Links<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Upgrade CenterUpgrade MonitorServiceNow release notesWorking with update sets