Work on a stage-oriented release for a single product or service

Monitor and work on a release that follows the stage-oriented release process to release a single product or service.

Before you begin

Role required: sn_dpr_model.product_manager or sn_dpr_model.release_admin

Procedure

Navigate to Workspaces > Digital Product Release Workspace.
Select the releases icon ([Omitted image "dpr-icon-release.png"] Alt text: Releases icon.).
Select a release from the list to open.
If the release isn't in progress, select Start release.
Select the Overview section to review and modify release details, get an overview of its status, or change its readiness target date.

For more information, see Review and update release details.
Review the risk score for the current phase on the Release overview dashboard.

The risk score for stage-oriented releases considers task completion, policy compliance, readiness dates, and progress thresholds. For more information, see Risk score for stage-oriented releases.
Change the release readiness target to reschedule the release period.

For more information, see Retarget a release.
Select the Release scope section to review and update the scope of the release by adding or removing the product features and enhancements.

For more information, see Update the scope of a release.
Select the Configuration items section to review and manage the configuration items in the release.

You can add more configuration items or remove the existing ones as needed. For more information, see Manage configuration items in a release.
Select the Change requests section to review and manage the change requests in the release.

You can add new or existing change requests or remove the existing ones as needed. For more information, see Manage change requests in a release.
From the Release form header, select the number under the Artifacts to manage artifacts added to the release.

For more information, see Manage artifacts in a release.
Select the Release timeline to view the release status, activities log, and work on its phases and tasks.

For more information, see Execute the release.
Select the Release notes section to create and manage release notes for the release.

You have the option to add release notes manually or generate using AI.
- To add release notes manually, select Add manually and then enter the release notes in the Release notes field.
- To generate release notes using AI, select Generate.
  
  For more information, see Generate AI-powered release notes for a release.

Restart the release phase

You can start over a stage-oriented release from any previously completed phase if you encounter an issue that requires you to go back.

Before you begin

Note: When you restart a release from a completed phase, it resets that phase and any later phases up to the current one. It also resets the status of tasks, approval requests, and policies linked to each affected phase.

Role required: sn_dpr_model.release_admin

About this task

By restarting a phase, you can reassess and adjust the plan to overcome the new issues, ensuring that the release stays on track and meets its overall goals. For example, if an artifact version fails validation during certification, you can select a new version of the artifact. Then, you can restart the release from an earlier phase to repeat the same tasks, mapped policies, configuration items, and approvals from those phases.

Procedure

On the Release timeline page, select the release phase action button ([Omitted image "dpr-icon-menu.png"] Alt text: Release phase action icon.) and then select Restart phase.
On the Restart phase dialog box, select a phase from where you want to restart.

The list displays the completed phases.
Select Restart.

Result

The state of the selected phase updates to In Progress and of all the later phases updates to Pending.
The state of the current phase updates to Restarted.
The state of all tasks in the affected phases updates to Open.
The configuration items associated with the affected phases are reassociated with the newly created corresponding phases.
The last run status of the policies mapped to theses phases updates to Not run.
Tasks, policies, and approvals associated with the phase before it was restarted are excluded from the respective metrics and lists on the Release overview dashboard.

Execute the release

View the release status and work on its phases and tasks, and policies.

Before you begin

Role required: sn_dpr_model.product_manager or sn_dpr_model.release_admin

About this task

Automated email notifications are triggered at key release life cycle events. Notifications are sent to relevant stakeholders when:

A phase reaches its end date
A release task is 2 days from its due date
The release is 1 day from its readiness target
A phase's state changes
A policy is executed and resulted in non-compliant
A task approval request is submitted
A task approval request is rejected

For more information, see Email notifications in Digital Product Release.

Procedure

Select Release timeline to view the release status and work on its phases, tasks, and policies.

[Omitted image "dpr-release-execution-stage2.png"] Alt text: Release execution page of a stage-oriented release to track its progress.
In the Summary form for a phase, enter dates in Planned start date and Planned end date.

The planned end date must be on or after the planned start date. The planned start date for the next phase is automatically set to the day after the planned end date of the current phase.

The Actual start date and Actual end date fields are populated automatically when the phase starts and ends.

Hover over a phase on the release timeline to display the phase details, including its state, planned start date, planned end date, and actual end date.
Manage the progress of a phase in the release.

Note: If the stage_workflow_auto_transition system property is set to true, the phases are automatically closed when all tasks in it are closed and policies comply.
1. On the Release timeline page, select a phase on the timeline or use the arrow buttons to navigate to the previous or next phase.
2. When all tasks in the current phase are complete and mapped policies comply, mark the phase as complete by selecting Complete phase.
  
  Alternatively, you can complete the current phase from the Release tasks or Release policies pages. Select the release actions icon ([Omitted image "icon-actions-menu.png"] Alt text:) and then select Complete current release.
  
  Note: If any of the mapped policies is noncompliant, you can complete a phase only when you have any of the roles defined in the system property sn_dpr.complete_phase_override.
  
  The state of the current phase is updated to Completed and the next phase is started. The actual end date of the current phase is updated to the current date.
Select Release tasks to add tasks in a release phase for a product.
1. On the Release tasks page, select Add task.
2. On the Create task dialog box, add details for the task like its name, phase it belongs to, end date, and description.
3. If the task needs approval, perform the following steps:
  
  Note: You can select whether the task needs approval when creating it. This option can’t be changed after it’s saved.
  1. Select Yes in the Need approval field.
    
    The Assigned to and Approval definition fields appear.
  2. From the Assigned to list, select the user who would approve the task.
  3. From the Approval definition list, select an approval definition to trigger the approval based on the predefined condition.
4. Select Create task.
The task is created in the Pending state andadded to the selected phase.

For an approval task, an approval record is created for the approvers to review and act.An email notification is also sent to them. For more information, see Approve or reject a release task.
Track and manage the progress of tasks for the selected phase.
1. On the Release tasks page, expand a phase in the list by selecting the expand row icon.
  
  You can apply filters to view specific tasks or change the view type by selecting the Kanban or List option. You can also view only tasks assigned to you by selecting the My tasks toggle.
2. Select a task to open in the Task details pane.
3. Review the task in the Task details pane, or select Full details to open the task record in the form view.
4. Assign the task in the Assigned to field to the user who will work on it.
5. Review the approval status for an approval task in the Approval field.
6. Update the State field with the status of the task that doesn't need any approval.
  
  The state of an approval task is automatically updated when approved.
7. Select Save to save the changes.
  
  If you complete the current task and the system property sn_dpr.sequential_task_execution is set to true, the next task in the order moves to the Open state.
Select Release policies to manage mapping of policies to a release phase.
1. On the Release policies page, review the mapped policies by their status.
  
  Note: Policies can’t be mapped to a completed or cancelled phase.
2. To map a policy to the selected phase,
  1. Select Add.
  2. On the Map Policies dialog box, select one or more policies from the list to map to the phase.
  3. Select Map policies. The selected policies are mapped to the phase and are listed in the Policy Mappings list.
3. To delete an existing policy mapping,
  1. Select the policies from the Release policies list.
  2. Select Remove, and confirm. Selected policies mappings are removed from the phase.
  Note: For an in-progress phase, if you remove a previously executed policy, the remaining policies are automatically run after its removal. The updated execution statuses of the individual policies are aggregated and shown in the Policy status field on the Details tab.
On the Release policies page, select Run policies to run policies on the current phase.

All mapped policies are executed in the background for the current phase (In Progress state). You can check the execution status by refreshing the list on the Policies tab.

When a policy execution results in a non-compliant status, an email notification is sent to the release admin and other relevant stakeholders.

When multiple policies are mapped to a phase, their execution statuses are aggregated into the phase's overall status. You can view this aggregated status in the Policy status field on the Details tab.
If a policy fails compliance, you can request an exception with justification.

Note: This option is only available when both Digital Product Release and GRC: Policy and Compliance Management are installed.
1. Select the policy that failed.
2. Select Request exception.
3. In the Request policy exception, provide the reason, start date, end date, and business justification for the exception.
4. Select Request.
The exception request is sent to the Compliance group. For more information about the review and approval of exception request, see Review the policy exception and extension request and Manage policy exceptions and extensions.

After the exception is approved, the policy status shows as Compliant with exception in subsequent executions. The phase can be completed if all other policies are compliant.
Close a release after verifying its completeness.

For more information, see Close a release.
Cancel a release if it's no longer required.

Note: Only users with the sn_dpr_model.release_admin role can cancel releases.
1. Select Cancel release.
2. Enter the reason for cancellation and select Cancel release.

title	Work on a stage-oriented release for a single product or service
description	Monitor and work on a release that follows the stage-oriented release process to release a single product or service.You can start over a stage-oriented release from any previously completed phase if you encounter an issue that requires you to go back.View the release status and work on its phases and tasks, and policies.
locale	en-US
canonical_url	https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-service-management/digital-product-release/dpr-work-stage-release.html
release	brazil
product	Digital Product Release
classification	digital-product-release
topic_type	task
last_updated	2026-09-10
reading_time_minutes	10
breadcrumb	Stage-oriented releasesManage releases for digital products and servicesUseDigital Product ReleaseIT Service Management