Valid since:
XL Release 8.6.0

ServiceNow app integration for XL Release

ServiceNow app for integration with the XL Release plugin

Since XL Release 8.6, a ServiceNow certified app is optional for integration. This app can be found in the ServiceNow Store. The app should be installed in your ServiceNow console, and it will create a new menu item with all the required configuration areas. For more information on the installation process see Install an application.

ServiceNow XL Release app

The table below shows which version of the XL Release plugin requires a ServiceNow app version:

XL Release version No ServiceNow app ServiceNow app 1.0.2 ServiceNow app 1.2.x
pre-8.5 ☑ ☒ ☒
8.5 ☒ ☑ ☑
8.6 ☑ ☒ ☑

Using design templates from XL Release

All design templates can be retrieved by ServiceNow and can be used to initiate a release from ServiceNow. If you want to use record information from the ServiceNow record that was used to initiate the release, you will need to create two template variables which will be entered by ServiceNow upon creation:

  • ${id}: the sys_id of the record the release was initiated from
  • ${number}: the number of the record the release was initiated from

Create design templates

Connect the XL Release server from ServiceNow

To set up a connection to an XL Release server from within the ServiceNow app:

  1. Navigate to XL Release > properties
  2. In the endpoint field, enter the URL of the XL Release server (with api/v1/ appended to the URL).
  3. In the Username field, enter the username to connect with the XL Release server.
  4. In the Password field, enter a password to connect with the XL Release server.
  5. Optionally set the Language ISO code if a different language is used in ServiceNow from your instance of XL Release.
  6. Optionally set the “Autostart on true/false” value to specify if the release should immediately start in XL Release.
  7. Optionally set the “Fetch the release templates from XLR on a nightly basis” value to true/false depending on your requirements.

Set up an XL Release server from ServiceNow

The next step is to retrieve the possible templates from XL Release. Follow these steps:

  1. In the ServiceNow console, navigate to XL Release > Release templates
  2. Press the Get Templates button.

This will retrieve all design templates from XL Release and display them in a list.

Tip: This is also a quick way to test your connection to the XL Release server.

Set up trigger rules in ServiceNow

Trigger rules in ServiceNow need to be set up to initiate actions on change events in communications between ServiceNow and XL Release. There are three communication options that can be used from ServiceNow:

  • Create Release: initiate a release in XL release
  • Comment: leave a comment in XL Release
  • Complete Task: complete a task in XL Release

To set up a trigger rule, in the ServiceNow app:

  1. Navigate to XL Release > Trigger Rules and click New.
    • A few samples have been set up for you to review. You can either reuse these or create your own.
  2. Add a Name for the rule and select a Type from the list.
  3. In the Table list on the right side, select a table to apply the rule to. This will populate the available fields.
  4. The Previous State and Current State tabs are used to compare the state of the release prior to and after the change event, and run the trigger rules if the conditions are met.

Trigger rules in ServiceNow

Available fields and field mappings exist next to the trigger rules. If you want to send different field information such as variables, from ServiceNow to XL Release, you must configure these mappings.

Field mapping in ServiceNow

Information on tasks in ServiceNow

Four fields are used in ServiceNow for communicating with XL Release:

  • XL Release Template: the template to use when creating a release from ServiceNow
  • XLR Identifier: the identifier of a release in XL Release. This field is created from ServiceNow.
  • XLR State: the state of the release in XL Release
  • Correlation id: the XL Release task ID for which the last communication was done.

Next to these fields:

  • A Get XLR info button is available to retrieve the latest status of the release in XL Release
  • A Navigate to XL Release related link navigates to the release in the XL Release user interface.

Information on tasks in ServiceNow