Implementation

Should You Go with the Flow?

By Greg Mest November 15, 2022Configuration, Design, Implementation, Platform, WorkflowsNo Comments

A realistic analysis of Flow Designer In the Kingston release (I think - it’s hard to find the exact history), ServiceNow debuted “Flow Designer”, ostensibly a newer and better way of creating automated workflows. The idea being that the Workflow engine was coming to the end of its useful life, and the platform needed an upgraded way to automate processes and give more power to non-developers and non-ServiceNow admins. Ostensibly fulfilling the marketing pitch of “Citizen Developer”. I’ve begun working with Flow Designer and completed the primary micro-certification. After both studying Flows and using them in the real-world, I’m struggling…

Why Drive a Cadillac? Part 2

By Greg Mest April 20, 2022Architecture, Business Strategy, Design, Implementation, ITIL, ITSM, PlatformNo Comments

In Part 1, we examined the 5 Tiers of Service Management. This part focuses on the key differences between the tiers. Let's look at a couple of end-to-end processes through the lenses of tier 1 and 5 to illustrate the differences. Tiering Examples 1. User in building 3, floor 2, Accounting department reports an issue with accessing SAP. Root cause is a misconfigured switch port. Tier 1: User calls the Help Desk. A support agent opens a support ticket and does some basic troubleshooting - reboots, logs out and in. After 10 minutes, the agent tells the user they need…

Why Drive a Cadillac? Part 1

By Greg Mest April 20, 2022Architecture, Business Strategy, Design, Implementation, ITIL, ITSM, PlatformNo Comments

What do you want out of your Service Management? I had a client recently refer to ServiceNow as a “Cadillac Escalade”, and that they “just needed a Kia”. This is certainly a long way from when I started at ServiceNow in 2010 and the company and the platform was still just emerging from its “gutsy startup” phase. We've now reached the point where ServiceNow has become a “gold standard” in cloud platforms and Service Management, and customers are having to decide if they can afford such a high-end solution. Anyone who has spent time in business realizes that many decisions…