Welcome to my ServiceNow CMA (Certified Master Architect) blog, an independent voice on all things ServiceNow, using the lessons I’ve learned, experiences I’ve had, and thoughts I’ve mused. The goal of this blog is to give ServiceNow administrators, developers and architects things to chew on, particularly around the area of platform architecture and design. It is not to reiterate ServiceNow documentation or marketing, nor is it a “tip sheet” for one off solutions, although I may throw these in from time to time when it’s germane to the topic at hand. What I’ve found over my years is that ServiceNow’s approach and collateral has become more and more product and solution specific. It rarely puts things in a platform context, nor does it explain why to do something, rather than just what, where or how. It doesn’t explore a variety of options and explain the pros and cons of each approach. One of my goals for this blog is to help those with a broader vision of ServiceNow stories and examples that highlight this view of the platform, beyond the “ABC 123” of Product X.
‘Tis it nobler to bend to false conventional wisdom or to follow the found truth; ay, there’s the rub! Introduction Unless you’re brand new to the ServiceNow ecosystem or have completely ignored all talk and literature about the platform in recent years, you’ve heard the drumbeat of a couple of key messages (that I’ll paraphrase): Low and no code solutions are the future Stay “Out of the Box” as much as possible Out of the…
How all those who work with ServiceNow should think about buying a solution versus building their own “Construction is the art of making a meaningful whole out of many parts.” — Peter Zumthor Introduction Buy versus build is a discussion perhaps as old as software itself. Certainly it has become more prevalent as software has evolved beyond canned (boxed) point solutions into development platforms. Modern platforms provide the ability to use existing components to develop…
If ServiceNow is built to support Citizen developers, why do we need ServiceNow architects? “Thinking about design is hard, but not thinking about it can be disastrous.” – Ralph Caplan Introduction For almost 14 years in the ServiceNow space, and across a rapid expansion of the exosystem, it has been interesting to observe and analyze various organization’s approaches to developing and maintaining their ServiceNow environment. Specifically, how do organizations manage the inflow of business needs,…
