Configuration

Wherefore Architecture?

By sncmaadmin June 12, 2024Architecture, Configuration, Custom Applications, Customization, Design, Platform, UpgradesNo Comments

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, the distribution and velocity of development, configuration and administrative work, and the ongoing maintenance of the platform? As the footprint of ServiceNow has expanded conjunctionally…

It’s the Platform, Stupid* (Part 2)

By sncmaadmin February 20, 2024PlatformNo Comments

* - A play on the famous James Carville quote about the economy, not implying that ServiceNow folks are stupid It’s been a few years since I wrote Part 1 of this article, going through the history and evolution of the ServiceNow platform, and the morphing of the company strategy from platform to product. After working with multiple clients in the meantime, and reading lots of new marketing and going through many platform release upgrades, I thought it time to revisit the subject with new perspective and analysis. A quick recap: In the early 2000s, ServiceNow (nee “Glide”) was envisioned…

What We’ve Got Here Is Failure to Communicate – Part 2

By Greg Mest May 9, 2023Architecture, Configuration, Design, PlatformNo Comments

In Part 1 of this article, I delved into Inbound and Outbound design considerations. Now, in Part 2, I’ll cover considerations for a true eBonding type integration as well as other general tips I’ve learned through the years building integrations. eBonding Design Considerations and Good Practices As mentioned previously, the example I’m working from is a bi-directional application to application integration, meaning that the systems are integrating application records throughout the lifecycle of that application’s workflow. For example, an Incident in system X that integrates with a ServiceNow Incident and exchanges updates throughout the life of both incidents, regardless of…

What We’ve Got Here Is Failure to Communicate – Part 1

By Greg Mest May 8, 2023Architecture, Configuration, Design, PlatformNo Comments

Good Practices for Designing Integrations in ServiceNow Captain: You can have the easy way, Luke... Or you can have it the hard way... It's all up to you. - Cool Hand Luke If you work in a ServiceNow environment in 2023, it’s more than likely you’ve got it integrated with other systems. Given ServiceNow’s place in the market, it’s unlikely that an instance is running in an environment small enough or segregated enough to not need to be integrated with other systems. At the very least, you’re likely getting your core data from somewhere outside of ServiceNow, and hopefully not…

PD (Platform Disfunction) is Treatable

By sncmaadmin April 14, 2023Configuration, Customization, Out of the Box, PlatformNo Comments

The things ServiceNow should change or enhance yesterday "Continuous improvement is not about the things you do well — that’s work. Continuous improvement is about removing the things that get in the way of your work. The headaches, the things that slow you down, that’s what continuous improvement is all about." - Bruce Hamilton I’ve written previously about the power of the platform, and my belief in its terrific original design and flexibility. In recent years, in its push to create and sell products, ServiceNow has sacrificed enhancements to the platform which us architects, developers and admins have to work…

Building Core Strength

By Greg Mest February 20, 2023Configuration, PlatformNo Comments

Why good core data is both the roots and the flowers of your ServiceNow tree "A tree with a rotten core cannot stand." — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn In the fitness world, and in fact the physical human world, your core is the central part of your body. It includes the pelvis, lower back, hips and stomach. Exercises that build core strength lead to better balance and steadiness, also called stability. Stability is important whether you're on the playing field or doing regular activities. In fact, most sports and other physical activities depend on stable core muscles. As ServiceNow has moved further…

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…

The Three Ws of Development

By Greg Mest January 3, 2022Architecture, Configuration, Custom Applications, Customization, Design, PlatformNo Comments

Where, When and Why you should do your development In journalism, there’s the concept of the Five W questions whose answers are fundamental to getting the information needed: Who What When Where Why I want to talk about what I call the “Three Ws of Development” in the ServiceNow realm. These three are: When, Where and Why. We’re going to skip the questions “Who” and “What”. Why? Because “who” is a question for hiring managers, recruiting, and resource vetting. And “what” is (too often) the focus of most if not all training and documentation. Do you need to get the…

Breaking the Code – Designing for Configurable Maintenance

By Greg Mest July 7, 2021PlatformNo Comments

ServiceNow is nothing if not flexible. It certainly gives you options for achieving your business and development goals; some of these are obvious and well documented, and some feel like they’re on the “secret menu” for the die-hards only. Regardless, ServiceNow was designed as a flexible platform. Over the years I’ve seen this flexibility used in a myriad of ways, some really clever and some head-scratchers. Most fall somewhere in the middle. It’s also been the impetus for the rise of good and best practices, from tribal hearsay to attempted codification. But one thing I feel strongly about is using…

The Misconceptions of Upgradeability

By Greg Mest June 1, 2021PlatformNo Comments

The Blob is a 1958 American science fiction horror film whose storyline concerns a growing, alien amoeboid entity that comes to Earth from outer space inside a meteorite. It devours and dissolves citizens in small Pennsylvania communities as it grows larger, redder, and more aggressive each time it does so, eventually becoming larger than a building. In recent years in the ServiceNow ecosystem, one of the topics that has taken on a “blob-like” existence is upgradeability: the ability to perform an upgrade to the next ServiceNow release, how long it takes, how much it costs, how much remediation is required,…