architectural structure

Wherefore Architecture?

June 12, 2024Posted inArchitecture, 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…
platform part 2

It’s the Platform, Stupid* (Part 2)

February 20, 2024Posted inPlatformNo 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…
New Release

Starting Your “EPA” (Environment Proficiency Activities)

January 2, 2023Posted inPlatform, UpgradesNo Comments
Tips for Optimizing your ServiceNow Instance Management Having been in the ServiceNow business for over 12 years, you begin to take certain things for granted. At least until you see someone doing something that you don’t expect and it makes you say, “hmm, maybe this isn’t common knowledge”. One such area where I’ve noticed this in recent years is the management of an overall ServiceNow environment - that which encompasses all your ServiceNow instances, and the processes and techniques by which configuration, code and data is built, moved and shared between them. In my experience, if done properly, this should…
Citizenry

A Good Leader Fears the Citizenry

December 2, 2021Posted inArchitecture, Custom Applications, Design, Platform, UpgradesNo Comments
“a camel is a horse designed by a committee” - Proverb Over the past few years, there’s been a movement in the business world to espouse the concept of “citizen development”. Gartner defines a citizen developer in this way: A citizen developer is an employee who creates application capabilities for consumption by themselves or others, using tools that are not actively forbidden by IT or business units. A citizen developer is a persona, not a title or targeted role. They report to a business unit or function other than IT. Gartner: Definition of Citizen Developer ServiceNow has espoused this concept…
Code

Breaking the Code – Designing for Configurable Maintenance

July 7, 2021Posted inPlatformNo 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…
upgrades

The Misconceptions of Upgradeability

June 1, 2021Posted inPlatformNo 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,…
Platform

It’s the Platform, Stupid*

April 20, 2021Posted inBusiness Strategy, PlatformNo Comments
This is the one where I most run the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon. However, I don’t think I’m wrong, and hopefully my explanation bears this out. * - A play on the famous James Carville quote about the economy, not implying that ServiceNow folks are stupid As many know, ServiceNow has been through 4 CEOs: Fred Luddy, Frank Slootman, John Donohoe, Bill McDermott; and as most know, Fred was the founder. Fred at his heart is a developer. (From Broke To Billionaire: How Fred Luddy Built The World’s Most Innovative Company) From Forbes: Luddy hit on a…