ServiceNow Fundamentals for Beginners | Complete Introduction with Hands-On

Introduction to ServiceNow

What is ServiceNow

ServiceNow is a cloud-based digital workflow platform used to automate IT services, business processes, and enterprise operations using a single system of record.

Organizations use ServiceNow to:

1. Improve service delivery
2. Automate workflows
3. Increase operational efficiency
4. Reduce manual effort

ServiceNow supports low-code and no-code development, making it suitable for administrators, developers, and business users.

ITSM, ITOM, ITBM, HRSD Overview

ITSM (IT Service Management)

Used to manage IT support services.

Core modules:

1. Incident Management
2. Problem Management
3. Change Management
4. Request Management
5. Service Catalog

Example: Logging and resolving an email outage incident.

ITOM (IT Operations Management)

Used to manage infrastructure and operations.

Key capabilities:

1. Discovery
2. Event Management
3. Service Mapping
4. CMDB

Example: Automatically discovering servers and applications.

ITBM / SPM (IT Business Management / Strategic Portfolio Management)

Aligns IT work with business goals.

Includes:

1. Project Management
2. Demand Management
3. Portfolio Management

Example: Tracking IT project timelines and budgets.

HRSD (HR Service Delivery)

Used to deliver HR services digitally.

Use cases:

1. Employee onboarding
2. Leave and payroll requests
3. HR case management

Example: Automating new employee onboarding workflows.

ServiceNow Cloud Architecture

ServiceNow is delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS).

Architecture components:

1. Client (web browser)
2. Application server
3. Centralized database

Benefits:

1. No on-premise installation
2. High availability
3. Automatic upgrades
4. Secure and scalable platform

Instance Types (Dev, Test, Prod)

Best practice is to never perform testing directly in production.

Roles and Permissions

ServiceNow uses Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

Common roles:

1. admin – Full system access
2. itil – ITSM operational access
3. catalog_user – Service request access
4. sn_hr_core.basic – HR service access

Roles control:

1. What users can see
2. What actions users can perform
3. Which data they can access

UI Overview (Classic UI and Next Experience)

Classic UI

Traditional interface with left-side navigation, commonly used in legacy implementations.

Next Experience UI

Modern, workspace-based interface with improved usability and performance.

Common UI components:

1. Banner frame
2. Application Navigator
3. Content frame
4. Lists and forms
5. Global search

Hands-On: Create a Personal Developer Instance

1. Register on the ServiceNow Developer Portal
2. Request a Personal Developer Instance
3. Wait for instance provisioning
4. Log in using admin credentials

Instance URL format:

https://devXXXXX.service-now.com

Hands-On: Explore Application Navigator, Lists, and Forms

1. Use the navigator filter to find applications
2. Open Incident or User tables
3. Switch between list view and form view

ServiceNow Navigation and Basics

Application Navigator

The Application Navigator is the main navigation panel in ServiceNow.

Functions:

1. Displays applications and modules
2. Allows quick searching using filter
3. Provides access to all platform features

Tips:

1. Use keywords to quickly locate modules
2. Star frequently used modules

Lists vs Forms

Lists

Lists display multiple records from a table.

List capabilities:

1. Sorting
2. Filtering
3. Searching
4. Exporting
5. Grouping records

Example: Viewing all open incidents.

Forms

Forms display a single record.

Form components:

1. Fields
2. Mandatory indicators
3. Related lists
4. Activity stream
5. UI actions

Example: Creating or updating an incident record.

Filters and Breadcrumbs

Filters

Filters allow users to display specific records based on conditions.

Examples:

1. State is Open
2. Priority is High
3. Assigned to is Me

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs show the active filter conditions.

Uses:

1. Modify existing filters
2. Add or remove conditions
3. Quickly understand applied filters

Personalizing Lists and Forms

Personalizing Lists

Users can customize:

1. Visible columns
2. Column order
3. Sorting preferences

Steps:

1. Open a list
2. Right-click column header
3. Select Configure → List Layout
4. Add or remove fields

Personalizing Forms

Users can customize:

1. Field layout
2. Section order
3. Form views

Steps:

1. Open a form
2. Right-click the form header
3. Select Configure → Form Layout or Form View

User Preferences

User preferences control personal UI behavior.

Examples:

1. Default landing page
2. Date and time format
3. List behavior
4. Language settings

Each user’s preferences apply only to their login.

Hands-On Exercises

Create and Save Filters

1. Open the Incident list
2. Click the filter icon
3. Add conditions (for example: State is Open)
4. Run the filter
5. Save the filter for future use

Modify List Layout

1. Open any list view
2. Right-click the column header
3. Select Configure → List Layout
4. Add or remove fields
5. Save changes

Customize Form View

1. Open an Incident form
2. Right-click the form header
3. Select Configure → Form Layout or Form View
4. Rearrange fields or sections
5. Save the configuration

Chapter 1 Completion Outcome

After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

1. Explain ServiceNow and its core modules
2. Understand ServiceNow architecture and environments
3. Navigate the UI confidently
4. Work efficiently with lists and forms
5. Create and save filters
6. Personalize lists and forms
7. Use a developer instance independently