Category: Resource

12 ITSM Terms Defined

January 16, 2020January 7, 2020
by Nicole Bailey

How to be fluent in ITSM.

Terms referred to in the world of ITSM can be confusing, to say the least. Most experienced ITSM professional will roll off terms like AITSM and process workflow design so quickly that it can make your head spin. If you are new to the world of ITSM you may be joining project meetings and hearing terms sprouted out during daily “stand-ups” and left scratching your head.

Enable Professional Services are an Elite ServiceNow partner and we have guided more than 150 of Asia Pacific companies through to successful ITSM projects, so we know a thing or two about ITSM.

Here are a few terms and their definitions to help you discover your UI from your EU.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS:

Incident and Problem Management:

Incident ticketing and problem management are required by all IT organizations that use ITSM tools. This enables them to manage the life cycles of IT incidents and problem records from recording to closing. These are core capabilities in which all ITSM tools must be competent.

Change and Release Management:

Integrated change and release management are important for organizations focused on intermediate and advanced IT service management capabilities to control the governance and risk of changes to I&O.

Configuration Management:

Configuration management is important for organizations focused on intermediate and advanced IT service management capabilities to maintain an overview of service assets to aid other processes such as change and incident management.

Self-Service/Request Fulfillment:

Service request fulfilment is important for IT organizations focused on providing business users with a convenient way to interact with the IT organization by presenting incident and request tracking services, technical IT components and IT services in the form of an orderable service catalog.

IT Knowledge Management:

Knowledge management is a key area of differentiation for all use cases. The knowledge portal should enable end-users (EU) to resolve simple incidents themselves. The tools should create knowledge bases for relevant, updated content that is useful for IT and business users.

Collaboration:

Collaboration features are key for digital workplace use cases to help IT staff work together to solve IT incidents and problems, and to enable business users to solve their own IT issues as well as to help their colleagues.

Reporting and SLA Management:

Reporting and dashboards are key for all use cases because they support, enhance and extend collaborative decision support (strategic and tactical) and communication with IT and business leaders.

“AITSM”:

AITSM is not an acronym; it is a term that refers to the application of context, assistance, actions and interfaces of AI, automation and big data on ITSM tools and practices to improve the overall effectiveness, efficiency and error reduction for I&O staff. It is important for intermediate and advanced use cases to automate and support complex environments.

Process and Workflow Design:

IT organizations in all use cases need out-of-the-box, preconfigured forms, fields, workflows and reports that are compatible with industry best practices and standards for IT service management.

Integration:

The tools’ abilities to integrate with other tools and the ability of those tools to integrate with ITSM tools is increasingly important, particularly for organizations that use software from other ITOM minisuites, development and artificial intelligence for operations (AIOps).

Overhead:

License and subscription costs for ITSM tools vary considerably, as do ongoing costs for support and administration. Many organizations overbuy when selecting an ITSM tool.

User Experience and Flexibility:

Product configuration flexibility is an important factor that distinguishes different ITSM tools for different maturity levels. IT service desk users, in particular, benefit from a streamlined and intuitive UI.

Source: ttps://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-1OFVNYG1&ct=190830&st=sb

Resource

Orchestrate Software Distribution via ServiceNow

January 6, 2020January 7, 2020
by Abhishek Gupta

Today in the 21^st century, what human wants is automation. This tech generation wants to focus on innovation and invention. Thus, there comes the need to automate the runbook.

In any large organisation, employees need software to perform their daily jobs with effectiveness.

Organisations spend a lot of money on not just procuring the software but also provisioning it. Thus, comes a need to automate.

How can ServiceNow help automate this? ServiceNow has an application known as Client Software Distribution(CSD) which can help distribute software.

What is Client Software Distribution (CSD)?

Client Software Distribution(CSD) allows administrators to distribute software from the Service Catalog using third- party management systems like SCCM. You can use Client Software Distribution to deploy and revoke software deployments from SCCM and manage distributions on SCCM hosts.

How does it work?

To enable and configure Client Software Distribution, follow the below steps.

Configure the Application Administrator role on the SCCM Server
Configure the MID Server for integration with SCCM
Create Windows credentials for deployments through SCCM
Retrieve data from SCCM to be used for Client Software Distribution
Associate the software with a collection through an SCCM configuration.
Create a catalog item for the SCCM application you want to offer for distribution from the Service Catalog.

For the detailed information, please read here: LINK

Written by –
Abhishek Gupta
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Tribe – CSM

Resource

ServiceNow Instance Security Compliance

December 19, 2019December 19, 2019
by Graham Strydom

Do you want to monitor the compliance level of your instance security controls, view security event monitoring metrics, and configure & maintain instance security settings for your instance?

Then make use of the Instance Security Center which consolidates several key security components into a single control console that helps you detect, protect, and respond to instance-based security events.

Not only will the Instance Security Center allow you to monitor Failed Logins, Admin users added, Security elevations and Impersonations but you can also review and/or action the following to enhance the Security of the instance and your environment.

· Top Recommendations

· Mandatory/Recommended/Optional Hardening Configurations

· Metrics

· Knowledge Best Practices and Resources

HOW?

Written by –
Graham Strydom
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Tribe – GRC

Resource

Custom HR Center of excellence

December 11, 2019December 12, 2019
by Bhavesh Jain

All you need to know about Custom HR Center of excellence

Customers and ServiceNow Consultants often have this question on whether they can use an existing HR COE or they need to create a new one. Out of the box HR COE comes with a set of configurations which is not the case for custom HR COE. This article will explain the difference between out of the box and custom HR COE and things you should know before deciding to go with custom HR COE.

What is HR Center of Excellence (COE)?

ServiceNow organizes HR data, services and processes by functional discipline with a data model called HR Centers of Excellence (COEs). Each HR Center of Excellence is an extension of the HR Case [sn_hr_core_case] table and is organized around a functional discipline, such as employee relations, lifecycle events, payroll, talent management, workforce administration, total rewards, and HRIT operations.

Which out of the box COEs are available?

The COEs available to you may differ depending on the HR package you have.

More details about HR COEs : https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/newyork-hr-service-delivery/page/product/human-resources/concept/hr-centers-of-excellence-coes.html

Configuration that comes with out of the box HR COEs and how it differs for custom COEs

HR Topic category, Topic detail and HR Services

Each COE is further organized by HR topic category and detail, which defines the first- and second-level of categorization for HR services under that COE. Every out of box COE comes with a set of topic categories, topic details and HR Services which can be updated depending on client requirements. Custom COE requires you to create new topic category, topic detail and HR services under it.

COE configuration

COE configuration allows you to enable or disable an HR Center of Excellence (COE) for use. When you disable a COE, the corresponding HR services associated with that COE are also disabled. Custom COE do not appear in this list hence this feature is not available for custom COEs.

Notifications

Every out of box COE comes with its own set of notifications. Creating a custom COE will require you to create all the notification manually.

Security Rules

Every out of box COE comes with its own set of security rules. Creating a custom COE will require you to create all the security rules manually.

Licensing

Custom COE is a custom table extended from parent HR table (sn_hr_core_case). There is a limit to number of custom tables that can be created in ServiceNow depending on the licensing agreement between ServiceNow and customer. Speak to your ServiceNow account manager before creating a new COE.

Forms and Related Lists

Every out of box COE comes with a pre-defined form along with related lists on the form. For custom COE, the form needs to be configured manually along with related lists.

Module

Every out of box COE comes with a dedicated module in left navigation. E.g Employee Relations Cases, HRIT Cases, etc.

For custom COE, new module needs to be created under HR case management application.

Written by –
Bhavesh Jain
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Tribe – CSM

News

7 Key OCM Lessons for a successful ServiceNow implementation

December 9, 2019December 9, 2019
by Mark Galgsdies

7 Key Organisational Change Management (OCM) Lessons for a Successful ServiceNow Implementation

Enable’s approach to Organisational Change Management (OCM) has a laser-like focus on the People side of our clients’ ServiceNow implementations in support of the technical aspects of Processes and Platform. Our OCM, adoption and training services align with The Enable Way – our project delivery methodology (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The Enable Way

Enable’s OCM, adoption and training activities run in parallel with, and across, the five delivery stages with inputs to and delivery outcomes from each stage.

Enable OCM, adoption and training efforts track across four key times of work (shown in Figure 2):

Readiness
Go Live Preparation
Go Live Transition
Sustainment

Figure 2: Enable’s 4 stages of OCM, adoption and training work

The key to Enable’s OCM approach is in our name – Enable – we work with our clients to:

enable their staff to adopt, and be upskilled in, the new ways of working generated by their ServiceNow solution
generate a commitment to the new ways of working (rather than compliance)

Our goal is to eliminate or mitigate challenges, pain points and risks and to engage with our clients’ stakeholders who will be impacted by the change by:

making them aware of the changes
helping them understand the goals of the change\
influencing them toward supporting, becoming involved in, and committing to the changes

We work with our clients to ensure relevant staff receive the appropriate, timely and ‘fit-for-purpose’ communications and training they need to reduce ‘time-to-capability’.

Enable has experience in a number of OCM implementation methodologies, such as:

PROSCI’s ADKAR
IMA’s Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM)
PCI – People Centred Implementation
Lewin’s Change Management Model
Kübler-Ross Five Stage Model
Change Management Book of Knowledge

We work with our clients in understanding if there is a pre-existing change management framework being used and work within that framework. If there isn’t, we can help our client design an adaptive OCM, adoption and training strategy that fits with their organisation and culture.

Artefacts provided

Figure 3 depicts typical Enable OCM, adoption and training artefacts and documentation.

Figure 3: Enable’s OCM Strategy, Components and artefacts

Typically Enable would work with our clients in creating one or more of the following artefacts and documents (depending on the stage of work):

Change Agent Assessment
Organisational Stress Test
Implementation History Assessment
Business Impact Assessment
Sponsor Assessment
Individual Readiness Assessment
Business Readiness Assessment
Communication Audit
Targeted Reinforcement Index
Implementation Risk Forecast – Risk Management Plan
Communication and Engagement Plan
Change Plan
Training Plan
Reinforcement Plan
ServiceNow-specific “messaging” snippets that could be used for client’s internal communications
Boilerplate emails, newsletters, intranet announcements: preliminary, pre-go-live, at go-live, post-go-live

What Makes Enable Different

We know that implementation occurs before, during and after Go Live. We also understand the importance of continued people support beyond Go Live, through Hypercare and Warranty periods. Mature organisations pay particular attention to supporting their staff 3, 6, 9 months or more after the implementation has moved from being a Project to being Business As Usual (BAU). Figure 4 depicts Enable’s OCM maturity model.

Enable can provide clients with the tools and support that assist with embedding and measuring the adoption rates of the new ways of working.

Figure 4: Enable’s OCM Maturity Progression

Lessons Learnt

So, what have we learnt over many years of successful ServiceNow solution installations?

Enable’s experience has highlighted seven fundamental key lessons learnt for successful ServiceNow implementations:

OCM starts BEFORE formally kicking off any deployment:

Dedicate a role(s) to designing and managing the OCM plan that considers all stakeholders and contexts
Research the organisational context (including the stakeholders, risks, etc.) to inform OCM planning
Use collected knowledge of the organisational change environment to design an OCM Plan that includes plans for how to communicate the organisational change with stakeholders, deliver needed training and enablement, and minimise the impact of organisational change

Assign a fully dedicated OCM lead + team. Ideally, the team would consist of:
- A communications person
- A systems trainer
- An administration person
OCM is a part of good governance and should be developed concurrently with any changes in the client’s work processes and policy. To ensure consistency, the OCM Program Team and Plan would be in alignment with, or a part of, the client’s governance program for the implementation
Enable and our clients agree on what “good” OCM looks like – expectations can be set at that point and then together we work in creating and driving the various Plans along with agreeing what the measures of success will be and how/when we will report them
Constant, visible, active sponsorship is the single most important factor in ensuring a successful implementation
Selection of Change Agents (eg SMEs) / Champions / Advocates / Stewards is the second most important factor. They are not selected just because they are available.
Change Agents need to be represented at every level of the organisational hierarchy to avoid ‘black holes’ of communication and support.

Written by –
Mark Galgsdies
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGE
Tribe – OCM

News

Enabling the world of IoT and Smart Operations

December 8, 2019December 11, 2019
by Herman Taljaard

As we rapidly approach 2020 we are starting to see the impact of the 4th industrial revolution (or Industry 4.0) on organisations and their operating models. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a major driver of Industry 4.0 and research studies show interesting results:

We are approaching 50 billion connected devices by the end of 2020.
The global spend on IIoT is expected to grow 15% year on year, reaching US$1.1 trillion by 2025.
The falling cost of the average IoT sensor and data transfer, as well as the pervasive availability of 4G (and now 5G) networks being rolled out, are driving the adoption of IIoT driven solutions.
IIoT is a key component of digital transformation and driving new operating models and revenue opportunities.
IIoT solutions and projects are no longer just driven by the technology and by the IT department-specific business outcomes and solutions are driving the adoption of IIoT and Smart Operations. The connected devices and sensors are generating a significant amount of data and alerts; however, this raw data is only useful if it is turned into actionable information. Enable Professional Services, an Elite Partner of ServiceNow, has been developing solutions and capabilities around IIoT and Smart Operations that can be leveraged by ServiceNow customers and the Now™ platform as the system of action. We have started pilot projects with select customers to implement an end-to-end solution for specific use cases.

One pilot project that Enable Professional Services completed is focused on compliance with food safety regulations. A customer with multiple freezers spread out across a large geographic area needs to check the temperature levels of these freezers regularly. The old process involved having the security guards check on freezers during their after-hour rounds. This required unlocking doors to access the freezers and manually documenting the temperature level for each freezer. Any issues with temperature levels were then manually reported to the maintenance teams.

Utilising smart temperature sensors placed in the freezers, linked to ServiceNow’s digital workflows provided the customer with a completely automated solution to get near-real-time temperature measurements from all freezers. This data is now represented on a dashboard for easy monitoring. Any deviations from pre-set levels automatically raise an alert and a work order for the maintenance team. The alert will allow support staff to move food from the affected freezer, reducing the cost of food spoilage as well as any risks based on non-compliance. The work order is generated and sent to the correct maintenance team, including information about the temperature trends for a specified period, details of the freezer model and its location.

New developments in sensor hardware and communications technology now provide customers with access to low-cost sensors using ubiquitous communications technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi and RFID tags. Furthermore, advances in video processing technology and algorithms provide customers with the ability to leverage video feeds from CCTV and security cameras as part of a Smart Operations solution. An example use case of using a video feed is related to occupational health and safety in large warehouse environments. Cameras can analyse the movement of heavy equipment such as forklifts and trucks. If any person enters an unsafe area where these vehicles operate the drivers of the vehicles will receive a notification via an onboard system installed in the vehicle.

Another use case is related to tracking of non-fixed equipment in hospitals. Equipment, such as heart rate, blood pressure and ECG monitors, can be wheeled around hospital wards based on demand. These assets are expensive and need regular servicing and calibration. Adding Bluetooth tags to the equipment and Bluetooth receivers installed in the various hospital locations will allow the maintenance teams to quickly and accurately locate equipment. This includes the ability to show floor plans and the physical location of equipment. The benefit of this solution is that maintenance teams spend less time trying to locate equipment in need of servicing and more time on the value-added work of servicing and calibration.

Smart Operations and ServiceNow

Enable is the only partner in the APJ region currently working with ServiceNow on the integration of smart sensors and devices into the ServiceNow platform via new ServiceNow developed capabilities. Using cost-effective sensors, we can rapidly deploy a Smart Operations solution to ServiceNow customer within weeks. This ensures rapid time to market and a quick return on investment with immediate benefits from a Smart Operations solution.

In the example of the freezers and sensors, a “digital twin” for each freezer and sensor pair is created within the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB). The sensor data feed is related to the digital twin in ServiceNow and displayed on a user-friendly dashboard. The digital twin’s attributes are used to define the relevant rules and actions to be taken based on the data feed received from the sensor. These actions include alerts to staff and automated creation of work orders and maintenance orders. Using ServiceNow’s machine learning capabilities predictive and condition-based maintenance can be implemented more efficiently. This, in turn, will reduce overall maintenance costs as well as a reduction in spare part inventory and downtime due to unplanned outages.

Driving digital transformation through Smart Operations

The adoption of IIoT is driving disruption in traditional industries. Companies are starting to adopt new business models – rather than selling expensive compressors companies are starting to sell compressed air as a service. The client does not own any of the equipment required as part of the service – they pay a service fee based on consumption only. The provision and maintenance of the equipment are managed by the service provider.

ServiceNow supports this new ‘service provider’ business model through several modules:

Customer Service Management – clients can interact with the service provider through a user-friendly portal to order more equipment, raise support cases and view their usage. Clients can also access a catalogue of services and products related to their industry and based on the entitlements in their contract.
Contract Management – the client’s contract, expiry date, commercial model and entitlements can be stored and managed within ServiceNow.
IoT integration – sensors monitor the flow of air and provide real-time consumption data and costs to customers via the portal. Any reduction or interruption in airflow will immediately raise an alert that can trigger a work order or maintenance request.
Field Service Management – the work order triggered by the sensor is managed within the field service management capabilities of ServiceNow. The work order can be assigned to a mobile maintenance team based on their proximity to the client site as well as their capabilities and onboard spare parts.
Integrated Risk Management – any alerts received from an IIoT device can also trigger an issue or risk within ServiceNow, with an appropriate action to be taken.
Occupational Health and Safety – ServiceNow can also track maintenance team allocation based on certifications and specific capabilities. Work order assignment will factor in if any of the maintenance work requires specialised resources, such as working at heights or in confined spaces. These tasks will be assigned to the appropriate resources with valid certifications.
Enterprise Asset Management – all data received from sensors via ServiceNow can feed into the overall asset management and maintenance planning within ServiceNow. Leveraging machine learning and AI ServiceNow can predict potential issues within assets before they occur as well as optimise maintenance as part of a condition-based maintenance plan.

One key aspect that will determine the success of a Smart Operations solution is the focus on the business outcome and expected benefits. IIoT and Smart Operations solutions should not be driven by technology or the plethora of sensors available today. Companies succeeding with Smart Operations projects start with a pilot deployment focused on a very specific use case with clear objectives and key results.

–

Written by
Herman Taljaard
Head of Smart Operations at Enable Professional Services

2 articles

News

Key lessons for successful digitization

December 5, 2019December 5, 2019
by Nicole Bailey

These six steps can help ease process automation and digitization to the workplace.

Change can be so hard,” is a phrase we heard repeatedly as we studied how digital workflows impacted employees in two very different organizations: a state government agency in the U.S. and a health system in Australasia.

In both organizations, ServiceNow were told certain employees resisted change. Employees were scared to learn new technology or feared failing. Others were stressed by the disruption to their routines. Some put obstacles in the way of changemakers. A small number even left their jobs.

Through interviews with front-line workers and senior leaders, we’ve identified lessons that can help executives address these challenges and empower employees to create more value for the organization and themselves.

1. Develop a culture of change:

Both organizations are seeking to establish a culture where people come to work expecting to learn and adapt, not just master repetitive tasks.

2. Collaborate across all levels of your organization:

In both organizations, service delivery staff appreciated being listened to by leaders and technology professionals during periods of change.

3. Clarify expectations:

In the U.S. state agency, leaders told us the new customer service management system tracked the time it took workers to complete a task for customers. As a result, some employees feared they were being monitored for speed. Leaders had to explain that they weren’t trying to spy on employees. Instead, managers were examining customer service processes in order to measure and manage the agency’s overall performance.

4. Show benefits:

Digital workflows—such as customer service management, patient scheduling, task scheduling, and recruitment tracking—all bring benefits for workers. Employees are able to work more efficiently and effectively. Workloads become more manageable and stress is often reduced.

5. Focus on mission:

Our research participants emphasized that workflow automation had strengthened their organization’s core mission.

6. Train:

Both organizations are actively rolling out digital literacy training for employees.

Read full article here
Source: ServiceNow
The article used with Permission

Resource

ServiceNow Integration with third party Using OAuth2.0

December 2, 2019December 2, 2019
by Nicole Bailey

Flow of OAuth Process (ServiceNow is using a third party OAuth Provider)

What Is OAuth?

OAuth 2.0 is an authorization framework that enables applications to obtain limited access to user accounts on an HTTP service.

It works by delegating user authentication to the service that hosts the user account, and authorising third-party applications to access the user account. OAuth 2.0 focuses on client developer simplicity while providing specific authorisation flows for web applications, desktop applications, mobile phones, and living room devices. When using ServiceNow as a client resource, OAuth 2.0 lets user access instance resources through external clients by obtaining a token rather than by entering login credentials with each resource request.

How OAuth and ServiceNow works?

OAuth 2.0 lets user access instance resources through external clients by obtaining a token rather than the need to enter login credentials with each resource request.

OAuth 2.0 can be configured in the below scenarios.

OAuth external client scenario
OAuth provider scenario

OAuth has below grant types

Authorization code
Resource owner password credentials
Client credentials

What to consider when OAuth 2.0 is configured in ServiceNow?

Make sure the OAuth plugin is active and the OAuth activation property is set to true.
Make sure that the grant type is matching between the client and resource systems and the same is shared with OAuth provider.
Client ID, Client secret are shared among the systems.
In case of Resource owner password credentials, the consumer of the resource already has the user credentials to get the access token. The same user name and password has to be provided when accessing the token from the OAuth provider.
In Case of Authorization code grant type consumer first gets an authorization code and then uses it to get an access token.
Make sure to fetch the refresh token once the access token has expired, reusing the access token after it has expired will result in failure.

The below two scenarios helps you to understand what type of OAuth integration you need to set up in ServiceNow.

OAuth external client scenario

In this scenario ServiceNow provides an endpoint for third-party clients to pull data from the instance. This is done by creating an OAuth API endpoint for external clients.

The above Client secret is stored as password2 type field, which is encrypted in Triple DES. User passwords, which are used to check incoming endpoint requests, are stored as a hash value in the User table in a password type field (SHA 256).

OAuth provider scenario

In this scenario, ServiceNow consumes an endpoint for third-party clients to pull data from the 3^rd party.

This is done by creating connection to a third party OAuth Provider.

Written by –
Saurabh Chamoli
SERVICENOW CONSULTANT
Tribe – CSM
Date: 3/12/2019

Resource

All you should know about TLS 1.2 and ServiceNow

November 27, 2019November 28, 2019
by Bharat Rajora

All you should know about TLS 1.2 and how ServiceNow is moving to it.

Web encryption is changing, and so is the ServiceNow security best practice around privacy and data integrity.

Now in Oct 2019, ServiceNow has also decided to retire1.0 and 1.1 and intends to move all its customers to TLS 1.2. This article will enable you to understand all about TLS and upcoming changes, which may impact integrations.

Wondering what TLS is?

“Transport Layer Security” is the protocol that allows the handshake of your laptops/smartphones and then to communicate your sensitive information securely over the internet.

How ServiceNow use TLS?

Anytime users/customers try to access ServiceNow from devices within seconds, this is what is happening to establish a secure session between users and ServiceNow Instance. For example, below lock sign in the URL confirms that the secure session has been established securely between customer and ServiceNow instance.

What if I change the SSL certificate and not worry about the ServiceNow TLS change?

Certificate & Protocols are two different things, and Certificates are not dependent on protocols. SSL certificate only handles incoming traffic to the server and will not protect any calls that the server may make to other services.

What is the impact? If I don’t upgrade my integrations?

Any legacy services that currently rely on TLS 1.1 or older versions will no longer be available. If there are custom legacy integrations or customer is using an old browser, then there is a significant impact.

Finally, how do I prepare myself for this change

ServiceNow (Global Technical Support group) is contacting its customers that are using TLS1.0 or 1.1 and letting them aware of the change. Also, ServiceNow has published the Knowledge article: KB0746078

Written by –
Bharat Rajora
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Tribe – Architecture

Resource

NewYork HRSD Highlights

September 17, 2019September 18, 2019
by David Liu

ServiceNow New York release is finally here! Although ServiceNow does releases at a fast pace of twice per year, customers are always looking forward to the highly anticipated new features and enhancements that come with every release.

In this post, we will focus on some exciting highlights within the ServiceNow HRSD (Human Resources Service Delivery) Module.

1. Mobile Onboarding App and Now Mobile for HRSD

ServiceNow has always paid strong focus on delivering a great user experience for its customers on both desktop and mobile platforms. In New York, ServiceNow has released a new Mobile Onboarding App dedicated to onboard new hires seamlessly via mobile devices. The Mobile Onboarding App can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

Note that the Human Resources Scope App: Lifecycle Events plugin will need to be enabled as a prerequisite. The activation of this plugin comes with a subscription cost.

When the new hire installs the app and logs in, they would be presented with an app homepage illustrated below:

ServiceNow Onboarding Mobile App will provide New Hires with the following features:

Media Content section where relevant content can be pushed to New Hires throughout different stages of their onboarding processes.
Activity Sets for the Onboarding Case whereby New Hires may click into and complete their to-do tasks such as signing documents, completing profile information, watching new hire videos or providing any other supplementary information.
Ask a Question where New Hires can correspond with HR Agents via the Comments section in the Onboarding Case.
Notification tab where New Hires can see all Push notifications related to their onboarding process (i.e. when a new to-do task has been assigned to the New Hire). There is also an option to enable/disable Notifications.

On the same note, New York also sees the release of an HRSD Mobile App. Now Mobile for HRSD provides employee the ability to view HR requests, request help, complete HR tasks and chat with the HR Virtual Agent.

mobile app screenshot taken from ServiceNow Product Documentation

2. Collect employee input with employee forms

ServiceNow has enhanced HR Tasks with a new type called ‘Collect Employee Input’. As the name suggests, this new type of HR Tasks provides the functionality for collecting additional information from employees throughout the lifecycle of an HR Case. The catch here is that information is collected in the form of survey questions which can be mapped to fields on any target table – meaning that you don’t necessarily have to create any additional ‘dummy’ HR Services, HR Cases or custom fields to achieve the same purpose!

Configuring a new ‘Collect Employee Input’ HR Task can be done in several easy steps. We will illustrate the steps with an example below:

Create a new Employee Form which acts as the parent container.
In this example we will create a new Employee Form for obtaining conflict of interest declarations from employees.
On the Employee Form record, create questions using the Survey Designer – note that you can leverage all existing Survey capabilities. In this example we have created a mandatory question (‘Do you have any conflicts to declare?’) and if employees answered ‘Yes’, a follow up question will appear prompting for declaration details.
On the Employee Form record, define target table and field mappings. In this example, we have set the target table to ‘HR Profiles’ and created mapping for two custom fields related to Conflicts of Interest.
Now that the Employee Form record has been configured, we can trigger a new HR Task either manually or via a workflow. Once triggered, employees will see a new to-do task on the Employee Service Centre as per below:

Once submitted, the collected input is mapped to the HR Profile record as per below:

Optionally, we can extend the functionality to conditionally trigger a follow-on task. For example, if an employee has declared a conflict of interest, we can configure the workflow to conditionally trigger another HR Task for the employee’s manager to review details on the declaration.

3. Related items and Articles

A great nifty feature in the New York release is the ability to cross map related Catalog Items and related Knowledge Articles, thus allowing employees to easily find relevant information and submit relevant requests on the Employee Service Centre.

Configuring a new mapping between Catalog Items and Knowledge Articles can be illustrated with an example where we will relate the ‘Direct Deposit Setup’ Catalog Item to a Knowledge Article containing details on setting up direct deposit accounts. In addition, we will also map it to another ‘Direct Deposit Enquiry’ Catalog Item.

Navigate to the Catalog Item in question and note the two newly added related lists: ‘Related Articles’ and ‘Related Catalog Items’. Modify the related lists to add the desired Knowledge Articles and Catalog Items.
Now that the mapping has been configured, when an employee navigates to the ‘Direct Deposit Setup’, they will be presented with the view below:

Since the related lists are defined by many-to-many (m2m) tables, you can also relate a Knowledge Article to a Catalog Item or another Knowledge Article.

For more resources, tip and assistance watch this space for more updates to come soon.

Written by –
David Liu
SERVICENOW SENIOR TECHNICAL CONSULTANT
Tribe – Architecture

Category: Resource

How to be fluent in ITSM.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS:

Incident and Problem Management:

Change and Release Management:

Configuration Management:

Self-Service/Request Fulfillment:

IT Knowledge Management:

Collaboration:

Reporting and SLA Management:

“AITSM”:

Process and Workflow Design:

Integration:

Overhead:

User Experience and Flexibility:

What is Client Software Distribution (CSD)?

How does it work?

HOW?

All you need to know about Custom HR Center of excellence

What is HR Center of Excellence (COE)?

Which out of the box COEs are available?

Configuration that comes with out of the box HR COEs and how it differs for custom COEs

HR Topic category, Topic detail and HR Services

COE configuration

Notifications

Security Rules

Licensing

Forms and Related Lists

Module

Artefacts provided

What Makes Enable Different

Lessons Learnt

Smart Operations and ServiceNow

Driving digital transformation through Smart Operations

–

1. Develop a culture of change:

2. Collaborate across all levels of your organization:

3. Clarify expectations:

4. Show benefits:

5. Focus on mission:

6. Train:

Flow of OAuth Process (ServiceNow is using a third party OAuth Provider)

What Is OAuth?

How OAuth and ServiceNow works?

What to consider when OAuth 2.0 is configured in ServiceNow?

ServiceNow New York release is finally here! Although ServiceNow does releases at a fast pace of twice per year, customers are always looking forward to the highly anticipated new features and enhancements that come with every release.

1. Mobile Onboarding App and Now Mobile for HRSD

2. Collect employee input with employee forms

3. Related items and Articles