ServiceNow Simplified

The very first thing to understand here is "incident". What is an incident? Quite simply, an incident is any problem that arises in someone's computer or printer or iPad (or any other device that they may be using). This could be something as simple as a Windows update that may cause the windows to become unstable to something more complex like a power surge burning out the motherboard. In any case, the affected person would create a ticket in the ITSM module (using some other device) and ask for help. The request would go to the concerned person who then come over and fixes the issue. In incident management, the main job of the technician is to simply resolve the problem and get the system up and running as quickly as possible. In incident management, the main concern is not to dive deep into the problem and identify the root cause of the problem. It is simply to solve the problem without any root cause analysis and get the system up and running as fast as possible.

As ServiceNow developer, this is probably the first module that you work on. ITSM stands for IT Service Management. Companies use a lot of hardware, laptops, computers, printers, scanners etc. Especially in large companies with thousands of workers with tens of thousands of devices, managing the repair and maintenance of these devices can become cumbersome. ITSM helps. So, if your computer breaks down, you can use your iPad to file a complaint in the ITSM system. The complaint would reach the concerned technician who would then look at your system and fix it. With ITSM, there is no need for you to send a dozen emails before you just begin to find out who the right person for the job is. ITSM takes care of it all. ITSM is further divided into sub-modules. These are: - 1. Incident Management 2. Problem Management 3. Change Management 4. Knowledge Management 5. Request Management 6. CMDB 7. SLM 8. Release Management We are going to talk about what each of these are and how they help in up...

 Following is a list of the core modules of ServiceNow. We'll get to what each of them does in a later post and explain them in the easiest to understand way possible. 1. ITSM 2. ITOM 3. ITAM 4. SPM 5. HRSD 6. CSM 7. FSM 8. App Engine 9. SecOps 10. GRC / IRM What is a module? ServiceNow is divided into different modules. Each module performs a specific set of tasks. You can think of it as a library. A library has different sections for fiction and non-fiction and then these are further divided into sub-sections for easy lookup. Similarly, ServiceNow is divided into various modules that perform tasks that are specific to the respective module. We'll cover each module in upcoming posts.

As a junior ServiceNow developer, you can make anywhere between 50k and a 100k per year depending upon which company you land a job. Some companies pay more because they have the appropriate budget while others with limited budgets would pay lesser. If you're just starting out, I would recommend that you focus on building your resume rather than the salary.

Instead of overwhelming you with a detailed roadmap, I'll keep things simple. Start by learnning Javascript because this is the programming language of ServiceNow. Start with variables, loops and proper sequencing of the lines of code (which line of code must run first, which must run second and so on). You can start with a course on basic Javascript on Youtube or on a platform like Udemy.

Hmm! So, what is ServiceNow? Is it a database? Is it an ERP? Is it a software application of some kind? Is it SaaS, PaaS or an IaaS? Is it some kind of Software Suite? Simply put ServiceNow is a PaaS. PaaS stands for Platform as a Service. But what does that mean? What does ServiceNow do?  Very simply put, ServiceNow is used to automate the provision of services in an organization/company. For example, let's say, you work at a large company with over 10,000 employees. Each employee has a set of hardware and software that they use. This could be a computer, a printer, an iPad, a smartwatch etc. But things tend to break at times. So, let's assume that an employee's laptop suddenly breaks down due to some bug. Using their iPad, which is also connected to the company's network, the employee can log onto their ServiceNow portal and create a complaint. From here, ServiceNow will handle the entire process, where the complaint is sent to the concerned computer-technician for re...

About me: Hi! My name is Fahad K. and I am a Senior ServiceNow Developer, Lead and Consultant with 13 years of experience in IT and over 10 years of experience as a ServiceNow pro in industries like Banking, Tech and Healthcare. I am a big fan of the teaching methodology of Richard Feynman, and I have created this blog to not only test and refine my knowledge as per the Feynman philosophy but to also help those who aspire to become software developers in future. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fahad-khan-50b888315/