Level Up Your ServiceNow Skills: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Custom Application From Scratch

So, you’re ready to dive into the world of ServiceNow application development? Fantastic! Building custom applications is a powerful way to tailor the platform to your specific needs, automate workflows, and boost efficiency. This guide will walk you through the process of creating a basic application from scratch, perfect for those just starting out. No prior coding wizardry required – we’ll take it one step at a time.

What We’ll Be Building: A Simple “Idea Submission” Application

To illustrate the process, we’ll create a simple application that allows users to submit ideas for improvement within the company. It will include fields for the idea title, description, submitter, and a status field.

Step 1: Creating the Application

1. Navigate to Studio: In your ServiceNow instance, type “Studio” in the application navigator and click on “Studio”.

2. Create a New Application: Click on the “Create Application” button.

3. Fill in the Application Details:

   • Name: Enter “Idea Submission”.
   • Description: Enter “Allows users to submit ideas for improvement”.
   • Scope: ServiceNow automatically generates a unique scope. This is important for preventing naming conflicts with other applications. Leave it as is.
   • Advanced Settings: You can configure settings like Category, Assigned to Group, and Roles to access and manage the application. For this example, we’ll leave these at their defaults.

4. Click “Create”: ServiceNow will create the application and open it in Studio.

Step 2: Creating a Table

A table is where your application data will be stored. Think of it as a database table.

1. Create a New Table: In Studio, right-click on the “Data Model” node and select “Create Table”.

2. Fill in the Table Details:

   • Label: Enter “Idea”. This is what users will see in the interface.
   • Name: ServiceNow will automatically generate a name based on the label, usually prefixed with your application’s scope. For example, x_yourscope_idea.
   • Extends table: Choose “Task” if you want the Idea table to inherit fields and functionality from the Task table (e.g., assignment groups, approvals). Choose “None” if you want a completely custom table. For this example, let’s choose “None”.
   • Create Module: Check this box. This will automatically create a module in your application menu, allowing users to access the table.
   • Auto-number: Keep this checked. ServiceNow will automatically assign a unique number to each new idea record.

3. Click “Submit”: ServiceNow will create the table and its associated artifacts.

Step 3: Adding Columns (Fields) to the Table

Now, let’s define the fields that will store the information about each idea.

1. Open the Table: In Studio, navigate to “Data Model” > “Tables” and open the “Idea” table you just created.

2. Add New Columns: In the “Columns” related list (at the bottom of the form), click “New”.

3. Create the “Title” Column:

   • Type: String
   • Column label: Title
   • Column name: (Automatically generated, leave it as is)
   • Max length: 255 (Adjust as needed)
   • Mandatory: False (Users can submit ideas without a title if they choose to)
   • Click “Submit”.

4. Create the “Description” Column:

   • Type: String (or “String (long)” for a larger text field)
   • Column label: Description
   • Column name: (Automatically generated, leave it as is)
   • Max length: 4000 (Adjust as needed)
   • HTML: Check this box if you want users to be able to format the text using HTML. Be cautious about security implications when allowing HTML input.
   • Click “Submit”.

5. Create the “Submitter” Column:

   • Type: Reference
   • Column label: Submitter
   • Column name: (Automatically generated, leave it as is)
   • Reference table: User (sys_user) – This links the field to the User table, allowing you to select users from the system.
   • Click “Submit”.

6. Create the “Status” Column:

   • Type: Choice List
   • Column label: Status
   • Column name: (Automatically generated, leave it as is)
   • Choices:
     • Click “New” in the “Choices” related list.
     • Enter “New” in the “Label” and “Value” fields. Click “Submit”.
     • Enter “Under Review” in the “Label” and “Value” fields. Click “Submit”.
     • Enter “Approved” in the “Label” and “Value” fields. Click “Submit”.
     • Enter “Rejected” in the “Label” and “Value” fields. Click “Submit”.
   • Click “Submit”.

Step 4: Creating a Module (If you didn’t select it when creating the table)

A module provides a link in the application navigator to access your table. Since we selected “Create Module” during table creation, this step might be redundant, but it’s good to know how to do it manually.

1. Create a New Module: In Studio, right-click on the “Navigation” node and select “Create Module”.

2. Fill in the Module Details:

   • Title: Ideas
   • Application menu: Idea Submission (your application name)
   • Order: (Set a number to determine the module’s position in the application menu)
   • Link type: URL (from Arguments)
   • Arguments: x_yourscope_idea_list.do (Replace x_yourscope with your application’s scope)

3. Click “Submit”.

Step 5: Testing Your Application

1. Access the Application: In the main ServiceNow window (outside Studio), type “Idea Submission” in the application navigator. You should see your application listed.
2. Open the “Ideas” Module: Click on the “Ideas” module you created.
3. Create a New Record: Click the “New” button to create a new idea record.
4. Fill in the Fields: Enter a title, description, select a submitter, and choose a status.
5. Save the Record: Click the “Submit” button (or “Update” if you’re editing an existing record).

You should now see your newly created idea record in the list view. Congratulations! You’ve successfully built a basic custom application in ServiceNow.

Step 6: Enhancements and Next Steps

This is just the beginning! Here are some ideas for enhancing your application:

• Client Scripts: Add client-side logic to validate data, dynamically show/hide fields, or perform calculations.
• Business Rules: Add server-side logic to automate processes, such as sending notifications when an idea is submitted or approved.
• Workflows: Create workflows to automate the idea approval process.
• UI Policies: Control the visibility and mandatory status of fields based on certain conditions.
• UI Actions: Add buttons and links to perform specific actions on records.
• Reporting and Dashboards: Create reports and dashboards to track the status of ideas and identify trends.
• Integrations: Integrate your application with other systems, such as email or project management tools.

Conclusion

Building custom applications in ServiceNow opens up a world of possibilities. By following these steps, you’ve created a functional “Idea Submission” application and gained a solid foundation for further exploration. Experiment with different features, explore the ServiceNow documentation, and don’t be afraid to break things (that’s how you learn!). The more you practice, the more proficient you’ll become in transforming ServiceNow into a powerful platform tailored to your organization’s specific needs.