Get To Know The Main ServiceNow Building Blocks
This skill provides an overview of the main building blocks of ServiceNow, focusing on essential components such as tables, records, workflows, and the flow designer. It explains how these elements interact to automate processes and manage data within the platform. The skill also covers the use of filters and breadcrumbs to navigate and locate data efficiently, emphasizing the importance of understanding these foundational concepts for effective ServiceNow administration.
Full skill from ServiceNow Certified Admin. Preview the training IT teams trust.
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Skill 1 of 47 in ServiceNow Certified Admin
What you'll learn
- Explain how users, lists, modules, tables, filters, and workflows fit together as the core ServiceNow building blocks
- Explain how user records, roles, and permissions control what each person sees and can do in the ServiceNow interface
- Describe how tables and records serve as the place where admins make most changes in a ServiceNow instance
- Add columns to a ServiceNow list using the gear icon to display fields such as a user's department
- Apply filters to narrow large tables and read breadcrumbs to identify exactly which list of records is shown
- Identify when a workflow is the right solution for automating steps that run whenever a trigger event occurs
Free 50-minute video lesson with a full transcript and knowledge checks. No account needed to watch.
Users, Lists, and Modules
At first glance, ServiceNow contains a dizzying array of different parts. If you open up the "All" menu at the top of the ServiceNow interface, you'll see what I mean! The good news for lay-users and admins alike is that for the most common use cases, there are actually only a handful of so-called "building blocks" that you'll need to learn how to use. In this skill, we'll be getting to know these building blocks and how they fit together, starting in this video with the first three building blocks.
Knowledge Check
If you go to the "Create New" module under the "Incident" application, what building block do you see?
Tables and Records
Next, if there's one building block that sits at the center of the ServiceNow universe, it's Tables. In this video, we take a look at what tables are in ServiceNow and what role they play in the entire instance.
Knowledge Check
Which of the following is there NOT a table for in ServiceNow?
Filters and Breadcrumbs
You don't have to work with ServiceNow for very long before you realize that the average ServiceNow instance contains far more information than one person will ever need. Often, people struggle to find the data they're looking for, as well as know what data they're looking at, and that's where ServiceNow's Filters and Breadcrumbs come in.
Knowledge Check
If we apply a filter to our users list so that it shows us only users whose last name contains "good", the breadcrumbs would look like _________. (Try this one for yourself!)
Workflows and the Flow Designer
Finally, let's take a look at another important building block, which is Workflows. As you'll see, these are the main mechanisms by which we can automate things in our organization's ServiceNow instance.
Knowledge Check
We didn't explicitly cover this in the video, but based on what we've discussed elsewhere, what do you think?: Is workflow data stored in a table behind the scenes?
Challenge & Solution: Creating Some Mental Models
Now it's time for a challenge! In this challenge, you'll be asked to turn the basic concepts we discussed in this skill into a series of mental models that will help you understand how ServiceNow works at a deeper level throughout the rest of this course. Watch the video for more information.
Knowledge Check
Pretty much everything in ServiceNow is a record in a ____________.
This interactive assessment is available in the full learning experience.
Knowledge Check
_________ show data from many records, ____________ show data from only one record, and also allow us to edit that record.
This interactive assessment is available in the full learning experience.
Knowledge Check
Which of the following are correct statements given what we've learned in this skill? (Select 3)
Select all that apply.
Knowledge Check
Match up the following building blocks to their descriptions
This interactive assessment is available in the full learning experience.
And now that you've attempted the challenge, let's see what the solutions are.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main ServiceNow building blocks covered in this lesson?
The lesson introduces users, lists, modules, tables, filters, and workflows, which the trainer describes as the six most important things anyone working with ServiceNow needs to understand, especially admins. It takes a breadth-first approach, showing how these pieces fit together before later skills in the course go deeper on each one.
How do ServiceNow user records and roles control what someone sees in the interface?
The lesson explains that the settings, roles, and permissions tied to a user in the users table control what that person sees and can do when they log in. A demonstration shows how a system administrator can find Flow Designer in the All menu, a reminder that most users are not administrators and will see a different interface.
When should a ServiceNow admin use a workflow?
The lesson's rule of thumb is that whenever someone wants something to happen automatically in ServiceNow, a workflow is likely the solution. A workflow defines a series of steps that run whenever a trigger, meaning any event in ServiceNow, occurs.
How long is this lesson and how does it fit the ServiceNow CSA course?
The lesson runs about 50 minutes and serves as an orientation that gives learners mental models to carry through the rest of the Certified System Administrator course, which aligns to the CSA exam. For IT Directors and Training Managers, it is a practical first assignment because later topics such as table administration, business rules, and flows build on these core concepts.
What can a team member do after completing this ServiceNow building blocks lesson?
A team member can explain how users, lists, modules, tables, filters, and workflows connect, add columns to a list with the gear icon to show fields such as department, and apply filters while reading breadcrumbs to confirm which records are displayed. The lesson closes with a challenge of fill-in-the-blank, multi-select, and matching questions, followed by a solution walkthrough.
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