Collaboration in Creator Studio

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Collaboration in Creator Studio

    Collaboration in Creator Studio, also known as delegated development, allows ServiceNow developers to co-create and develop applications together. Developers can invite others to collaborate on their apps or request permission to edit apps they do not own. This feature builds upon the delegated development capabilities within the ServiceNow AI Platform and requires an App Engine Enterprise license for full functionality. The Collaboration app is automatically installed with Creator Studio to support these features.

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    Collaboration Roles and Permissions

    Collaboration is managed through two primary roles, called collaboration descriptors:

    • Owner: The app creator is automatically the owner, with full control over the app including managing collaborators, editing app settings (name, description, icon), and deleting the app. Owners receive the delegateddeveloper role for the app.
    • Editor: Editors can invite collaborators and have limited editing capabilities within the app but cannot manage collaborators or change app settings.

    Administrators can create custom collaboration descriptors to tailor permissions as needed through Guided Setup or the Collaboration app.

    Collaboration Permissions and Approval Workflow

    Inviting collaborators triggers an approval process if the invitee lacks the delegateddeveloper role. This process is managed via collaboration tasks, which administrators can review and approve using the App Engine Management Center (AEMC) or directly in the Collaboration Tasks module. Proper assignment of roles ensures controlled development and deployment of applications within Creator Studio.

    Capabilities of Owners and Editors

    Feature Owner Editor
    Invite collaborators Yes Yes
    Manage collaborators Yes No
    Edit app settings (name, description, icon) Yes No
    Create, edit, delete forms and automation Yes Yes
    Manage workspace for form submissions Yes Yes
    Submit app for deployment Yes No
    Delete app Yes No

    Users in the Creator Studio group can view all collaborators and their roles; restricted users should consult their administrators for access details.

    Version Compatibility and Roles

    If Creator Studio is installed on non-production instances with newer versions than production instances, collaboration approval workflows may be affected. To maintain functionality, admins should assign the catalogbuildereditor role to Creator Studio user groups to support collaboration workflows across different instance versions.

    Practical Usage

    • Request Access: Developers can request permission to work on apps they do not own directly within Creator Studio.
    • Manage Collaborators: Owners can add, remove, or modify collaborators and their permissions using the Manage collaborators feature.

    This collaborative environment enhances teamwork, streamlines app development, and enforces secure and controlled access to application resources within ServiceNow Creator Studio.

    Sometimes you need help building out your app, and that’s ok! And sometimes other people need your help building their apps, which is great! This is where collaboration comes into play.

    You can collaborate on apps you don't own by requesting permission to edit them, and invite other people you work with to collaborate on your apps with you.

    Collaboration, also referred to as delegated development, builds on the existing delegated development feature set in the ServiceNow AI Platform. It enables developers to invite other developers into apps so they can co-create and develop the app together. Depending on your permissions, you can invite others to collaborate on an app with you, or request to join someone else's app.
    Note:
    You must have an App Engine Enterprise license to take full advantage of collaboration.

    The ServiceNow AI Platform Collaboration app is automatically installed with Creator Studio. For more information about the Collaboration app, see Application collaboration.

    Collaboration descriptors: Owners and Editors

    So, you realize you either need help with your app, or you want to help someone else building their app. What’s next? You need the right collaboration role.

    There are two standard types of collaborators when you co-develop an app with other people: Owners and Editors. These two roles are called collaboration descriptors. The collaboration descriptor that someone is assigned determines if they can assign, manage, and monitor delegated development permissions. For example, people who are Owners can do more than people with the Editor collaboration type.

    If needed, your admin can define custom collaboration descriptors to select when managing collaborators, either in the Creator Studio Guided Setup or in the Collaboration app. For more information on custom descriptors, see Configure Creator Studio using Guided Setup and Create collaboration descriptors to assign permissions.

    Table 1. Default collaboration descriptors
    Descriptor Description
    Owner Owner of the application.
    • If you created the app, you're automatically the owner.
    • Owners can manage other collaborators for the app.
    • Owners have the delete app permission, which enables them to edit app settings, such as name, description, and icon.
    • Owners automatically get the delegated_developer role for the app.
    Editor
    • Editors can invite collaborators.
    • Editors have limited ability to edit the app.

    Collaboration development permissions

    You’ve designated Owners and Editors in your app, now what? You need to invite other collaborators to work in your app.

    Collaboration permissions enable you to control who's building apps in Creator Studio. You assign permissions to developers (or users who deploy applications) so that they can develop and deploy applications.

    If you invite someone to collaborate on an app and they don't have the Delegated developer (delegated_developer) role, an App Engine admin must approve the collaboration request. For more information, see Delegated development and deployment.

    When you add a user or group, a collaboration task is generated behind the scenes, and an approval flow kicks off. If you have App Engine Management Center (AEMC) installed, your admin can review and approve/deny these collaboration request tasks there. If you don’t have AEMC installed, admins can navigate to All > App Engine > Collaboration > Collaboration Tasks.

    The collaboration task that goes to your admin provides information on which application a developer is being added to, and what permissions are granted. Approvers sometimes need to review these task records before they add developers to the application.

    What can owners and editors do?

    If you’re in the Creator Studio users group, you can see all users and groups collaborating on an app, as well as their collaboration descriptors.

    If you can’t see the users and groups, you may have a different permission with more restrictions. But fear not! You can always contact your admin if you have any questions about who's working on an app.

    The following table provides a list of general defaults for what owners and editors can do in Creator Studio.

    Note:
    For the full list of default Owner and Editor collaborator collaboration type permissions, see Customized app collaboration permissions in Creator Studio.
    Table 2. Collaboration on Creator Studio features
    Creator Studio feature Owner Editor
    Invite collaborators Yes Yes
    Manage collaborators Yes No
    Edit app settings, such as name, description, and icon Yes No
    Create, edit, and delete forms Yes Yes
    Create, edit, and delete automation Yes Yes
    Manage the workspace for form submissions Yes Yes
    Submit app for deployment Yes No
    Delete app Yes No

    Collaboration roles and instances on different versions

    As admins implement Creator Studio, they may have it installed on a non-production instance while their production instance is on a previous version of the ServiceNow AI Platform that doesn't have Creator Studio. This mis-match of instance versions affects the Collaboration Approval Workflow, which specifies the non-production instance as the source and the production instance as the controller. If the controller doesn't have the version of the collaboration plugin that supports Creator Studio, collaboration is unsupported.

    To ensure that users can use the Collaboration Approval Workflow regardless of instance versions, admins must assign the catalog _builder_editor role to Creator Studio user groups.