Indicator form

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of Indicator form

    Application indicators in ServiceNow are business metrics used to evaluate applications across key dimensions such as cost, quality, technical risk, investments, user satisfaction, and business value. Starting with the Xanadu release, the application indicators module has moved to the Enterprise Architecture Workspace, enhancing visibility and management.

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    The indicator form enables administrators to define and configure these metrics, tailoring data collection and assessment to their organizational needs.

    Key Features

    • Indicator Core Fields: Define the name, unit (number, currency, time, rate, or custom units), frequency of data collection, target maximum and minimum values, and whether the indicator is active. You also specify the CI class (configuration item type) the indicator scores and whether higher or lower values are preferable (direction).
    • Frequency and Normalization: The frequency of data collection must align with fiscal periods for target values to apply directly. If frequencies differ, dynamic normalization is used automatically to ensure meaningful comparisons.
    • Data Source Options: Indicators can source data from multiple options:
      • Performance Analytics: Collect scores from Performance Analytics indicators.
      • Custom Script: Use scripted logic to gather data from other applications or sources.
      • Query Condition: Filter data from tables using specified query conditions.
      • Assessments: Evaluate and score records through assessments for ranking and analysis.
      • Indicators: Use dependent child indicators to aggregate data into a parent indicator for consolidated insights.
    • Aggregation Methods: Choose computational methods such as sum, average (default), maximum, or minimum to consolidate indicator values over periods.
    • Custom Scripting Capability: Supports advanced data collection scenarios via scripts, enabling tailored metrics like incident counts per application.
    • Assessment Metrics: When using Assessments as a data source, specify metric types and categories, query tables, filter conditions, aggregation, grouping, and consolidation fields for precise scoring.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers can leverage the indicator form to create precise, actionable business metrics that reflect their application portfolio’s health and performance. By configuring indicators with appropriate data sources, frequencies, and aggregation methods, customers gain accurate, normalized insights into application metrics aligned with fiscal periods and organizational priorities.

    This enables informed decision-making on investments, risk management, and performance improvements across business applications, all within the Enterprise Architecture Workspace.

    Application indicators are business metrics that assess the applications across dimensions such as cost, quality, technical risk, investments, user satisfaction, and business value.

    Important:

    Starting with the Xanadu release, the application indicators module is moved to the Enterprise Architecture Workspace. To learn more, see Configure indicators. To view the updated indicator form fields, see Create new indicator form.

    Role required: sn_apm.apm_admin

    Indicator form fields

    Field Description
    Name Name of the application indicator.
    Unit

    A number, currency, time, duration in minutes, hours, days, month, or quarter, or rate.

    You can also create units according to your requirements.
    Frequency Frequency determines the interval at which the data for the indicator source should be collected.

    The Frequency field isn’t available when Performance Analytics is selected from the Data source list.

    The indicator frequency must match the fiscal period being scored for the Target maximum and Target minimum values to be applied during normalization. If the frequencies don’t match, the system uses dynamic normalization instead.
    Target maximum Maximum value for the indicator.

    The Target maximum field isn’t available when Assessments is selected from the Data source list.
    Active Select the Active option to enable the indicator.
    CI Class CI type for which the score is generated.
    Direction Business application with maximum or minimum values. Select Minimize if lower values are better. Select Maximize if higher values are better.
    Target minimum Minimum value for the indicator.

    The Target minimum field isn’t available when Assessments is selected from the Data source list.
    Consider Absolute Values Option to consider values from the Target maximum and Target minimum fields.

    This field is available only when values are entered in the Target maximum and Target minimum fields.

    When the check box is cleared, values for target maximum and target minimum are considered based on the intelligent logic.

    The target maximum and target minimum values are applied only when the indicator frequency matches the fiscal period being scored. If the frequencies don’t match, the system uses dynamic normalization regardless of whether this check box is selected.
    Short description Short summary of the application indicator.
    Table 1. Datasource Configuration section fields
    Field Description
    Default breakdown Name of the Performance Analytics breakdown.
    Data source

    Defines the location from which the indicator receives data.

    • Performance Analytics: Collects scores from indicators created in Performance Analytics. See Performance Analytics indicators.
    • Custom Script: Allows you to write a script that collects data from another application.
    • Query Condition: Allows you to select a table to run filters on to obtain data.
    • Assessments: Allows you to evaluate, score, and rank records by assessing records in a table. See Create metric types and generate assessable records. To view results of survey assessments within APM, see Generate survey assessments and view results within APM.
    • Indicators: Allows you to add dependent child indicators. Through the child indicators, data is gathered to the parent indicator.

      For example, if the parent indicator is number of issues, the dependent indicators can be number of incident counts, number of problems, and changes. These dependent indicators are child indicators and the number of incidents, problems, and changes recorded are consolidated up to the parent indicator as the number of issues.
    Indicator The Indicator field appears when Performance Analytics is selected from the Data source list.

    Indicators are statistics that are used to measure current conditions and forecast trends.

    Note:
    If the collection frequency of the application indicator isn’t greater than the frequency at which the data of the Performance Analytic indicator is generated, then the system displays an error message: Frequency of the indicator must always be greater than or equal to the frequency of the datasource configuration indicator. For more information, see Collection of PA indicator score data.
    Consolidation Computational method for aggregating the values, a function such as sum, average, maximum, or minimum.

    Default is Average. For example, Average is the sum of the monthly values divided by the total number of months in a quarter.

    If you select Maximum or Minimum, then it’s the maximum value or the minimum value of a month in the quarter, respectively.

    If you select Sum, then it’s an aggregate of all monthly values in the quarter.
    Custom script The Custom Script field appears when Custom Script is selected from the Data source list.
    An example custom script is:
    var results = {};
 var applications = [];
 var incidentCount = 0;
 
 var applicationsGr = new GlideRecord("cmdb_ci_business_app");
 applicationsGr.addQuery('active', true);
 applicationsGr.query();
 //for each application get incident count at business service level
 while(applicationsGr.next()) {
    incidentCount = 0;
    
    var gr = new GlideRecord("incident");
    gr.addEncodedQuery("opened_atBETWEEN"  + startDate  + "@" +   endDate);
    gr.addQuery('cmdb_ci_business_app', applicationsGr.getUniqueValue());   
    gr.query();
    
    incidentCount = gr.getRowCount();
    var appInfo = {};
    appInfo.appId = applicationsGr.getUniqueValue();
    appInfo.weight = incidentCount;
    applications.push(appInfo);
    }
 results.applications = applications;
 results;
    Assessment Metric Type Type of metric that is used to assess the indicator.

    Assessment Metric Type field appears when the Data source is Assessments.
    Assessment Metric Category Category of the metric.
    Query table Table from which the queries are filtered.
    Query conditions The conditions based on which the query is filtered.
    Aggregate field The field from the selected table is displayed for the records that match the query conditions.
    Aggregate type Type of aggregation applied for calculation of indicator scores.

    The available options are:

    • Sum
    • Count
    • Avg
    • Min
    • Max
    Group by Categorize the data returned by the query, based on values of a specific field in the query table. For example, if you want to group the data by the life cycle stage status of applications, select Life Cycle Stage.
    Consolidation field The field from the query table on which the computational method for aggregating the values is applied.