Add an application experience

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Add an application experience

    Using App Engine Studio (AES), ServiceNow customers can add various types of application experiences to tailor how users interact with their applications. These experiences serve as interfaces or wrappers that define user engagement with app functionalities. Application templates often include these experiences automatically, but customers can customize or create new ones to suit their specific business needs.

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    Types of Experiences

    • Standard catalog item: A form that users fill out to create requests within the service catalog. Submissions generate request records linked with workflows, approvals, and tasks. Ideal for scenarios requiring full request management, such as time-off requests.
    • Record producer: A simplified catalog item form that creates task-based records in a specified table (e.g., incidents, changes). It provides a streamlined user experience without the complexity of full request workflows.
    • Workspace: A compact suite of tools designed for agents, case managers, and help desk professionals to efficiently address customer inquiries and resolve issues. Workspaces support request and fulfillment processes like ticket management.
    • Portal: A centralized site for users to find information, submit requests, and complete business tasks. Portals serve as entry points for self-service and can host multiple catalogs and workspaces.
    • Mobile experience: An interface enabling access to applications via the ServiceNow native mobile app, allowing users to submit requests and managers to approve or reject them on mobile devices.

    Key Considerations

    • Choose record producers when you want to create simplified, task-based records across various tables without generating full requests.
    • Choose standard catalog items for comprehensive request creation workflows involving approvals and tasks.
    • Use workspaces to provide focused tools for service desk and fulfillment teams, enhancing agent productivity.
    • Portals provide a broad self-service experience for end users to access multiple resources and services.
    • Mobile experiences extend application accessibility to mobile users, ensuring flexibility and on-the-go interactions.

    Editing and Customization

    App Engine Studio allows customers to tailor experiences to their business needs by building and editing interfaces such as catalog items, workspaces, portals, and mobile apps. This flexibility helps create intuitive and effective user journeys within ServiceNow applications.

    Use App Engine Studio (AES) to add an experience to your app. Experiences are the interface, or wrapper, for how users interact with your app.

    Application templates automatically add experiences to your application.

    Table 1. Types of experiences
    Experience Definition Example Reference
    Standard catalog item A standard catalog item displays a form that users can fill in to create requests, such as a form to request an item or service. Standard catalog items make use of the Request table and produce a request record. In addition, generated request items are linked with a workflow, a catalog task, and any related approvals. Using standard catalog items, users can add multiple items to a cart and generate a request for each requested item. Use a catalog item when you want the service catalog form to generate a request, complete with a workflow, approvals, tasks, etc. Create a catalog item form, such as a form to request time-off. After submitting the form, a request is created for a manager to approve or reject.
    Record producer A record producer is a simplified type of catalog item that displays a form for users to fill out. The completed and submitted form inserts a new data record in a selected custom target table that you set up. This type of catalog item enables users to create task-based records, such as an incident record (without any of the more complex functionality that comes with using a standard catalog item, such as creating requests). Use a record producer when you want the service catalog form to create a simplified type of record that isn't a request (for example, a task record such as an incident, change, or enhancement, etc.). Create a service catalog form that generates a task record, such as an incident, instead of a request.
    Workspace A workspace is a suite of tools that provides agents, case managers, help desk professionals, and managers with tools to help answer customer questions and resolve customer problems. Create an equipment fulfillment dashboard where employees can request laptops and other items. Workspaces are similar to portals but smaller in scope.
    Portal A portal is a site where users inside of your organization can find information, submit requests, and complete business tasks. Create a self-service portal, or entry point for employees to make requests and browse a knowledgebase, which you can then populate with additional workspaces and catalogs.
    Mobile A mobile experience enables users to access your application from a ServiceNow native mobile app. You must then populate the app with data. Create a time-off request application for mobile for managers to approve or reject requests in the Now Mobile app on their mobile device.