Reporting on data from pro-code apps
Summarize
Summary of Reporting on data from pro-code apps
ServiceNow customers creating pro-code applications often need to generate actionable reports to drive change. Reporting typically involves displaying data from tables likeIncident [incident]or tracking metrics over time using key performance indicators (KPIs) through the Performance Analytics application.
Show less
The ServiceNow AI Platform® supports two main user interfaces for reporting and analytics:
- Core UI Technology: Includes the Reporting application for table-based data and PA Widgets for Performance Analytics indicators, which can be displayed on responsive dashboards.
- Platform Analytics Technology: Provides Data Visualizations that report on data from any source and can be placed on Platform Analytics dashboards with filters. This experience is built on the Next Experience UI Framework and accessible to both developers and non-developers.
To avoid confusion, the documentation uses "report" and "reporting" for Core UI Reporting and "visualization" or "visualize" for Platform Analytics data visualizations.
Best Practices for Reporting and Visualizations
- Filter large tables by date ranges or other criteria to prevent performance issues.
- Avoid grouping by fields with many unique values to maintain responsiveness.
- If a report or visualization triggers a long-running transaction warning, add more filters to reduce load times.
- Schedule exports and email delivery for recurring report or dashboard distribution.
Options for Displaying Multiple Visualizations
ServiceNow provides several approaches for combining multiple data visualizations on a single page, depending on your technical expertise and customization needs:
- Platform Analytics experience: Non-developers can create dashboards and visualizations directly within this interface without needing UI Builder.
- Generic UI Builder pages: Developers can build custom pages incorporating visualizations, filters, and other components for maximum flexibility.
- Hybrid approach: Create dashboards and visualizations in Platform Analytics and embed them into UI Builder pages using the Dashboard page template. This balances ease of creation with customization.
- Technical dashboards in UI Builder: Use predefined dashboards from the dashboard library, which can be shared and configured like standard dashboards, but embedded within UI Builder pages.
Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers
Understanding these reporting options enables customers to deliver meaningful insights from their pro-code apps efficiently while managing system performance. Choosing the right reporting interface and dashboard creation approach helps meet organizational reporting requirements, whether you prefer low-code tools or developer-driven customization.
Most applications that you create have some level of reporting requirements. Reports should be actionable to drive change.
"Reporting" generally refers to showing the data inside facts tables like Incident [incident]. You can also create key performance indicators (KPIs) to track changes in this data over time, through the Performance Analytics application.
- The older Core UI technology. This UI includes the Reporting application, which only shows data directly from tables, and PA Widgets, which show data from Performance Analytics indicators. Both reports and PA widgets can be placed on Core UI responsive dashboards. For more information, see Reporting, dashboards, and Performance Analytics in the Core UI.
- The newer Platform Analytics technology. This UI includes Data Visualizations, which let you report on data from any source. These visualizations can be placed on Platform Analytics dashboards, along with Platform Analytics filters. For more information, see Platform Analytics experience.
All Platform Analytics objects are rooted in the Next Experience UI Framework and are available to developers. However, a non-developer can still build their own objects through the Platform Analytics experience, without using UI Builder. For more information, see Platform Analytics experience.
Follow these guidelines when building reports or data visualizations:
- Creating reports or visualizations on large tables can negatively impact performance. Be sure to filter by a date range or other limiting criteria rather than showing all records on the table.
- Grouping by fields that contain many possible values can negatively impact performance.
- If loading a report or visualization gives a Long running transaction timer message, consider adding more data filters to reduce the load time.
- If you need to export a report, data visualization, or dashboard on a regular basis, schedule the export and email.
- Create the data visualizations and the dashboards entirely inside the Platform Analytics experience. This approach does not require a developer role or special technical knowledge, and probably should be explored before you try a more complex solution.
- Create data visualization components in a generic UI Builder page, along with filters and other components. This approach gives you the most freedom as a developer, but also requires the most configuration.
- Create the data visualizations and the dashboards inside the Platform Analytics experience, but then place the dashboards inside UI Builder pages using the Dashboard page template. This approach lets you use the convenience and special features of the Platform Analytics experience to create dashboards, data visualizations, and filters in your own experiences/workspaces. This approach also gives you the freedom to customize the page configuration partially. For more information, see Creating Platform Analytics pages in your own workspace.
- Create a technical dashboard and populate it inside UI Builder. This approach is almost the same as creating your own UI Builder page from scratch, but the dashboard is available in the dashboard library, has dashboard details, and can be shared like other dashboards. For more information, see Technical dashboards.