SERVICENOW IMPLEMENTATION

Transcription

1 SERVICENOW IMPLEMENTATION 1

2 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ITSM An Introduction.. 3 Plan of Action.. 3 Development and Implementation.. 5 Quality Assurance & Testing.. 15 Deploying & Training.. 16 Support & Maintenance.. 18 About McLanSys 19 2

3 1.ITSM An Introduction WHAT IS ITSM? IT Service Management is a general term that describes a strategic approach for designing, delivering, managing and improving the way information technology (IT) is used within an organization. The goal of every IT Service Management framework is to ensure that the right processes, people and technology are in place so that the organization can meet its business goals. There are many different ITSM products on the market ServiceNow being the largest, by far. ADVANTAGES OF AN ITSM PROCESS Reduce IT costs Improve quality of service Improve customer satisfaction Improve governance and to reduce risk Deliver greater innovation and business value Increase corporate competitive advantage through better IT enablement, or Offer improved flexibility or increased agility/speed of change for new IT services 2. PLAN OF ACTION You have done enough research on the product to be confident it is right for your team and you re ready to jump into ServiceNow, now what? EFFECTIVE TEAM The next step and quite possibly the most important in your new implementation is finding the right people for your new ServiceNow team. Team should be a bundle of, Business Analyst and/or Project Manager Certified Implementation Specialist Quality Assurance Tester(s) Why Do I Need a Business Analyst? 3

4 You may consider to opt out of having a project manager or business analyst on your team. This is fine if you have a very small organization of less than 10 individuals. However, if it involves a more diverse team it would be best to have someone there to help keep everyone on track and on schedule. You will need a BA/PM for a wide variety of tasks, such as scheduling, management, procurement, and analysis. They would also be the liaison between the stakeholders and the IT team, able to convert technological jargon to more commonplace terms. ServiceNow Developer Certifications While not technically required to implement a ServiceNow iteration for your business, it is very strongly recommended for the developer(s) that will be working with your implementation to have at least one ServiceNow administrator certification. We at McLanSys recommend having your developer(s) certified in ServiceNow Administration and ITIL, as well as having experience as a Business Analyst. PROJECT BLUEPRINT Once you have your team in place you will need to create a plan of attack. Typically, this begins with understanding the needs of your company as a whole and addressing the processes that are lacking. Easier said than done. It is always recommended to start with the base functionality as quickly as possible, wait a few months to get accustomed to the platform, and then add on any revisions in small increments with frequent backups. Check with your users to ensure that these revisions are agreeable, or where they see room for improvement. Don t be afraid to restore from backups whenever you run into a process that simply doesn t work. Make a list of processes that will not work with an Out of the Box (OOB) ServiceNow implementation. Why will those processes not transfer? Remember that sometimes it is easier to relearn a process versus changing everything to try and get it to work the way you re used to. Make a list of the processes that will work with an OOB ServiceNow implementation. These will be the first ones that you should be able to start integrating. PICK THE PRODUCT FOR YOUR BUSINESS Before stepping foot into the development of your new ServiceNow implementation, you need to be aware of which version will be most appropriate for you and your business. There are different features and functionalities in each version. Here is a brief overview of each type to get you thinking: Service Management 4

5 Enterprise-wide service management that utilizes the service model to many different use cases both inside and outside of IT. It includes domains such as HR, facilities, field services, and more to help manage all the service relationships that make up your enterprise. IT Service Management Offers a powerful platform for all ITIL processes for ITSM. ServiceNow ITSM helps you reduce cost, lower risks, improve business agility, and boost IT innovation. Easy upgrades and customizations allow organizations to focus on improving service experiences versus software upkeep. IT Operations Management ServiceNow s IT Operations Management includes CMDB, incident and Problem Management, Change Management, and a robust Service Catalog. It is a very inclusive offering with flexible features to suit your business requirements. IT Business Management Better manage demand, balance resources, manage agile and waterfall projects, perform budget planning, and map costs to technical business services with ServiceNow s IT Business Management package. Align your IT department with the rest of your corporation with Financial Management, Project and Portfolio Management and Application Portfolio Management. CORE CONFIGURATION The core configuration can be configured in many different ways to address your organization s needs. You can use it to create, manage, and distribute applications for your business. You can install any number of applications that are provided by ServiceNow, or even create your own custom ones. These applications can be made available to specific users, roles, or companies. The system can also be configured to send and receive s as a way to track service requests. The primary administrator role, admin, has access to all system features and functionalities regardless of security constraints. Other administrators can be given rights to administer only certain applications. 3.DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION 1. Software Asset Management (SAM) 5

6 This new application is an end-to-end SAM product related to the IT Business Management (ITBM), IT Operations Management (ITOM) and IT Asset Management (ITAM) modules. The goal of SAM is to understand the software catalog to optimize software and ensure compliance to reduce penalties during a vendor audit. SAM enables organizations to normalize software, reclaim unused licenses, and detect trends in software usage to reduce waste from unused software. Organizations can leverage ServiceNow s suite of applications such as ITOM Discovery, CMDB, and Application Portfolio Management (APM) to locate, categorize, and rate software. 2. ServiceNow Express The Express platform will be migrated to the core ServiceNow platform. Customers will no longer be required to go through a conversion when they want to transition to the core ServiceNow platform. In Jakarta, customers will have access to the entire ServiceNow suite and store. 6

7 Once Express users are on the core ServiceNow platform they will be able to take advantage of all its features including HR, ITOM, ITBM, Performance Analytics and more. 3. Predictive Alerts This exciting service uses machine learning, root cause analysis, and an algorithmic intelligence engine that identifies potential issues and alerts IT Operations to act. Predictive Alerts consider historical impact of past events to predict future events. A confidence rating accompanies each prediction, so IT Operations can take appropriate action before the event becomes an incident. The system does not stop its prediction cycle; it continually takes in changes to the environment to provide real-time predictions. 7

8 Additionally, ServiceNow has designed the Predictive Alerts to use a schema free API making it easier to integrate. The end result is an automated and predictive tool that eliminates service outages and is simple to install. 4. Trusted Security Circle Trusted Security Circle enhances incident response, vulnerability response and threat intelligence applications in IT Security Operations. This module provides a secured and scalable location for information to be shared between customers, suppliers and peers, resulting in more effective troubleshooting efforts Organizations control the information to share.. Profiles are used to select criteria to submit anonymous information to the secured circle. An organization can have multiple profiles across different security circles. Furthermore, all information shared has one or more observables of the customers and an indication in the customer s environment of why the information was shared. 5. Vendor Risk Management The new Vendor Risk Management application manages stakeholder relations, cross functional process and risk through the vendor lifecycle. Vendor Risk Management continuously monitors, detects, assesses, mitigates and remediates risks in the vendor environment. This allows vendor management to effectively align with the organization s enterprise risk management and vendor management security. Vendor scoring uses the GRC in real-time with assessment and external third-party risk scores. 8

9 Subsequently, managing risks within a single system accelerates decision-making as organizations can asses and mitigate risks without the delays of system to system communication. 6. Communities Customers regularly go online to find solutions or discuss success or failure of products and/or services. Prospective customers go online to research product services. To support this communal activity ServiceNow is launching ServiceNow Communities. The release will be tightly related to Knowledge Management and Customer Service Portal. The new Communities will have the following features: Forums Organizations will be able to manage user participation Topics Curated areas of interests in forums Gamification Giving points and credit to responding users Content types of: o Questions o Blogs o Videos 9

10 7. Field Service Management A successful Field Service Management program requires a heavy investment in scheduling, prioritization, and documentation. The new features of ServiceNow s Field Service Management application address these challenges by using the following features: Team Calendar Allows the manager to see team members planned activities Dynamic Scheduling Optimizes assignments within time windows, minimizes travel time, allows multi-agent task assignments, task prioritization, and automated task reassignment Questionnaires Collects information to assist technicians in following procedures or performing tasks Additionally, Questionnaires are designed for mobile devices which simplify data collection. The new features in Field Service Management help to resolve issues faster by optimizing the schedules of technicians and simplifying data collection. 8. Enterprise Onboarding and Transitions 10

11 Enterprise Onboarding and Transitions is a much-anticipated application, which enables a new hire to work from Day One. This application makes it easy to automate and streamline onboarding and other lifecycle events. HR needs the ability to request and track activities which are fulfilled by departments across the organization. This application supports any transitional event for staffing including: onboarding, off boarding, leave of absence, requests and transfers out of the box (OOTB). The OOTB functionality is easily adjusted to fit an organization s HR processes. Enterprise Onboarding and Transitions bring all department s activities together to ensure everyone is working together to provide a great customer experience. 9. Performance Analytics Performance Analytics has several new or updated features to provide better decision-making: Advanced Forecasting Advanced forecasting allows the organization to make decisions with predictive trending based on real-time, adaptive, machine learning algorithms. Additionally, the organization can set personalized forecast lines to identify trends. 11

12 Interactive Analysis Get instant insight with dynamic visualization delivered on any list or score. This enables the organization to move quickly on data available at a glance. Data is real-time meaning it is ready to act upon. 12

13 Spreadsheet Imports This new feature provides organizations with the ability to easily import into ServiceNow to compare data from a variety of sources. Report Designing The new Report Designer gives novice users the ability to build meaningful reports. Report Designer guides the user through a stepwise process to create a report. As the report is built, the user can manually modify the report if needed. 10. Now Platform ServiceNow has changed the name of their platform in Jakarta from the ServiceNow platform to the Now platform. There are a couple of new applications which will help users and administrators in the Now platform. The Guided Tour Designer is available throughout the platform which allows the administrator to create guided tours in the embedded help. This will help users understand application requirements. The Guided Tour Designer will speed the enduser to productivity and reduce help desk calls. 13

14 The Instance Security Dashboard will speed security remediation for your ServiceNow instance. Administrators have a single view of their security operations audit. It provides a guided experience to configure and secure an instance. The Instance Security Dashboard provides a single view of their compliance status to provide awareness and maintain the organizations application security standards. 14

15 Now that you are inspired to build your own melting pot, we will be happy to assist you. Contact us for assistance in either upgrading to Jakarta or implementing some of the features introduced. We are excited to support your ServiceNow undertakings to gain success to your organization, community and stakeholders. 4.QUALITY ASSURANCE & TESTING MANUAL TESTING If you prefer to do things yourself, or lack the funds to invest in a quality testing automation program, there s always the option to provide manual testing for your ServiceNow implementation. Manual testing is where you have an individual, or group of individuals, manually testing software for defects. It requires the tester(s) to play the role of an end-user to 15

16 verify that all functions operate as expected. The tester will often follow a written test plan that guides them through sets of important behaviors, or test cases. Test Cases A test case is a set of conditions in which a tester will determine whether an application or one of its features is working as intended. It may take many test cases to determine whether or not a program is satisfactorily reviewed and given permission to be released. Traceability Matrices A traceability matrix is a document or spreadsheet used to assist in determining the completeness of any two base-level reference documents by utilizing a many-to-many relationship comparison. It may be used to check if a project s requirements are being met, to create a software requirements list, or project plan tasks. Typically, a traceability matrixis used for high-level requirements as well as detailed requirements of the project. 5.DEPLOYMENT & TRAINING GO-LIVE AND TRAINING Training your staff on the new platform is critical. Never assume that any member of your team catches on right away and doesn t need a how-to guide. It can be catastrophic and ultimately lead to abandonment of the platform if it is too frustrating to the end user. Designate a member of your team or a group of members to be your go-to trainers that will be available to answer any questions a user may have regarding the platform. Train them intensively on ServiceNow s platform and give them the resources they will need to educate others successfully. PRODUCT TRAINING Platform training is education on how to use ServiceNow s features, or platform. It is not tied to a specific service or process. All users that will be utilizing the platform in some way even if in intermittent, small amounts should have this training. The basics should cover:»» Basic navigation»» Reports»» Application Navigator»» Views»» Bookmarks FUNCTIONAL TRAINING 16

17 As processes are changing, it is critical to ensure that the users are properly trained on the new ones. This could include complicated integrations with other systems or services, such as payroll or incident management. All the users affected should be trained on the new version(s) of their processes. Ensure they are aware of what their responsibilities and expectations are with the new system and revisit as needed. Don t forget to identify where any new forms of automation have been included to reduce strain. END USER TRAINING While the end user s experience should be intuitive and may not require training, providing them with an overview or guide can provide additional support to those who may not be comfortable with adopting a new process. Consider creating a step-by-step guide or prerecorded video with instructions on how to navigate the user portal. SURVEYS Surveys are a great tool to assess adoption and feedback of your new platform.»» Consider the option to make them anonymous you will get more honest feedback that way»» Make them brief less than 5 minutes is recommended»» Keep them running throughout the entire implementation cycle and then incrementally after launch (recommended 30, 60, 90 days, then every 6 months from there)»» Follow up on survey responses! Whether this be on a global newsletter or responding to an individual that has provided their contact information, it is important to make sure employees know they re being heard. MARKETING Marketing should have a collaborative role in announcements and go-live messaging. They should also include similar materials to continually market the new platform as well as its improvements. Advertising the success rates of other departments, creating infographics from the data that has been recorded in ServiceNow, promoting Lunch & Learns and webinars, and creating informational articles should be the marketing department s responsibility at least in part. If you are wanting to be more festive, consider memorabilia such as lanyards, stress balls, note pads, or water bottles to drive interest regarding the launch. ITS DONE! Congratulations, you have successfully deployed a ServiceNow implementation! It s time to take a moment to sit back and relax before getting prepared for the next phase: maintenance and support. Remember to continue soliciting feedback from all users on the processes, performance, and features. Having a party to celebrate Go Live is not uncalled for. It may even encourage users to try out the process more themed, fun events can really ease users into exploration of the ServiceNow platform. 17

18 6.UPGRADES & MAINTENANCE Upgrading is the act of moving to a release that is in a different family than your current release. Upgrading or modifying your ServiceNow instance requires planning, testing, and authentication. To make sure your upgrade goes along smoothly, you need to be sure to read the release notes, create upgrade plans, and test your upgrade on a demo instance of your iteration before upgrading your active instance. Manage Instances View information about your instances, schedule clones, activate plugins, and request resets in the Manage Instances section. You are also able to request a VPN, a non-production instance reset, view issues and alerts, and more. Manage Upgrades View, schedule, request, and cancel upgrades to your instance in the Manage Upgrades section for up to three of your ServiceNow instances. Get Help Stuck somewhere on your instance? Reach out to one of ServiceNow s talented customer support agents to get answers. If your matter isn t as pressing, you can also visit the ServiceNow Community, where users not only socialize, but also help other ServiceNow Admins in need. Hot Fixes Hot fixes support existing functionalities with a targeted and specific problem fix. They may or may not include previous fixes for a given release, and often do not include new features or functionalities. ROLLBACKS AND BACKUPS While planning on performing an upgrade, keep in mind that ServiceNow does not provide a universal rollback option. Rollbacks are available for upgrades within your existing family (i.e., Helinksi patch-to-patch or Istanbul patch-to-hot fix). The rollback window is 10 days by default; you can customize this window by modifying the glide.rollback.expiration_ days property. To request a rollback, contact ServiceNow Customer Support. Also, try to avoid restoring a production instance from a backup when possible, as it can cause unnecessary downtime and loss of data. When you have a problem that cannot be solved using other methods, consider restoring a production instance from a backup a last resort. However, ServiceNow does provide 24/7 customer support for assistance with critical post upgrade issues. Please be aware that ServiceNow does not perform on-demand backups. Instead, instances are automatically backed up during slow business hours on set schedules that are defined by ServiceNow. 18

19 FINALLY Implementing the ServiceNow platform into your organization may be time intensive, but is most definitely doable with the right resources. It can be a very powerful platform with an unending number of offerings when programmed correctly. If you have any further questions regarding how to properly implement a ServiceNow instance, feel free to reach out to one of our experts, free of charge. One of them will be happy to assist you in any way they can. 7.ABOUT MCLANSYS ServiceNow Support McLanSys Solutions is rightly positioned to help troubleshoot your product issues and get you back up and running more quickly. Our dedicated Support Team leverages the experience of our entire consulting organization, which averages more than 13 years of implementation experience across multiple industries and product versions. This Support Program allows our clients to benefit from McLanSys Solutions and our experienced Support Team will provide direct product support to quickly resolve your issues. Rate Guarantee: The First time in the Industry The Lowest Price Challenge GUARANTEES lowest prices on compared to anywhere in the world with customers being offered two times the price difference if they find the same elsewhere at a lower rate. The Right Team, The Right Talent Our Consulting has been a trusted partner in helping business solve the challenges of innovation through technology since How it Works ServiceNow is changing the enterprise by enabling virtually all components of business as a service. A single platform for all processes within your organization drives consolidation, automation, and innovation for a more efficient business model. offers a unique blend of experience to the ServiceNow space, including affordable licensing, consulting, turn-key solutions, mobile app development, and staffing. Learn how our ServiceNow virtual admin services can augment your existing team to comprehensively support your ServiceNow instance. Want to get in touch immediately? Call USA (415) or us at sales@mclansys.com for more information. 19