The Interface

No matter what software system you're interested in learning about, understanding the interface is likely to be the first step toward success. ServiceNow is a very robust IT service management tool, and has an interface to match. Designed both to be easy to use, and to support a multitude of business processes and applications (both foreseen and unforeseen), it must be able to bend to the will of the business, and be putty in the hands of a capable developer.

In this chapter, you'll learn all the major components of the UI (user interface), and how to manipulate them to suit your business needs, and look good doing it. You'll also learn some time-saving tips, tricks, and UI shortcuts that have been built into the interface for power users to get around more quickly.

These UI shortcuts and other pro tips will be collected at the end of this book in a final chapter that'll be available online as a quick pocket-reference.

This chapter will cover the key components of the user interface, including:

• The content and ServiceNow frames
• The application navigator
• UI settings and personalization
• UI15 versus UI16 interface components and configuration
• Differences between the Geneva and Helsinki interfaces
• Pro tips for flying around the interface like a seasoned pro

We recommend that you follow along in your own development instance as you read through this section, to gain a more intimate familiarity with the interface.